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

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

The New York Times [3/25/2026 5:13 PM, Mattathias Schwartz, 148038K] reports for the second time, a federal appeals court has backed the Trump administration’s practice of arresting undocumented immigrants inside the United States and then holding them without bond, an aggressive interpretation of immigration law that has filled homeland security detention centers and flooded prosecutors and courtrooms with petitions from detainees. With federal judges now lining up on both sides of the new policy, the question of its legality may ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court. In an 11-page split ruling filed on Wednesday, a two-judge majority from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit said an undocumented immigrant detained anywhere in the country could still be considered to be “seeking admission” to the United States. For that reason, the immigrant could therefore be detained without bond, as has long been true for those detained at the border. The judges held that the administration could detain without bond an undocumented immigrant and citizen of Mexico even though he was arrested in Minnesota and had been living in the United States for 20 years. The Hill [3/25/2026 1:35 PM, Sarah Davis, 18170K] reports that the GOP-appointed panel’s decision specifically applies to the detention of Joaquin Herrera Avila, a Mexican citizen detained without bond by DHS agents last summer in Minneapolis. A Minnesota district judge previously granted Herrera Avila’s habeas corpus petition last October, which the government later appealed. Judge Bobby Shepherd, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, wrote the majority opinion, which was joined by Trump-appointed Judge L. Steven Grasz. Judge Ralph Erickson, who was also appointed by the current president, penned the dissenting opinion. “The court now holds that Avila — and millions of others — are subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A),” Erickson wrote in his dissent. “In doing so, the court does not rely on recent Congressional action or a change in the regulations governing detention but rather engages in a novel interpretation of ‘alien seeking admission’ that eluded the courts and five previous presidential administrations.” FOX News [3/25/2026 3:30 PM, Charles Creitz, 37576K] reports that a district court in Minnesota granted Avila’s petition for habeas corpus, or to challenge the legality of his detention, which the Trump administration challenged. Shepherd wrote that the district court relied on federal law allowing detention without bond for "an alien who is an applicant for admission [or] seeking admission…" while considering Avila to be no longer seeking formal admission because he had resided and worked in the U.S. for many years. But, Avila did not seek further residency status such as naturalization or asylum, according to the court, which ruled that aspect proved he was not "seeking admission" in a legal sense. The Eighth Circuit’s ruling concurs with a related ruling from the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit, which found that noncitizens can be held without bond, according to Bloomberg Law. Reuters [3/25/2026 2:09 PM, Nate Raymond, 38315K] reports that the 8th Circuit’s decision will affect seven states within its jurisdiction, including Minnesota. ⁠Over 400 lawsuits were filed in Minnesota in January alone by people alleging they were wrongly detained during "Operation Metro Surge," the U.S. Department of Justice has said. The Justice Department cited the flood of lawsuits in pushing the 8th Circuit to quickly review the case, which progressed even as the administration wound down the enforcement campaign following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis by immigration agents. "MASSIVE COURT VICTORY against activist judges and for President Trump’s law and order agenda!" U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi declared in a social media post.

Reported similarly:
Breitbart [3/25/2026 6:06 PM, Neil Munro, 2238K]
CBS News [3/25/2026 5:55 PM, Sarah N. Lynch, 51110K]
Daily Signal [3/25/2026 7:14 PM, Fred Lucas, 474K]

The New York Times [3/25/2026 7:15 PM, Michael Gold, 148038K] reports Senate talks to reopen the Department of Homeland Security deadlocked anew on Wednesday after Democrats and Republicans both balked at each other’s latest offers, clashing over Democrats’ demands for new restrictions on federal agents carrying out President Trump’s deportation crackdown. Democrats formally rejected a Republican offer to simply remove money for immigration enforcement from the homeland security spending bill, insisting that any deal to fund the department include meaningful changes to tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Not long after, Republicans rejected a Democratic proposal that would have added such enforcement restrictions. The back and forth left the parties almost exactly where they were more than a month ago when the department shut down with the promise of bipartisan negotiations to agree on some ICE curbs. Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, described his party’s counteroffer as one that would reopen the department and “rein in” ICE agents “with common-sense guardrails.” Though Mr. Schumer did not describe the Democrats’ proposal in detail, two people familiar with it said that it contained narrow concessions on immigration enforcement that a bipartisan group of senators had been discussing with the White House last week, as well as two that Mr. Trump’s team had so far ruled out: barring federal immigration agents from wearing masks and requiring that they seek a judicial warrant before entering private homes. But Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, called the proposal a nonstarter. “They’re asking for things that have already been turned down,” he said. “So it just seems like they’re going in circles.” CNN [3/25/2026 2:24 PM, Sarah Ferris, Annie Grayer, Morgan Rimmer, Alison Main, and Aileen Graef, 612K] reports that the latest push to reopen the Department of Homeland Security is sputtering on Capitol Hill, with frustrations so high that some rank-and-file lawmakers in both parties are privately meeting on their own to try to salvage talks. Just a day earlier, Senate GOP leaders believed they’d found a compromise that would reopen the shuttered DHS by this weekend. But that plan — which would withhold money for federal immigration enforcement but without any policy changes — has fallen flat in both parties, leaving President Donald Trump and GOP leaders with no clear path to end the nearly 40-day stalemate before Congress leaves in two days for a two-week recess. And with Democrats, too, rejecting the strategy, an uncharacteristically downbeat Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that it felt that talks were "going in circles" – signaling the impasse could go on for much longer. Meanwhile, a leading Senate negotiator, GOP Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, huddled with several House Democratic centrists on Wednesday morning in a frantic attempt to salvage talks and keep both parties at the table for a deal, according to multiple people familiar with the meeting. Britt, as she left the meeting, told reporters that negotiators "have to" get a deal done this week, adding: "There’s deals on the table." Roll Call [3/25/2026 6:12 PM, Aris Folley, Savannah Behrmann and Aidan Quigley, 673K] reports that the stalemate is throwing the upcoming recess into question, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D, repeatedly threatening to keep lawmakers in town until DHS is funded. "I think it’s awfully hard not to have the government funded if we’re not here," he said. The Democratic offer retains their long-standing push for changes to immigration enforcement policy, including a requirement for agents to remove their masks and obtain judicial warrants to enter private properties, lawmakers said. It also includes some changes that the White House "has already agreed to in principle, like officer identification, body-worn cameras, protecting sensitive locations from enforcement standards, and basic training standards," a Democratic source familiar with the offer said. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York said Wednesday that Democrats had felt that negotiations with Republicans had been progressing and the most GOP recent offer was a step backwards. "We thought there had been some progress, but then Republicans sent us their offer yesterday and contained none of what had been talked about," Schumer said. "None of the reforms we had been discussing.” But Thune shot down the Democratic counteroffer shortly afterward, accusing Democrats of "asking for things that have already been turned down.” In another attempt to pressure Democrats into action, Thune brought a House-passed Homeland Security appropriations bill back up for another procedural vote on Wednesday, with an amendment from Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, stripping out $5.45 billion that would fund the Immigration and Custom Enforcement agency’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division. It would also provide back pay for Homeland Security workers who missed pay during the partial shutdown.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [3/25/2026 6:48 AM, Jared Gans, 18170K]
NPR [3/25/2026 1:37 PM, Sam Gringlas and Barbara Sprunt, 28764K]
FOX News [3/25/2026 10:45 AM, Alex Miller, 37576K]

Wall Street Journal [3/25/2026 5:01 PM, Siobhan Hughes, Olivia Beavers, and Terell Wright, 646K] reports lawmakers accused each other Wednesday of being too politically timid to strike a deal to end the standoff over immigration enforcement, with Democrats citing President Trump’s clout and Republicans charging that progressive activists were pulling the strings. Senate Democrats on Wednesday presented a counteroffer pressing for more restrictions on immigration and border-patrol agents as a condition of funding the Department of Homeland Security, but didn’t disclose details. A day earlier, Senate Republicans offered to fund all of DHS except for the unit of Immigration and Customs Enforcement that carries out arrests and deportations, but without any new rules on immigration agents. Long airport-security lines have heightened pressure on Congress to reach a deal on DHS, where funding lapsed Feb. 14. Delayed paychecks for workers at the Transportation Security Administration, part of DHS, have spurred an increase in absenteeism and meant delays for travelers headed on spring break. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) said he would move to vote on the GOP proposal, but the timing wasn’t set. While talks were continuing, the two sides blamed each other for the lack of immediate progress ahead of a self-imposed weekend deadline. “I don’t know how you get to a solution where they keep moving the goal posts, and where, when you hit a target that they said would be acceptable, they walk away from it,” Thune told reporters. “I don’t know how they will ever satisfy their crazy, online political base—because that’s what this is about,” he said. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.), struck a similar note. He said Democrats were “afraid of their radical base” and that the party’s leaders were “putting everybody in jeopardy, all the inconvenience and all the hardship, for their own political skins.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said that his party’s demands have been clear, and that Republicans and their deference to Trump were to blame. “We’ve been talking about ICE reforms from day one. These are not new demands. These are not surprise demands,” Schumer said in a floor speech Wednesday, while adding that the president was a barrier to a deal. Republicans are “still worried about, afraid of what he might say or do. That’s what this is all about,” he said.

Daily Caller [3/25/2026 3:33 PM, Andi Shae Napier, 803K] reports Democrats are refusing to provide votes for a newly brokered deal to fund the partially shut down Department of Homeland Security over a lack of ICE reforms — even though the agency is left out of the funding deal. The plan, negotiated by a group of Senate Republicans in the Oval Office on Monday, will fund 94% of DHS immediately and would address Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) later in a reconciliation bill, Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Tuesday. Democrats are wary of the brewing deal to fund every other portion of the department, with many members of the party claiming they will only support it if they secure their long-demanded reforms to the lone agency excluded from the funding bill. The deal sent to Senate Democrats Tuesday morning would not fund ICE removal operations (ERO) but would fund Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). This would give Democrats more time to negotiate reforms surrounding ICE and use-of-force policies — one of their biggest reform asks within the agency — during the month-long budget reconciliation process. The funding proposal also includes other Democratic-backed reforms, including additional funding for body cameras. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats sent their counterproposal to Republicans on Wednesday and said that same afternoon it "contains some of the very same asks Democrats have been talking about for months now" and would "rein in ICE with commonsense guardrails." However, Republican Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford said Wednesday the counteroffer was "not real" and contained nine new demands for DHS funding. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Democrats are "asking for things that have already been turned down."

FOX News [3/25/2026 5:04 PM, Alex Miller, 37576K] reports Senate Democrats blocked a last-minute attempt by Republicans to end the Homeland Security shutdown after the GOP rejected their "unserious" counteroffer. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., forced a vote on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill after swiftly killing Democrats’ offer earlier Wednesday afternoon. He accused their latest counter as "not even close to being real." The spur-of-the-moment test vote on Wednesday was designed to see whether Republicans could splinter any support from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats’ unified front to support their own framework to reopen the agency, which Democrats already rejected on Tuesday. But like the five times prior, the latest attempt was blocked by nearly every Senate Democrat. Still, Senate Democrats are pushing for stringent reforms to ICE, including requiring judicial warrants for agents and banning DHS agents from wearing masks. Those provisions were among nine total demands added to the GOP framework. Those asks, in particular, have been firm red lines for Republicans throughout the shutdown. The New York Post [3/25/2026 7:00 PM, Ryan King and Josh Christenson, 40934K] reports Democrats keep making demands to fund the Department of Homeland Security — leaving in limbo thousands of federal workers who can’t afford to miss another paycheck on Friday. Senate Republicans accused Democrats of derailing a once-promising sign earlier this week of getting a deal done to end the partial shutdown of DHS with their latest proposal. Democrats unveiled their counteroffer Wednesday that GOP sources described as more demands, though Dems insisted they are just digging in on existing asks to reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Nonetheless, the proposal threw a wrench in the talks — and a vote in the Senate to end the shutdown failed again with nearly all Democrats voting no. "It’s not even close to being real," Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) gasped to reporters about the latest counterproposal, noting "it includes things that they know are nonstarters.” "I don’t know how you get to a solution where they keep moving the goalposts and where, when you hit a target that they said would be acceptable, they walk away from it," Thune later added. "That’s happened multiple times, including most recently over the weekend.” Before Democrats made their most recent counteroffer, there were rumblings earlier this week of a breakthrough, a tenuous deal for Democrats to essentially agree to fund all DHS except for ICE’s deportation wing — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). Republicans would then fund it separately through a process known as budget reconciliation, which isn’t subject to the 60-vote filibuster. President Trump publicly sounded miffed at that proposal, saying Tuesday that "I’m pretty much not happy with it," but the deal seemed within striking distance nonetheless. Now, GOP senators are growing increasingly frustrated by Democrats, accusing them of changing their demands. Thune described the Democrats’ asks as "very confused and chaotic and changing by the day.” Over 480 airport screeners have quit since the partial shutdown began last month, and call-out rates have surged to double-digits, well above the roughly 2% rate before the funding lapse, the agency’s acting administrator, Ha Nguyen McNeill, told lawmakers Wednesday.

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NewsMax [3/25/2026 5:13 PM, Theodore Bunker, 3760K]

NewsMax [3/25/2026 11:33 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 3760K] reports Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Wednesday that the Senate Budget Committee will "expeditiously move" to create a second budget reconciliation bill "to make sure there is adequate funding to secure our homeland.” Graham, who chairs the committee, said the effort follows consultations with President Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and other Republican leaders as the GOP looks to advance key national security priorities without relying on Democrat support. "The number one priority of the federal government has always been keeping our homeland safe and keeping our enemies at bay," Graham said in a statement. "More funding will mean they can complete the task assigned and keep America safe — which is money well spent.” Republicans are increasingly turning to the budget reconciliation process, which allows legislation to pass with a simple majority in the Senate, bypassing the 60-vote filibuster threshold. That strategy could prove critical in a sharply divided Congress, where Democrats have opposed additional funding for immigration enforcement and certain defense initiatives. According to reports, the proposed legislation would prioritize bolstering homeland security, expanding resources for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and strengthening the U.S. military as global tensions, including the ongoing conflict involving Iran, continue to rise.

The Hill [3/25/2026 10:47 AM, Alexander Bolton, 18170K] reports the Senate Budget Committee is moving “expeditiously” to draft a second budget reconciliation bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) removal operations, enact elements of voting reform legislation and fund the war in Iran, according to a statement by Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Graham says he has the green light from President Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to begin working on a reconciliation package, which Republicans could pass through the Senate with a simple-majority vote, avoiding a Democratic filibuster. “After consulting with President Trump and his team and Leader Thune, the Senate Budget Committee will expeditiously move toward creating a second budget reconciliation bill,” Graham said in a statement. “The purpose of the second reconciliation bill is to make sure there is adequate funding to secure our homeland and to support our men and women in the military who are fighting so bravely,” he said. Graham said a second reconciliation bill could also be used to implement elements of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, a voting reform bill that is now on the Senate floor but faces a Democratic filibuster. “I also think we have many opportunities to improve voter integrity through reconciliation. President Trump and Leader Thune are right to push for a second reconciliation bill to address the threats we face and keep our elections secure and fair,” he said. Graham and Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Katie Britt (R-Ala.) presented the plan to remove ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) funding from the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill to help its passage through the Senate during a two-hour meeting at the White House on Monday.

The Hill [3/25/2026 6:00 AM, Alexander Bolton, 18170K] reports a proposal endorsed Monday by President Trump to end the 40-day shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is taking fire from Democrats and conservative Senate Republicans, delaying a possible vote to reopen the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and other critical agencies. The proposal to fund most of DHS but put off funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) removal operations appeared to have momentum, but that changed on Tuesday when critics in both parties panned it. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a rising conservative star, criticized the proposal during the Senate Republican lunch Tuesday for effectively cutting ICE’s budget and said he would not vote for it, according to sources familiar with the meeting. “I’m skeptical about voting to defund or to cut ICE funding,” he said after the meeting. “I would hope that we’re not going to be asked to do that. I do not want to vote to defund ICE. I don’t want to vote to cut ICE funding. I want ICE to be fully funded.” Republican colleagues who presented the proposal to Trump on Monday said they can provide more money for ICE’s deportation programs through a budget reconciliation package later in the year, but some conservatives are doubtful that will actually happen, given the difficulty of passing a reconciliation bill through both chambers with only GOP votes.

Bloomberg Government [3/25/2026 4:03 PM, Sarah Babbage, 111K] reports two House lawmakers announced a bipartisan proposal Wednesday that would restore funding to the Department of Homeland Security while making immigration agents subject to the same rules as law enforcement. The plan from Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) is unlikely to gain traction but signals a growing drive among lawmakers to end the shutdown. The pair said they’re working on legislation that would harmonize rules applicable to Immigration and Customs Enforcement with federal law enforcement agencies. The moderates’ plan seeks to satisfy Democrats’ demands for immigration enforcement changes that have led to a stalemate over agency funding now in its fifth week. The proposal would prohibit ICE from wearing masks during enforcement actions, impose stronger warrant requirements and rules around enforcement at "sensitive locations," and require the use of body cameras and IDs.

Breitbart [3/25/2026 12:54 PM, Jeff Poor, 2238K] reports that during Tuesday’s broadcast of Fox News Channel’s "The Ingraham Angle," Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) commented on the funding stalemate underway on Capitol Hill over the Department of Homeland Security. She said Democrats had the goal of abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and defunding federal law enforcement. "Senator, people just want to solve — creating piecemeal deals with the Democrats to get DHS funded," host Laura Ingraham said. "Senator, what can you tell us tonight?" Blackburn replied, "I can tell you this: This is the third time the Democrats have shut down DHS this year. DHS workers have gone without a paycheck 46% of the time, Laura. And what you see is the Democrats made a deal, it was bipartisan, then they backed away from the deal. Their goal is to abolish ICE and defund federal law enforcement. And right now, our appropriators, led by Susan Collins, they’re working on something to fund DHS and to make certain that workers are going to be paid." "And then Lindsey Graham, who chairs the Budget Committee, is working on a public safety reconciliation bill to make certain that we fund them for the rest of President Trump’s term," she added.

The Hill [3/25/2026 6:33 PM, Sudiksha Kochi, 18170K] reports Conservatives in both chambers are sharply shooting down the idea of trying to advance key provisions of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act through the budget reconciliation process, arguing the strategy has little chance of succeeding. Senate Republicans have been searching for an off-ramp to end the intense pressure campaign from President Trump and his allies to pass the GOP voting requirements bill, which they’ve been debating on the floor for two weeks even as unified Democratic opposition leaves it short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster in the upper chamber. But a proposal to pass pieces of the bill, which mandates voter IDs and proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, via the same partisan process they used for Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” last year was met with swift and angry pushback. “The Senate parliamentarian picked out a bunch of what they call policy items out of (the) One Big Beautiful Bill (Act). So how are they going to move SAVE America through reconciliation? They have a new parliamentarian over there that I don’t know about? See, that’s the mess. That’s the mess the Senate tries to pull, and they can see that they’re doing something and they’re not. That’s unfortunate,” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) said. Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) echoed similar sentiments, noting that the parliamentarian will “kill” any provision of the SAVE America Act “in two seconds.” “They’re not gonna let that through reconciliation. It’s policy. It’s not budget. It won’t work,” he said.

Houston Chronicle [3/25/2026 7:00 AM, Jeremy Wallace, 2493K] reports U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz sounds like he wants to give Democrats exactly what they’ve been asking for to end the nearly six-week-long, partial government shutdown. ​But there’s a catch. A big catch. On his podcast, Cruz said he and other Republicans should accept the Democrats’ offer to fund the entire Department of Homeland Security, except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ​”We should get the Democrats to fund all of DHS except ICE. Carve out ICE,” Cruz said on The Verdict. ​That might sound like a terrible idea to Republicans who support the immigration enforcement crackdown under President Donald Trump. But Cruz reminded his audience that, unlike TSA agents and other DHS employees, ICE agents are still getting paid during the shutdown because their funding came from Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, not the usual appropriations process. And, he said, the Republicans still have a path to fund ICE for the next decade without the need for any negotiation with Democrats. ​”So, agree to fund everything except ICE. And then what I urge my colleagues is, if they force us to do that, we should immediately take up a reconciliation bill and fund ICE for the next 10 years,” Cruz said. “And what I’ve advocated for, we should increase ICE’s budget by 10%.” ​Reconciliation is a procedural mechanism that allows the Senate to get around the typical 60-vote threshold on budget bills, meaning they would just need Republicans to stick together.

The Hill [3/25/2026 8:58 AM, Sophie Brams, 18170K] reports Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Tuesday that senators should not leave Washington for recess without securing funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) staffing problems snarl airport security lines. “You can’t leave until this is done,” McCarthy said during an appearance on NewsNation’s “The Hill.” “I mean, you’re really putting America in jeopardy,” he added. The Senate is scheduled to go on a two-week Easter recess starting Saturday, but with DHS funding hanging in the balance, some Republican senators are calling for the chamber to stay in session. A potential deal seemed within reach earlier this week when President Trump backed a proposal to end the shutdown by reopening DHS without Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) funding. That optimism was short-lived, however, as lawmakers from both parties rejected the option on Tuesday.

New York Times [3/25/2026 12:46 PM, Hamed Aleaziz and Pranav Baskar, 148038K] reports the Trump administration this winter secured a secret deal with the government of Cameroon to deport hundreds of migrants after remaining silent about a deadly crackdown against protesters there and withholding $30 million from a local United Nations office, according to officials and U.S. government documents. The deal is part of a broader Trump administration campaign to coax countries to accept migrants who cannot be legally deported from the United States to their home countries because they would likely face persecution. It is also the clearest example to date of the diplomatic horse-trading the United States uses to engineer such agreements. The documents obtained by The New York Times include confidential State Department correspondence and a funding memo, which connects the money transfer to the Cameroon deportation arrangement. The files, coupled with confirmation from officials, reveal how the U.S. government used financial pressure and political incentives to secure a deal that the deportees’ lawyer compared to “selling people.” Cameroon has, for more than four decades, been led by a strongman president, Paul Biya. The Trump administration opted not to criticize his disputed re-election in October, and said nothing afterward when security forces waged a deadly crackdown on protesters. That gave the United States leverage weeks later, diplomats wrote, when it came time to negotiate a deportation deal. The correspondence does not say that the U.S. withheld criticism in exchange for taking the migrants, but diplomats made clear that they believed the silence would play to their advantage in negotiations. To mount further pressure, the U.S. government withheld a $30 million disbursement to the Cameroon office of the U.N. refugee agency until Mr. Biya’s administration agreed to the deportation deal, according to a senior Cameroonian official. He, like other Cameroonians and Americans briefed on the arrangement, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.

Bloomberg [3/25/2026 7:01 AM, Jonathan Tamari and Tina Davis, 18082K] reports the standoff over funding for the Department of Homeland Security brought Step 1 on Monday and Step 2 on Tuesday, when members of both parties complained about Republican leaders’ proposed solution. Now comes the real action: watch for movement today and Thursday as Republicans and Democrats try to find a compromise as growing lines make air travel somehow even worse. The Capitol, like most workplaces, has its own rhythm. Tuesdays aren’t deal days, as Bloomberg’s Steven T. Dennis put it when we chatted. Mostly they are good for putting down markers. Deals are more likely to come late in the week as lawmakers’ flights home approach. That’s especially true when they have a recess coming, like the two-week break scheduled to start this weekend. The evolving plan looks like this: Republicans put forward a bill to fund DHS with one exception — $5.5 billion for ICE enforcement operations. It would pay some of ICE’s budget in addition to TSA, customs and other DHS agencies.

The Hill [3/25/2026 5:07 PM, Ryan Mancini, 18170K] reports Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials on Wednesday warned lawmakers on the House Committee on Homeland Security about the impacts that the funding lapse that has stretched for 40 days has had on their workers. The hearing comes as financial strain on Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at airports have contributed to waves of callouts and employees quitting after missing their first paycheck almost two weeks ago. President Trump has deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to help with lines and add to airport security. Trump on Monday backed a new bill that will fund the department but cuts funding for ICE drew ire from Democrats and conservative Senate Republicans. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), another critic of the bill, said Democrats would submit a counteroffer. DHS reported that 90 percent of its workforce is essential and is working without pay. The committee listened to testimony from TSA Acting Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Vice Commandant Adm. Thomas Allan, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Acting Director Nicholas Andersen and FEMA Associate Administrator Victoria Barton.

New York Times [3/25/2026 8:44 PM, Christina Morales, Christine Chung, Hamed Aleaziz, Sean Keenan and Rowan Moore Gerety, 148038K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stationed at several airports on Wednesday were checking travelers’ IDs and performing other screening duties alongside personnel from the Transportation Security Administration. Those activities were largely a departure from the roles ICE agents had been performing since Monday at other major airports. They have been deployed ostensibly to ease the hourslong security lines amid a shortage of T.S.A. workers, but have largely patrolled hallways and stood watch. At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, ICE agents could be spotted instructing travelers to insert their IDs into card readers, verifying their identities on a computer screen and then waving people toward scanning equipment, T.S.A. officers nearby appeared to guide them. At Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, armed ICE agents wearing ballistic vests checked IDs, looked at travelers’ documents and helped manage the flow of baggage on security conveyor belts. And a traveler at New York’s LaGuardia Airport said that an ICE agent checked his ID when he went through T.S.A. PreCheck. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that ICE agents were checking IDs. “After receiving standard T.S.A. training curriculum,” ICE officers were “verifying identification using T.S.A. equipment and standard operating procedures,” the agency’s acting assistant secretary, Lauren Bis, said in a statement. She said the officers’ duties also included guarding entrances and exits, and crowd control. But it was unclear on Wednesday afternoon exactly how many other airports were having ICE agents do similar screening work, whether that change was directly related to trying to ease wait times, and why ICE agents at some airports maintained more limited duties. A T.S.A. worker and an airport security guard in Phoenix said that ICE agents had been doing those screening duties since Monday. At Chicago O’Hare International Airport, ICE agents’ presence appeared to be minimal, and they did not appear to be screening passengers. Ms. Bis added in her statement that having ICE agents perform some screening functions would improve the situation. “The more support we have available, the more efficiently T.S.A. can focus on their highly specialized screening roles to efficiently get airport security lines moving faster,” she said. But it was unclear on Wednesday whether the move had a widespread effect on wait times. Some passengers worried that federal immigration agents were not qualified or authorized to carry out the responsibilities of T.S.A. officers. And some immigrants were concerned that they would be targeted by ICE. Jennifer Carlin, a nonprofit worker from San Francisco, arrived five hours early to the Atlanta airport on Wednesday afternoon after visiting her son in Columbus, Ga. She still had hundreds of people ahead of her in line. “You want people to feel confident when they’re coming to the airport to travel,” she said. “You want them to feel confident in the systems, the processes, the people, the security. And I think this is eroding some of the confidence in the American travel system.” One traveler in Phoenix who did not want to be identified out of fear of repercussions wondered if agents were going to ask for a birth certificate and was afraid of being pulled out of line. Heidi Altman, vice president of policy at the National Immigration Law Center, said the deployment to airports was an affront to Americans after they had “watched ICE agents terrorize their neighborhoods for over a year.”

Washington Post [3/26/2026 5:01 AM, Isaac Arnsdorf, Dan Diamond, and Theodoric Meyer, 24826K] reports facing record-high wait times at airport security checkpoints, President Donald Trump turned to an idea that gained traction after a woman from Arizona called into a right-wing talk radio show: send in immigration agents. The result has not reduced security lines, according to data from affected airports. Fliers on Wednesday were still taking four or more hours to clear security at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, where unpaid Transportation Security Administration agents skipping shifts have sharply reduced screenings. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged that wait times hadn’t decreased “as much as we’d like.” She did not address a question on whether stationing ICE agents at airports has affected their work on deportations. The deployment also has not broken the impasse over funding the Department of Homeland Security, which would restore TSA’s pay. Senate Democrats are holding out for more legal restraints on immigration agents, a demand that stems from agents’ killing of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January. Democrats sent the White House a new offer Wednesday, after rejecting a proposal from the chamber’s Republican leaders that would have funded TSA and other parts of DHS now and dealt separately with deportations. “They’ll ask for something, we’ll give them that concession, and then they say, ‘Oh, wait, that’s not enough, actually,’” Leavitt said of the Democrats on Wednesday. “They want to distract, I think, from the success of our military overseas right now, totally obliterating the Iranian regime.” Trump floated escalating things by deploying the National Guard. The White House did not elaborate.

Bloomberg [3/25/2026 10:07 AM, Erik Wasson, 18082K] reports on March 25, the partial US government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security reached its 40th day. Workers at some agencies across the department are continuing to work without pay, with the understanding that they will be compensated once the shutdown ends. Included are workers at the Transportation Security Administration, where staff shortages caused by employees calling in sick are leading to extended wait times at airports across the country. Congress must pass a spending bill to restore the department’s funding, and senators in both parties have expressed optimism about reaching an agreement. However, on March 24, Senate Democrats rejected the latest offer from Republicans because it did not include certain changes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Republicans, who hold a narrow majority in the 100-seat Senate, needed 60 votes to advance an appropriations bill ahead of a Feb. 13 deadline to finance the Department of Homeland Security for the year. The chamber’s Democrats withheld their support after the White House turned down their demands for new limits on immigration enforcement. Since the shutdown began, they have repeatedly voted down legislation to fund DHS. Democrats have tried to fund TSA and other parts of DHS not tied to immigration enforcement, but those efforts have been blocked by Republicans. Democrats are demanding that immigration enforcement agents stop wearing masks on US streets and that they obtain judicial warrants before entering homes. Republicans and the White House have so far refused both of those demands.

NewsMax [3/25/2026 9:58 AM, Brian Freeman, 3760K] reports some 100,000 employees at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have gone unpaid for work performed during the ongoing 39-day partial government shutdown, the Washington Examiner reported, citing the agency. The department said that 38% of its 260,000-person workforce has not received a full paycheck since the shutdown began in February, leaving a large number of employees working without compensation. El Pais added that more than half of the DHS employees have been determined to be nonessential and sent home without pay until an agreement is reached on the budget impasse. "Democrats are shamelessly playing politics with national security and putting a financial strain on DHS workers and their families," acting DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement to the Examiner. "100,000 DHS employees have missed their first full paycheck.” Bis said the lapse in funding has resulted in an estimated $1 billion in unpaid wages each month, adding that many affected workers are struggling to cover basic living expenses. "Thanks to the Democrats’ DHS shutdown, these men and women are being forced to work without pay, and many cannot pay their rent, [or] buy food or gas or other essentials," she said. "The DHS shutdown must end now.”

The Hill [3/25/2026 3:59 PM, Sophie Brams, 18170K] reports Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) unveiled legislation on Tuesday that would give Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees who have been forced to work without pay during the shutdown a 10 percent bonus when the agency reopens. The bill would require that DHS employees, including more than 61,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers, receive a one-time payment from their respective agencies no later than one day after funding is restored. Many Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers would not be eligible, according to Gallego, because their pay is still being funded through the billions of dollars secured for immigration agencies in the One Big Beautiful Bill last summer. Those employees have already missed one paycheck and are set to miss another come Friday if Democrats and Republicans are unable to reach a compromise to end the funding stalemate. The financial strain has pushed a growing number of workers to call out sick or quit the force altogether, acting TSA Administrator Ha McNeill told lawmakers on Wednesday during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing. McNeill said roughly 460 officers have left the agency since the shutdown began on Feb. 14, and callout rates are also surging as high as 40 to 50 percent at multiple airports across the country. The staffing shortage, coupled with an already-busy spring break travel season, has created a backlog at airport security checkpoints, with lines stretching several hours at some of the nation’s busiest hubs. President Trump deployed ICE officers to 14 airports earlier this week to assist with travel disruptions, a move TSA union workers have dismissed as an “insult” and “waste of money” and argue will do little to ease wait times.

Reported similarly:
NewsMax [3/25/2026 5:50 PM, Jim Mishler, 3760K]

The Hill [3/25/2026 3:15 PM, Sarah Fortinsky, 18170K] reports the top official at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) warned Congress on Wednesday that staffing shortages tied to the partial government shutdown could force the agency to close small airports and undermine the country’s readiness for this summer’s FIFA World Cup. In testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee, Ha Nguyen McNeill, the senior TSA official performing the duties of the administrator, said 460 TSA officers have quit since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ran out of funding on Feb. 14. More than 1,100 officers left during the 2025 shutdown. Coupled with rising call-out rates, attrition among officers has driven what McNeill described as “the highest wait times in TSA history,” which she said could compel the agency to make tough decisions, including closing some airports. The TSA chief also warned that high attrition among staff will have “dire” consequences for the country’s ability to prepare for the World Cup, scheduled from June 11 to July 19 across 16 North American cities, including 11 in the United States. McNeill said TSA is expecting the World Cup to bring in between 6 million and 10 million additional air travelers this summer. She expressed concern that the agency will lack trained officers to handle the influx, noting there isn’t enough time to start training new recruits.

CBS News [3/25/2026 1:28 PM, Steven Rosenbaum, 51110K] Video: HERE reports the first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North Texas is 81 days from Wednesday, and Dallas Police Department leaders spoke about their plans for securing the thousands of visitors and locals who will take part in the festivities. The Department of Homeland Security recently awarded the Dallas Host Committee more than $51 million in security funding, with $22 million of that going to DPD. Chief Daniel Comeaux said the department plans to spend the majority of the money on salaries and overtime for the officers who will be securing some of the events surrounding the World Cup. Despite the actual games being played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the World Cup will have a huge presence in Dallas proper. The International Broadcast Center will be based in the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Downtown, bringing 3,500 media members and staff from around the world. Fair Park will host the FIFA Fan Fest, which will be open on the 34 match days of the tournament from June 11 through July 19. In addition to food, entertainment and activities, the fan fest will be a giant watch party for the matches themselves, expected to draw 1.5 million people over the course of the tournament. The department has also allocated $1.3 million for new equipment like surveillance cameras, portable anti-ramming barricades and additional vehicles to use during the tournament.

NewsMax [3/25/2026 12:10 PM, Charlie McCarthy, 3760K] reports that President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he "may call up the National Guard" to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deal with long lines at airports due to the partial government shutdown. In a series of Truth Social posts, Trump blasted Democrats for what he described as a worsening travel crisis caused by their refusal to reach a deal to fund key homeland security operations. "Blame the Democrats for the Airport’s mess, Trump wrote, arguing that political obstruction has led to staffing shortages and major delays at security checkpoints nationwide. "They want our Country to do badly. They want our Country to fail." The president praised ICE agents who have already been deployed to assist at airports, calling them "great ICE Patriots" and crediting their efforts with helping ease disruptions. Still, he indicated more action could be necessary if conditions continue to deteriorate. "I may call up the National Guard for more help," Trump said. The remarks come as the partial government shutdown has stretched on, affecting the Department of Homeland Security and contributing to reduced staffing at the Transportation Security Administration. Reports have indicated long wait times at several major airports, particularly during a busy travel season.

New York Post [3/25/2026 7:25 PM, Josh Christenson, 40934K] reports that a federal watchdog has been investigating hundreds of millions of dollars in Department of Homeland Security contracts approved under former Secretary Kristi Noem and her top adviser Corey Lewandowski — and faced extensive obstruction in its oversight attempts, The Post has learned. DHS employees have been asked to preserve all records amid the DHS Office of Inspector General’s (DHS OIG) ongoing probe into fiscal year 2025 grants and contracts — including no-bid pacts related to a $220 million ad campaign starring Noem, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Investigators have also been "systematically obstructed" from other lines of inquiry — with Noem trying to fire Inspector General Joseph Cuffari twice before leaving her post only to be stopped by the White House, according to sources and records. Congressional committee leaders were informed this month that one of those ongoing investigations facing obstacles was a federal criminal probe "with national security implications.” Two sources noted that as part of the contracts investigation, Cuffari’s office has contacted several people working at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), where Madison Sheahan — a top Lewandowski ally — served as deputy director until this past January, when she resigned to run for Congress in Ohio.

Reported similarly:
DailySignal [3/25/2026 4:46 PM, Virginia Allen, 474K]

FOX News [3/25/2026 12:00 PM, Adam Pack, 37576K] reports that Congressional Democrats are pressing the Republican-controlled House to subpoena Corey Lewandowski — former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s top advisor — over his alleged role in a controversial border security ad campaign that prompted bipartisan criticism. House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Co., sent a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on Wednesday demanding the committee launch an investigation and require Lewandowski to sit for a deposition. The lawmakers argue the matter is an urgent taxpayer oversight issue and want Jordan to compel witness testimony and documents related to Lewandowski’s influence over the ad campaign. "We urge you to use the Committee’s subpoena power to compel production of documents and communications regarding Mr. Lewandowski’s role in awarding these contracts and require Mr. Lewandowski to appear before the Committee for a deposition," the Democratic lawmakers wrote. "Mr. Lewandowski was at the center of the Department’s advertising spending and is the person best positioned to explain how a quarter of a billion dollars in taxpayer money was spent." Fox News Digital reached out to Jordan for comment.

NBC News [3/25/2026 4:54 PM, Julia Ainsley, Laura Strickler and Ryan Nobles, 42967K] reports three Democratic senators have requested that two companies preserve records of their communications with Corey Lewandowski following an NBC News report that the companies were allegedly asked to pay him as part of the contracting process with the Department of Homeland Security. Sens. Adam Schiff, Peter Welch and Richard Blumenthal, the ranking member on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, asked Salus Worldwide Solutions and Geo Group to preserve "personal records, corporate records, and all communications with Mr. Lewandowski, any person representing or purporting to be acting on behalf of Mr. Lewandowski, or any consulting firms associated with Mr. Lewandowski." It is not clear whether Lewandowski received any money from businesses contracting with the government; he has denied it. Earlier this week, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee sent a letter to GEO Group asking for details of meetings and conversations the private prison company had with Lewandowski. The DHS inspector general launched a criminal investigation into the awarding of a $220 million contract for a department advertising campaign featuring then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, according to testimony by her successor, Markwayne Mullin, at his nomination hearing last week. That investigation has expanded and now includes a wider range of contracts, according to a source familiar with the matter.

New York Post [3/25/2026 5:30 PM, Emily Goodin and Steven Nelson, 40934K] reports Corey Lewandowski is leaving his controversial role as a special government employee and won’t be working under his alleged mistress Kristi Noem at the State Department — despite joining her on a multination tour of Latin America this week, four sources told The Post. Lewandowski’s exit was described by a White House official and three sources close to the Trump administration — after the ousted Homeland Security duo was seen in South America. Noem was replaced as homeland security secretary Tuesday by Senate-confirmed Markwayne Mullin and now serves as special envoy to the new Shield of the Americas initiative. Three of The Post’s sources said the final decision for Lewandowski to leave the administration was made either on Tuesday — when the couple was shown in photos released by Guyana’s government promoting the newly launched anti-crime initiative — or on Wednesday. Two sources said President Trump is forcing Lewandowski out after Trump expressed disapproval of a $220 million ad campaign featuring Noem and other contracting decisions Lewandowski made while serving as her de facto chief of staff. A third source said that Lewandowski made the call himself because he wasn’t interested in working at the State Department, where Noem will report to Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau — after serving as a Cabinet secretary reporting directly to Trump. Although Lewandowski won’t be joining her, Noem requested and received permission to transfer 10 other DHS subordinates to the State Department, Politico reported. Noem’s current trip to Latin America began when she was still secretary of Homeland Security and has featured stops in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Costa Rica and Guyana — with a final leg in Ecuador. Lewandowski’s presence was revealed by photos from the fourth stopover. It’s unclear whether the end of his official duties will impact Lewandowski’s future ability to travel with Noem.

Reuters [3/25/2026 4:37 PM, Simon Lewis and Ted Hesson, 38315K] reports former Department of Homeland Security Secretary ​Kristi Noem will wrap up a tour of Western Hemisphere nations in her new job as the U.S. ‌envoy to a coalition against drug cartels on Wednesday, marking the start of a diminished role after she was fired by President Donald Trump earlier this month. Noem, who continued to travel on a DHS jet with top aide Corey Lewandowski at her side, met Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa on Wednesday, who awarded ​her an order of merit. The former congresswoman and governor of South Dakota, who arrived in Washington in January 2025 as ​one of Trump’s most prominent loyalists, now reports not to the president but to Deputy Secretary ⁠of State Christopher Landau as special envoy to the Shield of the Americas, according to a Trump official who spoke to Reuters ​on condition of anonymity to discuss internal operations. Noem is expected to return to the United States later on Wednesday and is not ​anticipated to retain access to DHS aircraft afterward, the official said.

Reported similarly:
New York Post [3/25/2026 4:50 PM, Alex Oliveira, 40934K]

New York Post [3/25/2026 6:00 AM, Staff, 40934K] reports America doesn’t have to suffer whenever Democrats — or Republicans — decide to hold airline passengers hostage with a government shutdown that inevitably leads to hours-long TSA lines. One easy fix is to privatize airport security, as it already is at multiple hubs. If agents aren’t federal employees, they’ll still get paid during a government shutdown, so won’t skip shifts and produce those monster lines as much as five hours long. The problem now is Democrats’ refusal to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which includes TSA — but Republicans have triggered past shutdowns; both parties are all too likely to keep doing it. But travelers at 20 airports where private companies do screening (San Francisco International, Kansas City International, Orlando Sanford and more) get spared. By the way, some studies suggest private contractors do better at uncovering security threats and are more cost-effective — more reason to make the change. Another solution: Fund TSA directly via the ticket surcharges originally imposed for that very purpose.

Houston Chronicle [3/25/2026 6:00 AM, Staff, 2493K] reports welcome to Hotel Houston. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. Or at least you might have to wait four hours in the security line at the airport. Travelers are likely second-guessing coming to our fair city given our ignominious place atop the nation’s worst of the worst for long airport lines and unpaid Transportation Security Administration worker callouts amid the ongoing partial government shutdown. And it couldn’t come at a worse time. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo may be over but we’ve got CERAWeek, two Sweet Sixteen college basketball matches, opening day for the Houston Astros, the Houston Open golf tournament and the last hurrahs of spring break. We’re even seeing reports of local organizations rescheduling long-planned events so that attendees don’t have to endure the multi-hour waits at our airports. Meanwhile, the unpaid airport workers now have to deal with ICE agents shadowing them and sipping Starbucks like bored summer interns (only they’re getting paid and the TSA workers aren’t). The public cares. Do our lawmakers? Houston is the fourth-largest city in the country. We’ve worked hard to attract tourists and become a destination city, not just a business town. We shouldn’t be penalized for our successes. Everyone who wants to should be able to cheer on the University of Houston’s men’s basketball team Thursday as they take on Illinois, whether at the Toyota Center or one of many watch parties around town. They should be able to hear from the biggest thinkers in corporate energy from around the world — if that’s their jam — at the George R. Brown Convention Center. They should be able to visit our world-renowned museums and parks to enjoy a family-friendly spring break.

Bloomberg [3/25/2026 1:45 PM, Erika D. Smith, 18082K] reports that Markwayne Mullin, the newly sworn in secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, couldn’t ask for a bigger hype man than President Donald Trump. “Everybody wanted this job,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, as Mullin looked on. “I said there’s one man for this job and I have no doubt he’s going to be fantastic.” But hype will only get a member of Trump’s Cabinet so far. (Just ask former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.) And Trump is not exactly setting Mullin up for success. A partial government shutdown continues to cripple DHS. Airport security workers aren’t getting paid and the resulting staffing shortages are creating lines so long that waiting travelers now regularly spill out of terminals and into parking lots. The acting chief of the Transportation Security Administration warned a House committee on Wednesday that US airports are experiencing their “highest wait times in history,” with more than 40% of agents not reporting for work at some airports. In response, Mullin has vowed — as he wrote again on X on Tuesday — that his “first priority” as secretary will be to “end the partisan fighting” and reopen the department. Yet Trump has been largely working at cross purposes, prolonging the shutdown through self-interested ultimatums and self-defeating policy decisions.

Wall Street Journal [3/25/2026 4:52 PM, Barton Swaim, 646K] reports you wouldn’t know it from Capitol Hill and activist-class bombast, but voters on both left and right have moderated on immigration. Is a compromise possible? Probably not, inasmuch as elected Democrats, having labeled Donald Trump a fascist, can’t then be seen to negotiate with him, and the administration’s ultras think migrant laborers drive up prices and crime. But public sentiment clusters near the middle, and one day politicians may find their way there.

Daily Caller [3/25/2026 4:25 PM, Ashley Brasfield, 803K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the arrest of multiple illegal aliens convicted of child sex crimes in one day, according to a statement obtained by the Daily Caller. Officials announced the arrest of five illegal immigrants who have been found guilty serious offenses, including sexual abuse of a child, gang assault and incest, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statement. The individuals were nationals of Mexico, Laos, China and Jamaica. "Yesterday, ICE arrested MULTIPLE pedophiles from across the country," Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told the Caller. "These monsters preyed on and victimized children. Under President [Donald] Trump and Secretary Mullin, ICE is removing child predators from our country."

CNN [3/26/2026 12:22 AM, Priscilla Alvarez, 19874K] reports the Justice Department admitted to a federal judge Tuesday it’s been incorrectly relying on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo to justify arrests at immigration courts, according to a new court filing in an ongoing lawsuit. The lawsuit – brought by civil rights groups last year – challenges the Trump administration’s policy of arresting people at immigration courts, a practice that garnered national attention last year as immigrants showed up to their court hearings as part of the legal immigration process. In a letter addressed to Judge Kevin Castel and filed Tuesday, Jay Clayton, US attorney for the Southern District of New York, conceded that the administration made misrepresentations to the court about a May 2025 ICE memo that has been repeatedly referenced in the case. In its defense of the policy, the federal government leaned on the ICE guidance, but that memo, DOJ learned this week, is about enforcement actions in or near courthouses, not immigration courts specifically. Immigration courts fall under the Justice Department’s jurisdiction. "We write respectfully and regrettably to correct a material mistaken statement of fact that the Government made to the Court and Plaintiffs," Clayton wrote in the letter, adding counsel from ICE informed DOJ earlier in the day that the guidance "does not and has never applied to civil immigration enforcement actions" near immigration courts. Clayton said the government would withdraw portions of its briefs and statements made at oral arguments last September that relied on the guidance. "We deeply regret that this error has come to light at this late stage, after the parties have expended significant resources and time to litigate this case and this court has carefully considered Plaintiffs’ challenge to the 2025 ICE guidance," the prosecutor wrote in the letter. CNN has reached out to ICE for comment. In response to the federal government’s admission, the New York Civil Liberties Union and American Civil Liberties Union, both of which are involved in the lawsuit, said the "implications of this development are far-reaching.” "In the months since the Court relied on the government’s representation to deny Plaintiffs preliminary relief, Defendants have continued arresting noncitizens at their immigration court hearings, resulting in their detention—often in facilities hundreds of miles away," they wrote in a letter addressed to the judge. Last year, the Trump administration began detaining migrants in courthouse hallways nationwide, sometimes moments after pleading their cases. The move raised alarm among attorneys and advocates who said the practice was turning immigration courts from places of due process into zones of fear and punishing people who were following the rules.

Reported similarly:
NBC News [3/25/2026 11:00 PM, Chloe Atkins, 42967K]
Newsweek [3/25/2026 5:11 PM, Dan Gooding, 52220K]

NewsMax [3/25/2026 1:03 PM, Brian Freeman, 3760K] reports that White House border czar Tom Homan told "The Charlie Kirk Show" that he would not rule out the possibility of immigration enforcement presence at polling places. He questioned concerns about potential enforcement activity near voting sites, suggesting it should not be controversial if only U.S. citizens are eligible to vote. "Are illegal aliens voting? I mean, bottom line is, What are [Democrats] afraid of?" Homan said. "Part of Department of Homeland Security’s job is to secure elections, and I’m not going to say what our plan is going forward, but if only U.S. citizens can vote, I don’t see the issue of what they’re concerned about." Homan’s remarks come amid mixed messaging from administration officials over whether agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could be deployed to polling locations, The Hill reported. The possibility has prompted sharp pushback from Democrats, who argue that the presence of armed federal agents at voting sites could deter participation and undermine confidence in elections. Voting rights advocates and Democrat officials have emphasized that documented cases of noncitizens attempting to vote in U.S. elections are rare, countering claims of widespread voter fraud.

The Hill [3/25/2026 10:59 AM, Rebecca Beitsch, 18170K] reports White House border czar Tom Homan on Tuesday did not rule out the presence of immigration enforcement at polling places, asking what Democrats are “afraid of.” Homan’s comments, made during an appearance on “The Charlie Kirk Show,” are the latest in the back and forth as the Trump administration gives inconsistent answers over whether they would dispatch U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to polling sites. Democrats have been clear they see any such move as an intimidation tactic while questioning why armed agents would be needed near polling places. “Are illegal aliens voting? I mean, bottom line is, what are they afraid of? And they say illegal aliens don’t vote. Well, look, you know, part of DHS’ job is secure elections, and I’m not going to say, you know, you know, what our plan is going forward, but if only U.S. citizens can vote, I don’t see the issue of what they’re concerned about,” Homan said, referencing the Department of Homeland Security. Reviews have found just a handful of instances where noncitizens have attempted to vote in U.S. elections, countering GOP claims of widespread fraud. DHS officials have given conflicting answers over whether ICE officers might be stationed at polling places.

The Hill [3/25/2026 9:39 AM, Sarah Davis, 18170K] reports White House border czar Tom Homan on Tuesday expressed the Trump administration’s commitment to cracking down on sanctuary cities following the killing of a college student in Chicago last week. “President Trump wants to take sanctuary cities on, and we’re going to continue taking them on,” Homan told NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich. “We got to end sanctuary city policies, because doing so will save thousands, thousands of lives.” Chicago is one of 200-plus cities or counties in 13 states that have implemented a sanctuary city policy, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. These municipalities pledge to not cooperate with federal authorities on immigration enforcement operations. The death of Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman has brought renewed calls from Trump administration officials to crack down on sanctuary city policies. Gorman was fatally shot by a Venezuelan citizen last Thursday. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker accused the White House of “politicizing” her death and condemned the killing. “The Trump Administration needs to stop politicizing heinous tragedies and instead focus on real solutions, like reinstating federal funds to prevent violence that support our public safety efforts,” Pritzker said in a Tuesday statement shared with NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network.

FOX News [3/25/2026 11:00 AM, Leo Briceno, 37576K] reports Democrats blasted President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to airports across the country on Monday as travel centers struggle to maintain a security presence amid a partial government shutdown, which is now nearing the 40-day mark. "There’s absolutely no reason for him to do that," said Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas. "[Trump] has put a stop to it.” Instead of using ICE to meet security needs at airports, Escobar said that Congress should pass a proposal that separates funding for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from the gridlock. Fellow Democrat Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., echoed Escobar’s condemnation of the deployment. "I think it’s a horrible, horrible idea that’s just going to cause more problems," Grijalva said. Like the rest of the agencies that operate under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), funding for TSA ran dry on Feb. 14 over Democrat-led demands to reform ICE, the agency at the heart of Trump’s immigration crackdown. Democrats have conditioned their support for DHS funding on a ban on masks for ICE agents, stiffer warrant requirements for apprehending suspects in public and a ban on roaming patrols, among other changes. Republicans have rebuffed the demands, arguing they would handcuff Trump’s immigration enforcement goals. Republicans need at least seven Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster in the Senate, where they hold just 53 seats. As the standoff reaches the 40-day mark, TSA agents have struggled to continue working while covering costs. Trump announced on Monday that he would deploy ICE in an effort to shore up airport security.

Blaze [3/25/2026 5:20 PM, Carlos Garcia, 1556K] reports President Donald Trump is praising the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who are helping at airports amid a partial government shutdown and says the public is responding positively. Long lines at airports have been plaguing travelers since a congressional standoff paused some funding for the Department of Homeland Security, affecting mainly the Transportation Security Administration. While the media has tried to scare the public into thinking ICE agents would harass and detain U.S. citizens, other reports say the program has been a success. The president went on to say the Democrats’ criticism against ICE has backfired. ICE has been sent to 14 U.S. airports to help with the long lines, according to border czar Tom Homan, who added, "If they see criminal activity, just like a law enforcement officer, they should take action."

Daily Caller [3/25/2026 4:49 PM, Nicole Silverio, 803K] reports White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked Wednesday whether deportations will decline in the U.S. while ICE agents are assisting with security and staffing problems at several shutdown-affected airports. President Donald Trump deployed between 100 and 150 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to several major airports to assist the shortage in Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents, after many quit or are unable to work due to the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Leavitt told the Daily Caller White House correspondent Reagan Reese that security lines, have dropped as a result of the move, but the administration is hoping it will improve further. Despite ICE’s presence at the airports, passengers have reported waiting in lines for up to six hours, according to CBS News.

The Hill [3/25/2026 2:12 PM, Max Rego, 18170K] reports that President Trump on Wednesday praised U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers for their work at airports this week as lengthy security wait times stack up amid the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding lapse. “I am so proud of our ICE Patriots! They were unfairly maligned by the Lunatic Democrats for years, and now, at the Airports, in addition to what they are supposed to be doing, they are helping people with bags, even picking up and cleaning areas,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “They are so proud to be there! The fact is, they shouldn’t have to do this, but they are rehabbing a fake image given to them by Radical Left Democrat politicians.” ICE officers on Monday began assisting Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staffers who are working without pay due to the partial government shutdown affecting DHS. Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill told the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday that ICE officers are assisting with “queue management,” exit lane staffing and giving passengers instructions on how to load up bins, among other tasks. “It takes a while to really get folks embedded into our operations and it’s gone extremely well, and our feedback from the passengers and our field leadership has been very positive,” she said, in response to questioning from Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.).

USA Today [3/25/2026 3:20 PM, Nicole Fallert, 70643K] reports officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been sighted at airports across America after President Donald Trump called for their deployment over the weekend. ICE officers have reported to more than a dozen U.S. airports this week to assist Transportation Security Administration agents with extreme crowds amid a partial government shutdown. The move to send in ICE officers aims to "strengthen TSA operations, help keep our skies safe, and reduce disruptions for the traveling public," Department of Homeland Security acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in an emailed statement to USA TODAY on March 25. But some travelers have questioned the purpose of the armed officers stationed at airports as long lines persist despite their presence. ICE officers are not trained to operate X-ray machines, among other TSA operations. CNN reported the initial 13 locations where ICE officers were sent, noting their jobs could vary by airport and deployments could change. The New York Times reported that ICE and Homeland Security Investigations personnel would be sent to a total of 14 airports. Since then, media reports have identified additional airports where ICE officers were present.

Bloomberg [3/25/2026 5:03 PM, Zoe Tillman, 18082K] reports US Justice Department lawyers told a federal judge that they’ve been relying on incorrect information for months in a fight over the Trump administration’s migrant arrest tactics, and blamed Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the “regrettable error.” In a letter filed Tuesday night, the US attorney’s office in Manhattan said it would withdraw arguments it made over the past year defending civil migrant arrests at US immigration courts based on May 2025 ICE guidance. Although the government isn’t dropping its defense against the lawsuit altogether, the revelation could hurt its case going forward. Lawyers representing advocacy groups challenging the immigration court arrests told the judge in a letter on Wednesday that the “extraordinary” admission by the government could have “far-reaching” consequences. They said that the judge relied on the government’s now-retracted representations in denying a request to temporarily block the policy in September while the case went forward. The US attorney’s office acknowledged in its letter to US District Judge P. Kevin Castel that the September decision “will need to be reconsidered and re-briefed” as the judge weighs the merits of the fight.

Telemundo 51 [3/25/2026 11:17 AM, Staff, 162K] reports that the Government of Mexico announced this Wednesday that, over the past year, 13 Mexican nationals have lost their lives while in custody or during operations conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—a situation it described as "absolutely unacceptable" and one that has already prompted diplomatic protests directed at Washington. "This is absolutely unacceptable to the Government of Mexico, as we are speaking of 13 individuals who have tragically lost their lives during immigration enforcement operations or while in ICE custody," stated Roberto Velasco, Mexico’s Undersecretary for North America, during the presidential press conference. The official specified that, of these deaths, four were recorded in California, three in Georgia, two in Arizona, one in Texas, one in Florida, one in Missouri, and one in another unspecified state. The victims ranged in age from 19 to 69; according to reports, six deaths resulted from medical complications, four were suicides, two occurred during ICE operations, and one took place during a shooting in Dallas. Velasco further detailed that the Foreign Ministry has offered assistance with the repatriation of remains in all 13 cases and, regarding legal matters, noted that Mexico is already providing support to the families involved.

Univision [3/25/2026 10:47 AM, Staff, 4937K] reports that on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, during the morning press conference held by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, Juan Ramón De la Fuente Ramírez—the Secretary of Foreign Affairs—revealed the number of Mexicans detained by ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents. The Foreign Secretary reported that officials have conducted 12,866 visits to detention centers across the United States, averaging 30 visits per day. Juan Ramón De la Fuente detailed that since January 20, 2026, ICE has detained 177,192 Mexicans. "At this moment, there are 13,722 people in detention." Furthermore, he reported that there are currently 5,285 cases in litigation—cases initiated at the request of Mexican nationals—which the consular network is working to coordinate and provide legal assistance for. He emphasized that, strictly speaking, consulates cannot initiate legal action themselves; rather, such action must be undertaken by the individual in question. Consequently, the role played by the consulate centers on providing access to a network of legal aid services, which Mexican nationals may request. To date, assistance has been provided in 152,625 cases prior to the individuals’ return to Mexico. Of the 192,500 individuals who received assistance from the Ministry of the Interior (Segob) upon their repatriation, 152,000 had previously received consular support.

Breitbart [3/25/2026 1:28 PM, Hannah Knudsen, 2238K] reports that Democrats are demanding reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including a ban on ICE agents wearing masks during raids, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said this week, adding background to Americans dealing with travel nightmares at airports nationwide as the partial government shutdown marches on. "Senate Democrats want to ban ICE officers from wearing masks so their left-wing street militias can dox the officers and terrorize the officers’ wives and children at their homes," Cotton said on Wednesday, day 40 of the Senate battle over funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). "That’s why TSA lines are so long," the senator added. While lawmakers initially suggested they were making headway in coming to an agreement, Democrats are continuing to push ICE reforms, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) signaling they would send a counterproposal with "significant" reforms that would "rein in" ICE, specifically taking repeated issue with the use of masks. All the while, a travel nightmare unraveled in recent days as Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers remain unpaid, resulting in thousands calling out and pile-ups at airports. Travel delays prompted the Trump administration to deploy ICE agents to over a dozen airports nationwide to help with crowd control, check IDs, and offer help — in the form of handing out water bottles and holding places in line — to weary travelers.

Daily Mail [3/25/2026 11:21 PM, Stephen M. Lepore] reports President Trump planned to defy NYC’s socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani by sending around 500 ICE agents to LaGuardia and John F Kennedy airports, reports said. The Department of Homeland Security will continue its surge of ICE agents to airports amid chaos at TSA lines from a partial government shutdown, NewsNation reported. ‘TSA is extremely grateful to the patriotic men and women of ICE who have deployed to airports that are facing a high number of callouts because of the Democrats’ shutdown,’ Acting DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said. ‘After receiving standard TSA training curriculum, ICE officers are guarding entrances and exits, assisting with logistics, doing crowd control, and verifying identification using TSA equipment and standard operating procedures.’ Bis noted that the TSA agent callout rate was 11.14 percent on Tuesday, with JFK having one of the highest callout rates in the country at 36.8 percent. Mamdani has been highly critical of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the past, calling for the agency to be abolished and claiming they have ‘terrorized’ US citizens. ‘The more support we have available, the more efficiently TSA can focus on their highly specialized screening roles to efficiently get airport security lines moving faster,’ Bis added.

Daily Wire [3/25/2026 8:21 AM, Hank Berrien, 2314K] reports that New York City socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whose hostility to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been well-documented, slammed the Trump administration’s decision to deploy ICE agents to some airports as staffing shortages resulting from a partial government shutdown continue. Mamdani, a vocal critic of Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts, took to social media on Tuesday, saying "ICE doesn’t belong at our airports," while simultaneously directing illegal immigrants to a municipal "legal hotline" to help them with "updated guidance." ICE doesn’t belong at our airports. For Mamdani, the presence of ICE isn’t about security; it’s about "terrorizing" people. He has called for abolishing ICE, describing it as a "rogue agency" with "no interest in laws," apparently oblivious to the irony that his own administration’s "sanctuary" posturing is the ultimate defiance of law and order. In 2025, he stated that ICE was "a rogue agency, one that has no interest in laws, no interest in order." Appearing on CNN in January, Mamdani lamented the "heightened sense of anxiety and fear" felt by New Yorkers, describing the deployment of law enforcement as "cruel and inhumane."

FOX News [3/25/2026 5:38 PM, Julia Bonavita, 37576K] reports a transgender illegal alien who pleaded guilty to molesting a teenage boy inside a New York City bodega last year is expected to be given a sweetheart deal avoiding additional jail time. Nicol Alexandra Contreras-Suarez, a 31-year-old biological male Colombian immigrant, confessed to second-degree rape after authorities said Contreras-Suarez sexually assaulted a 14-year-old boy in East Harlem last year, according to the New York Post. Contreras-Suarez was initially charged with first-degree rape of a child less than age 17 and stalking. Contreras-Suarez was reportedly promised a sentence of just six months in prison by a Manhattan Supreme Court judge on Tuesday. However, Contreras-Suarez is expected to be granted credit for time served, meaning the defendant will be released from custody at sentencing April 27 unless federal immigration officials step in, the Post reported. The deal was reportedly reached by prosecutors working with the teenage victim’s family in an effort to keep the boy from having to take the stand in front of a grand jury and at trial. At the time of Contreras-Suarez’s arrest, the suspect was reportedly facing prostitution, robbery and weapons charges in Massachusetts, according to the Department of Homeland Security. However, "due to local sanctuary policies," Contreras-Suarez was subsequently released, DHS officials revealed at the time. In March 2023, Contreras-Suarez was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for illegally crossing the border in San Ysidro, California, according to DHS. ICE officials subsequently lodged an immigration detainer against Contreras-Suarez after the Manhattan arrest last year.

Reported similarly:
New York Post [3/25/2026 5:22 PM, Priscilla DeGregory and Chris Nesi, 40934K] r
Breitbart [3/25/2026 3:47 PM, Warner Todd Huston, 2238K] r

Breitbart [3/25/2026 12:40 PM, John Binder, 2238K] reports that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested an illegal alien accused of raping a five-year-old girl in Long Island, New York. "Carlos Aguilar Reynoso, a criminal illegal alien from Guatemala, was charged for raping a five-year-old child in New York," the Department of Homeland Security’s Lauren Bis said in a statement: While local law enforcement processed DNA evidence and built their case, they contacted ICE to arrest this pedophile so he would not be released into our communities to prey on more innocent children. On March 16, ICE transferred this monster to local law enforcement to face justice for his reprehensible crimes. This case shows why we need local law enforcement cooperation. When we work together, our communities are safer. [Emphasis added]. Police allege that Aguilar Reynoso was asked to babysit the five-year-old girl. When the girl’s mother returned to her residence, she found her daughter bleeding and rushed her to a nearby hospital. As the girl’s mother waited for the results of the rape DNA test, Suffolk County law enforcement charged Aguilar Reynoso with child endangerment. To make sure that Aguilar Reynoso would not benefit from New York’s bail reform laws, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney had a criminal court issue the illegal alien a desk appearance ticket for the child endangerment charge. As a result, ICE agents were able to take Aguilar Reynoso into their custody on February 2, the minute he walked out of the police precinct in Suffolk County. ICE agents turned the illegal alien over to Suffolk County police on March 16 so he could face child rape charges.

New York Post [3/25/2026 5:02 PM, Kevin Sheehan and David Propper, 40934K] reports that a soon-to-be beach bum with the most Brooklyn accent over won over the internet with a viral a clip of him saying ICE agents were simply trying to “help” the overwhelmed security lines at airports nationwide. Chris Scali’s brief interview with News 12 was quickly spread online after he shrugged off lefty criticism of the federal agents’ presence at Newark Liberty International Airport this week. “Alright, they’re good, they’re here to help. They’re not bothering nobody. As long as they can check my bags and get me on my flight, I’m good to go,” he continued, with a distinctly south Brooklyn brogue. “Right? I want to get to the Bahamas. I want out of here.” Online denizens went crazy for Scali’s cadence. “I think stating he was from Brooklyn was not required,” one noted with a smiley face. “Is it sauce or gravy?” another quipped. “A, oh somebody get this guy a cannoli! Bravo!” a third cracked. ICE agents were also on hand at LaGuardia Airport to assist with the hours-long security lines Wednesday. “I don’t mind them being here because they’re here to help people and keep this line moving,” restaurant manager Mary Bojeng, 25, said as she tried to catch a flight to Tampa. “I believe, you know, everybody has a right to be here. But no, they’re just here helping and it’s good with me.” The show of support comes as Democrats have lambasted ICE’s arrival at airports to help alleviate stress on TSA agents who are working without paychecks due to a partial government shutdown. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The New York Times [3/25/2026 12:30 PM, Tracey Tully, 148038K] reports that Gov. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey signed legislation on Wednesday to prohibit on-duty law enforcement officers, including immigration agents, from wearing masks. Federal officials have already said they will ignore the new rule, which is likely to lead to a court challenge. The initiative is part of a package of bills the Democratic governor enacted on Wednesday to protect migrant rights in New Jersey, which has the country’s second-largest percentage of immigrants after California. Ms. Sherrill campaigned on a promise to blunt what she has called the chaos of President Trump’s second term. The mask ban comes as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have increased the pace of arrests throughout New Jersey and as backlash against the president’s deportation policies intensifies. “I can’t believe we have to say this, but in the United States of America, we’re not going to tolerate masked, roving militias pretending to be well-trained law enforcement agents,” Ms. Sherrill said during a bill-signing ceremony in Newark. Lauren Bis, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said that federal agents would not stop wearing masks. “To be crystal clear: We will not abide by this unconstitutional ban,” she said in an email after the State Legislature passed the bill on Monday. Ms. Bis cited a doctrine known as the supremacy clause, which prohibits state officials from prosecuting federal officers when they are reasonably acting in their official capacity. “New Jersey’s sanctuary politicians do not control federal law enforcement,” she added. The AP [3/25/2026 5:37 PM, Staff] reports Washington state’s Democratic governor, Bob Ferguson, signed a similar law earlier this month while Democratic-led legislatures in other states have passed or are considering such restrictions as well. Sherrill, who took office Jan. 20, has been critical of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts and said Wednesday the anti-mask provision is part of a multipronged effort to keep the residents of New Jersey safe. The new law also requires officers to present identification prior to arresting or detaining someone. The mask measure is part of a package of bills Sherrill said will "protect people’s privacy and their rights" and "strengthen trust between law enforcement and our communities." The Trump administration is already is suing New Jersey over Sherrill’s Feb. 11 executive order that prohibits federal immigration agents from making arrests in nonpublic areas of state property, such as correctional facilities and courthouses. It also bars the use of state property as a staging or processing area for immigration enforcement.

Reported similarly:
CBS Philadelphia [3/25/2026 6:23 PM, Christine Sloan, 51110K]
FOX News [3/25/2026 11:50 PM, Landon Mion, 37576K]
NewsMax [3/25/2026 3:17 PM, Sandy Fitzgerald, 3760K]

New York Post [3/25/2026 10:42 PM, Anna Young, 40934K] reports an Ecuadorian migrant accused of fatally mowing down a New Jersey pedestrian in a vicious hit-and-run is believed to have entered the US illegally twice, including once after being deported, federal officials said. Wilson "Adrian" Morocho-Necta, 33, is now being hunted by ICE after plowing his work truck into Justo Pilco-Tenesaca, 68, and pinning him under the vehicle near Sussex Avenue in Morristown — before leaping out and bolting on foot around 7 a.m. Friday, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security. Pilco-Tenesaca, of Morristown, was rushed to a local hospital where he later died. The suspect, meanwhile, remains at large as local police and federal agents work separately to track him down. New Jersey’s Immigrant Trust Directive prohibits cops from assisting ICE during investigations. The illegal migrant first entered the US in 2019 at the southern border and was booted back to Mexico after a judge issued a final order of removal, according to DHS. Federal officials said he later re-entered the States at an unknown location and time. "We are calling on the public to report any sightings of Wilson Adrian Morocho-Necta," Acting Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement Wednesday. "This illegal alien is the lead suspect in a hit and run that killed Justo Pilco-Tenesaca and remains at large. If anyone has information on the whereabouts of this illegal alien, they should immediately contact ICE at 866-DHS-2-ICE.” Morocho-Necta lives in Morristown and was last seen wearing a white hoodie and jeans. He was driving an MC Home Improvements & Construction truck when he ran over the victim at a crosswalk, company owner Eric Couper told MorristownGreen.com. Couper said he was "friggin mortified" by the deadly crash. Prosecutors stressed that any actions following Norocho-Necta’s arrest will comply with both state and federal immigration laws. "The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office is aware of the defendant’s immigration status," an agency spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. "We will be communicating and cooperating consistent with applicable New Jersey state and federal laws regarding immigration.”

Reported similarly:
FOX News [3/25/2026 7:18 PM, Peter D’Abrosca and Preston Mizell, 37576K]

NewsMax [3/25/2026 9:23 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 3760K] reports the district attorney in Philadelphia threatened to arrest Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers patrolling the city’s international airport. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner issued the warning Tuesday at Philadelphia International Airport, where ICE agents have been deployed to assist amid Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages tied to the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown. "This is how it works," Krasner said at a press conference. "You commit crimes within the jurisdiction that is the city and county of Philadelphia, I prosecute you." He added that he would not hesitate to "put you in handcuffs" and pursue jail time for any federal agent who violates local law. Krasner also asserted that the president could not shield ICE officers from prosecution, declaring, "The president cannot pardon you.”

FOX News [3/25/2026 12:23 PM, Charles Creitz, 37576K] reports that Philadelphia County District Attorney Lawrence Krasner criticized the Trump administration for dispatching ICE agents to airports to assist TSA officers who have gone unpaid for weeks amid a Democrat-forced funding lapse at the Department of Homeland Security. Krasner, a Democrat whose campaigns received funds tied to left-wing Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros, has criticized President Donald Trump and DHS for months over their immigration enforcement measures and previously threatened to "hunt down" ICE agents he believed violated city laws if there were to be a Minnesota-style situation in Pennsylvania. On Tuesday, Krasner spoke from the airport, saying Trump administration officials have tried to confound the public and agents themselves as to what is legal behavior and what is not. Krasner said he will not accept any phone calls from President Donald Trump asking for leniency: "The president cannot pardon you and yes I will put you in handcuffs, and I will put you into a courtroom, and if necessary, I will you put you a jail cell if you decide to make the terrazzo floor of this airport anything like what you did in the streets of Minneapolis," Krasner said, addressing agents. He claimed that situation involved "the criminal homicide of unarmed, innocent people" and that Philadelphia would not accept such actions. Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Post [3/25/2026 5:58 PM, Meagan Flynn and Jenny Gathright, 24826K] reports President Donald Trump’s task force to make D.C. “safe and beautiful,” which ramped up federal law enforcement and immigration arrests in the District, would be extended for the remainder of his four-year term under a bill the House passed Wednesday. The legislation, which must still pass the Senate, seeks to codify the executive order Trump signed last March creating the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force. Trump directed the task force to coordinate with D.C. police, do beautification projects across the city and carry out “maximum enforcement” of federal immigration law — igniting fear in the city’s immigrant communities as detentions increased. Trump’s executive order was one of the earliest signs of how he planned to exert more control over the nation’s capital, peaking with his unprecedented seizure of the D.C. police department in August after declaring a 30-day crime emergency while also deploying the National Guard to the city. Since then, the effort has transformed policing in the District, with the Guard troops becoming ever-present at Metro stations and joint patrols with federal officers the status quo. Violent crime — which was already decreasing in D.C. from a historic spike in 2023 at the time Trump created the task force — continues to decline, down 12 percent from this time last year, according to D.C. police data.

Washington Examiner [3/25/2026 12:24 PM, Molly Parks, 1147K] reports that District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser weighed in on a pair of unanimously passed D.C. Council bills addressing federal law enforcement operations in the district, signing one bill and vetoing the other. Bowser signed off on a bill that would mandate the release of body camera footage from "serious use of force" incidents involving both Metropolitan Police Department officers and federal law enforcement. However, she also vetoed a bill that would require the MPD to make a note if federal law enforcement is present at the scene of any arrest. Bowser’s move strikes down the "Full Accountability in Arrest Reporting Emergency Amendment Act of 2026," an emergency bill that would have been in effect for 90 days after passage. The bill, introduced by at-Large Councilman Robert White, was unanimously passed by the D.C. Council in early March. White is calling on the council to override Bowser’s veto and move forward with the emergency legislation. "I’m deeply disappointed. On March 31, I need you to show up at our next legislative meeting," White wrote on X. "We must override this veto and stand on the side of transparency, accountability, and the people of DC. Resident safety and accountability are not optional."

FOX News [3/25/2026 11:56 PM, Landon Mion, 37576K] reports an illegal immigrant accused of groping girls at his high school in Virginia is now facing additional charges after more victims came forward, according to police. Israel Flores Ortiz, 18, was already facing nine counts of assault and battery for allegedly inappropriately touching female classmates at a Fairfax County school. Fairfax police were alerted on March 5 by Fairfax High School about reports of multiple assaults on campus. An arrest warrant was issued, and Flores Ortiz turned himself in on March 7. On Wednesday, police said he was served with four more counts of the same charges after additional victims reported his behavior during the investigation. Flores Ortiz is currently being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center without bond. The Department of Homeland Security said the suspect is an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who arrived in the U.S. in 2024. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said a detainer has been filed on Flores Ortiz. "We are calling on Fairfax County to honor our detainer to ensure this violent criminal is removed from our country so he can never claim another victim again," DHS said in a statement to Fox 5. Parents in Fairfax County had voiced outrage after his initial charges. "It’s terrifying as a parent because when I send my daughters to school, I think they’re safe in the care of the school," parent Stacy Langton told Fox News Digital. "And in this case, they absolutely were not safe, and I don’t know what parent wouldn’t be completely distraught at the idea that their daughters could be getting sexually battered while they’re changing classes.” Fairfax County Public Schools released a statement last week saying that it prioritizes the safety of students and staff. "While Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is unable to comment on specifics due to federal and state privacy laws, we prioritize student and staff safety and we fully investigate any time someone shares that an incident has occurred at school, or that they do not feel safe at school," the district said at the time. "We are grateful to our law enforcement partners who continue to work swiftly and thoroughly when there are safety concerns in our schools. The safety of all FCPS students and staff remains a top priority." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Examiner [3/25/2026 5:04 PM, Asher Notheis, 1147K] reports Virginia mother Stacy Langton said it is "very alarming" how Fairfax High School students are being "victimized" by an illegal immigrant enrolled in the school. Israel Christopher Flores-Ortiz, a 19-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was arrested on March 7 on charges of nine counts of assault and battery. He is accused of creeping up on students and groping girls at the school. Langton told the Washington Examiner there are 12 victims. Langton said she asked her twelfth- and ninth-grade daughters about this story and said both were aware of the situation from other students discussing it. Neither of her daughters were among the victims, though her senior has a best friend who is a cousin to two victims, ages 13 and 14. Langton said Fairfax High School has "an extremely sophisticated camera system" that allows individual students to be followed throughout the day. This allowed the footage to be reviewed over three days and find the suspect who had groped the alleged victims, leading to the suspect’s arrest. The mother said the school and its principal, Dr. Georgina Aye, "did everything right" in handling this situation. The Department of Homeland Security spotlighted Flores-Ortiz’s arrest on March 16, calling him and his criminal charges "another example of the Biden Administration’s failed open border policies." The DHS also criticized Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) for her decision to stop cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. FCPS Superintendent Dr. Michelle C. Reid said she requested an independent outside law firm, McGuireWoods, to conduct a comprehensive review of Flores-Ortiz’s allegations and arrest.

FOX News [3/25/2026 7:30 PM, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Preston Mizell, 37576K] reports an illegal immigrant is accused of killing a 62-year-old man in North Carolina in a fatal hit-and-run, Fox News Digital has learned. According to the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer has been lodged against 25-year-old Ernesto Lopez-Gomez. A source with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that Lopez is a Mexican national who entered the U.S. illegally on an unknown date. Lopez was charged with felony hit-and-run resulting in death and is being held on a $2,000,000 secured bond for the alleged crime. In an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital, Department of Homeland Security acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said the suspect "should have NEVER been in our country and able to kill Christopher Babcock.” "The Biden administration’s catch-and-release policies let this criminal into our community, and now a widow is mourning the loss of her husband," Bis said. "This is the second hit-in-run by an illegal alien just this week. These preventable tragedies are the result of the previous administration’s open border policies.” According to the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office, on March 11, around 7:45 p.m., Christopher Babcock, 62, was riding a motorcycle toward Greenville, North Carolina, when a vehicle turned left in front of him, causing a collision. The driver, later identified as Lopez-Gomez, allegedly fled after the crash. Babcock later died from his injuries. The collision occurred on U.S. Route 13 at U.S. Route 264 Alternate near Moye Turnage Road, southeast of Farmville, according to police. In his obituary, Babcock was remembered for living a life "defined by kindness, humor, and generosity.” "He never hesitated to help someone in need and had a contagious laugh that could brighten any room," the obituary said. "Chris had a sarcastic sense of humor and a warm heart, and he deeply loved his family and his dogs.” Babcock leaves behind his wife, two stepchildren and a sister, according to his obituary.

CBS Miami [3/25/2026 6:56 PM, Staff, 51110K] Video: HERE reports Venezuelans want to self-deport but can’t because of a document required by Venezuela. They don’t have it and don’t have passports. They handed in their passports to federal agents when they entered the U.S. crossing the southern border.

Axios [3/25/2026 6:17 AM, Staff, 17364K] reports the state and the city of Romulus have filed a lawsuit seeking to block a proposed ICE detention facility near DTW, escalating a dispute Axios Detroit has been tracking. The legal challenge marks the state’s most aggressive move yet as federal officials advance plans without detailed coordination with state or local regulators. The lawsuit argues ICE failed to consult Michigan officials and did not consider alternatives to the warehouse, such as existing prisons. "The Romulus warehouse is simply not — and never will be — an appropriate place for a large-scale detention center," Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. The lawsuit follows Nessel’s earlier demand that ICE halt the project and a FOIA request seeking records on the purchase and planned use of the warehouse.

FOX News [3/25/2026 6:00 AM, Alex Miller, 37576K] reports an Angel parent is set to testify before the Senate on Wednesday as Republicans intensify scrutiny of sanctuary city policies after the fatal shooting of Chicago student Sheridan Gorman, allegedly by an illegal immigrant. Joe Abraham, whose daughter was killed in a hit-and-run crash involving an illegal immigrant last year, is set to testify before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Consitution on Wednesday about sanctuary city laws, which he says led to the deaths of his daughter, Katie Abraham, and Gorman. "An 18-year-old college student — someone just beginning life — has been killed," Abraham wrote in a Fox News Digital opinion piece on Tuesday. "And once again, the circumstances raise the same painful questions about policy, enforcement and accountability.” "Once again, we are confronted with the possibility that this tragedy, like the one that took my daughter, might have been prevented," he continued. Abraham’s daughter was killed when a drunk illegal immigrant crashed into her vehicle and fled the scene. Julio Cucul-Bol was later arrested and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

NewsMax [3/25/2026 3:54 PM, Theodore Bunker, 3760K] reports House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Wednesday said the "system did not fail" 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman but instead "worked exactly as the Democrats intended," blaming immigration and sanctuary policies for the Chicago college student’s killing. Johnson’s remarks came during the weekly House GOP leadership press conference, where he sharply criticized Democrat policies following the March 19 fatal shooting of the Loyola University Chicago freshman. A 25-year-old man, Jose Medina-Medina, has been charged with first-degree murder and other felonies after allegedly approaching Gorman and her friends near a lakefront pier and opening fire, killing her as she tried to flee, according to Chicago police. He described the killing as preventable, pointing to the suspect’s immigration status and prior encounters with authorities. Authorities have identified Medina-Medina as a Venezuelan national who entered the United States in 2023 and was later arrested and charged in the shooting. Johnson argued that policies at both the federal and local level allowed the suspect to remain free. The case has intensified a national debate over immigration enforcement and sanctuary city policies, particularly in Chicago, where officials have defended existing laws while expressing condolences to the victim’s family.

CBS News [3/25/2026 6:31 PM, Julia Ingram, 51110K] reports from missed doctor’s appointments to lost wages, Minneapolis and St. Paul residents faced widespread disruptions to their daily lives when the White House deployed thousands of federal immigration agents to their cities, a University of San Diego survey released this week found. Survey respondents reported missing work and skipping scheduled medical appointments during the immigration crackdown, also known as Operation Metro Surge, in which more than 4,000 federal agents were deployed to the Twin Cities between December and mid-February. Some also said they kept children home from school. Some reported they were physically assaulted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and the majority said they now have less trust in law enforcement in general, the survey found. More than 35% of those surveyed in Minneapolis and about 20% of those surveyed in St. Paul reported missing work during the operation, most often because their workplace closed or they were concerned for their safety. Those who reported missing work included service workers, physicians and nurses. The study estimated that there was a combined $243.8 million in lost wages in Minneapolis and St. Paul during Metro Surge. More than 53% of parents with children in K-12 schools surveyed in Minneapolis said they kept their children home from school at some point during the operation, along with approximately 45% of parents in St. Paul. Among those who had scheduled medical appointments during the crackdown, 29% of Minneapolis respondents said they missed at least one appointment, compared to 20% of St. Paul residents. Some who otherwise would have gone to urgent care or the hospital for an unexpected medical condition instead opted to stay home. "We are beginning to learn more about how Trump-style, large-scale immigration enforcement is impacting communities," said Tom Wong, the study’s author and director of the university’s U.S. Immigration Policy Center. Wong surveyed 728 Minneapolis residents and 662 St. Paul residents between Feb. 17 and March 6. The two cities have a combined population of about 736,000, according to the latest American Community Survey. He weighted the responses to ensure they represented the broader population.

Telemundo [3/25/2026 10:02 PM, Staff, 19K] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed that Bertha Olga Gómez Fong, wife of former Chihuahua Governor César Duarte, is in federal custody at the El Paso Processing Center. According to ICE’s official detainee tracking system, Gómez Fong was apprehended on Wednesday, March 25, and remains in the custody of U.S. immigration authorities. This information was verified directly in the public records of the agency, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). According to court records, Gómez Fong faces an arrest warrant in Mexico that has been in effect since 2020, related to alleged crimes of corruption and misappropriation of public funds during the period in which she served as honorary president of the DIF State of Chihuahua, during the administration of her husband (2010-2016). In addition, Mexican authorities have accused her of involvement in money laundering schemes, investigations that remain open in the state of Chihuahua. However, ICE has not confirmed that her arrest is for extradition purposes. ICE has not yet issued any further statement on the case nor has it reported whether there is coordination with Mexican authorities.

Washington Examiner [3/25/2026 5:15 PM, Emily Hallas, 1147K] reports two House Democratic lawmakers this week requested that the Trump administration approve an independent investigation into the death of Ruben Ray Martinez, a Texan who was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer last year. In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general, Reps. Greg Casar (D-TX) and Robert Garcia (D-CA) alleged that DHS and Texas investigators "withheld basic facts of the case, concealed ICE’s involvement in the shooting, and lied about the circumstances surrounding the shooting." Garcia and Casar, who both sit on the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the House oversight committee, requested a briefing from the inspector general’s office on the matter by April 6. The development comes as ICE has been under sweeping scrutiny for a series of deadly shootings involving U.S. citizens in recent months. The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota have been among those critics say mark the agency’s tendency to escalate sensitive situations by deploying unnecessary lethal force. Martinez died hours after he approached the scene of a traffic incident in which ICE officers were assisting local law enforcement on March 14, 2025.

Breitbart [3/25/2026 10:40 PM, Bob Price, 2238K] reports passengers at Houston’s largest airport felt an immediate and positive impact as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrived to work alongside unpaid TSA agents. Screening lines that stretched to about four hours, according to airport officials, were reduced to about an hour when the ICE officers’ shift began. Breitbart Texas arrived at Terminal A at George Bush Intercontinental Airport at about 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday. At that time, the TSA Houston Airport Security website indicated a 240-minute (4-hour) wait. After checking luggage, we were directed to the subway level two floors below to join the line for TSA screening. The walk to the end of the line in the underground tunnel went on a half to three-quarters of a mile. The return walk while waiting in the queue took about an hour. At that point, airport guides directed us to the second floor, where a winding line continued through baggage claim and the passenger pickup lobby, eventually leading to another escalator to the main security line. During this process, Breitbart learned that ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers were beginning to arrive for their shift. About twenty minutes later, their impact became apparent. Officers were about to relocate TSA workers from non-screening locations, freeing up more TSA agents to conduct screening operations. Upon arrival, only the South Concourse screening line was open. As we approached the midpoint of the primary screening line, airport officials opened the North Concourse screening line, dramatically reducing wait times. Ten minutes later, we are through the checkpoint and inside the terminal’s secure area. All in all, the screening process took slightly less than two hours, thanks to the opening of the second screening line. Breitbart spoke with several of the ICE officers who were working in Terminals A, D, and E on Wednesday. They told Breitbart that this was their second day of helping at the airports. On Tuesday, the officers said, lines stretched for five to six hours. By about 10 a.m. on Wednesday, that wait time was reduced to less than one hour. "We are happy to be helping to provide some relief to passengers and the TSA agents who are not currently being paid due to the Democrats withholding funding for the Department of Homeland Security," one ERO officer told Breitbart. The officer also expressed frustration with not being out on the streets, removing criminal aliens from the city of Houston and the surrounding counties. "We would much rather be doing the job we are trained and paid to do," the officer stated.

NBC News [3/25/2026 4:28 PM, Mike Hixenbaugh, 42967K] reports a 9-year-old boy who begged to be released from an immigration detention center so he could attend his state spelling bee has been freed with his family, their lawyer said Wednesday. Deiver Henao Jimenez made the plea during a video call this month with children’s entertainer Ms. Rachel, whose real name is Rachel Accurso. He and his parents, asylum-seekers from Colombia, had been held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas since early March, when they were detained during a routine immigration check-in in New Mexico, according to their lawyer, Corey Sullivan Martin. ICE freed the family on humanitarian parole Wednesday, about a week after Martin filed a request for their release and days after NBC News reported on their case. The family planned to return to New Mexico, she said, where they will continue checking in with immigration officials while their case proceeds.

Axios [3/25/2026 9:20 AM, Staff, 17364K] reports the Phoenix City Council will vote Wednesday on a policy that would bar federal immigration agents from using city property without authorization. Residents have shared growing concerns about how federal law enforcement activities "adversely impact the community," city staff wrote in the meeting agenda. The Valley has been bracing for a possible Minneapolis-style surge in ICE enforcement. That hasn’t happened, but a Homeland Security raid on Valley-wide Zipps Sports Grill locations in January sparked protests and fueled fears. The Community Transparency Initiative (CTI) proposal includes a provision barring parks or other city-owned or -controlled property from being used for "unauthorized or non-city purposes." That includes using city property as a staging area, processing location or operations base for civil law enforcement without the city manager’s approval and the police chief’s recommendation. Properties subject to the policy would have signs explaining the prohibition. City property exists for public use and enjoyment, and Phoenix has a duty to ensure it’s used appropriately, city staff wrote as part of the proposal. The policy has some exemptions. It wouldn’t apply to the execution of lawful warrants or criminal law enforcement, nor to city-owned property that’s controlled by other governmental entities, nonprofits or third-party organizations.

AP [3/25/2026 5:16 PM, Nora Mabie and Jovonne Wagner] reports over the past three weeks, the state Department of Justice has threatened to sue the city of Helena. Appearing with the governor by his side Feb. 11, Attorney General Austin Knudsen accused the state capital of violating a state law that bans cities from giving refuge to undocumented immigrants. Forced into an uncomfortable spotlight, city officials are facing mounting public pressure from residents to stand against the state. A special meeting to discuss possible changes to the resolution is set for Thursday, March 26, at 5:30 p.m. at the Helena Civic Center. On Monday, Helena Mayor Emily Dean said she has invited the attorney general to discuss the resolution with the city. Only about 2% of Montana’s residents are foreign-born, which is lower than just about any other state. As President Donald Trump has pushed for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to ramp up arrests of undocumented immigrants, Montana has been among the states with the fewest arrests. Activists, officials and lawyers told Montana Free Press that the fight has become about much more than the undocumented immigrants in Helena whose lives might be directly affected if local police agree to cooperate with ICE. Ultimately, the conflict is about local law enforcement’s ability to set its own priorities and a city’s ability to govern in a way that aligns with its residents’ values, they say.

New York Post [3/25/2026 11:26 AM, Zain Khan, 40934K] reports the illegal migrant arrest by ICE agents at San Francisco International Airport skipped out on immigration appointments after she entered the US in 2018, new documents reveal. The arrest of Angelina Lopez-Jimenez on Sunday — which sparked mass online fear-mongering about President Trump’s deployment of ICE to help ease a TSA security crisis — occurred after the Guatemalan migrant skipped out on mandatory check-ins when she was found to be illegally living in the country. In 2019, an immigration judge ordered Lopez-Jimenez and her daughter be removed from the US after they failed to appear for a scheduled court hearing, according to New York Times. The pair was spotted by Border Patrol agents near San Luis, Arizona, on April 27, 2018, found to be in the US illegally. They were later released with a notice to appear in court. Although they attended some initial appointments and missed others, they skipped a 2019 hearing that prompted a judge to issue a final deportation order, the Times reported. The pair had been living in Contra Costa County and were planning to board flight to Miami on March 22, when TSA flagged their names on a passenger list and notified ICE. After a confrontation at the San Francisco airport, they were detained and deported to Guatemala on March 24. "While being escorted to the international terminal for processing, Lopez-Jimenez attempted to flee and resisted law enforcement officers," the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. ICE agents had not deployed at the airport at the time.

Axios [3/25/2026 6:06 PM, Nadia Lopez, 17364K] reports the detention of a mother and her daughter Sunday at San Francisco International Airport that went viral occurred after TSA shared their travel information with federal immigration authorities, the New York Times reported this week. The incident has intensified fears that the Trump administration is turning airports into immigration enforcement hubs. The Times reported that TSA has been sharing passenger information with ICE, allowing agents to identify travelers with outstanding deportation orders before they board flights. The practice has sparked backlash in recent days after footage of 41-year-old Angelina Lopez-Jimenez and her daughter Wendy Godinez-Lopez being forcefully detained spread on social media. Lopez-Jimenez and her 9-year-old daughter were preparing to board a flight to Miami on Sunday evening when plainclothes ICE agents detained them in Terminal 3. They have since been deported back to Guatemala, per government documents obtained by the Times. Lopez-Jimenez, who had a final order of removal dating back to 2019, was living in Contra Costa County with her daughter and had no criminal record, though she entered the U.S. without legal authorization. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed their identities on Monday, stating that the incident was unrelated to broader ICE deployments at airports nationwide and that Lopez-Jimenez attempted to flee while being escorted for processing. SFO has not been identified as one of 14 airports where ICE is assisting with TSA operations amid government shutdown-related screening delays. The incident has raised concerns from advocates and immigration attorneys over whether local police officers improperly aided in the arrest, potentially violating the state’s sanctuary law, Mission Local reports.

Los Angeles Times [3/25/2026 5:47 PM, Gabriel San Román, 12718K] reports in a year that saw masked federal immigration raids sweep through Southern California, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department continued to transfer inmates to Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a high rate. Sheriff Don Barnes did not speak on the transfers during an annual forum Tuesday at the Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting as required by state law. But statistics provided to supervisors by Barnes show the department screened inmates 824 times before releasing them from Orange County Jail at ICE’s request last year. From those screenings, ICE took 271 inmates into custody out of the 323 referrals allowed under California’s "sanctuary state" law. The transfers represent an uptick from the 220 total reported at last year’s forum and a surge from the record low 17 reported in 2023. Barnes’ stats indicate that state law prohibited OCSD from notifying ICE of about 501 inmate screenings. Roughly 11% of those not transferred committed new criminal offenses after being released from jail. Barnes highlighted offenses ranging from driving under the influence to assault with a deadly weapon, though it was unclear how representative those re-offenses were. Sarmiento continued to question the voluntary transfers, noting the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department saved $1.4 million in staff time by electing not to collaborate with ICE in such a manner.

SFGate [3/25/2026 11:51 AM, Staff, 10094K] reports a coalition of local organizations filed a complaint against the San Francisco Police Department on Wednesday, accusing officers of unlawfully assisting federal immigration authorities during an arrest of two migrants at San Francisco International Airport over the weekend. On Sunday night, federal immigration authorities arrested a mother and daughter from Guatemala at SFO. They were identified as Angelina Lopez-Jimenez and Wendy Godinez-Lopez and had a final order of removal from an immigration judge since 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. "What happened at SFO last Sunday night, was nothing short of horrifying," said Angela Chan, an assistant chief attorney at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, in a speech at a rally Wednesday. "What pushed this from horrific to infuriating to enraging was what surrounded them," Chan said. "A wall of SFPD officers shielding ICE as if it was their job to protect federal agents instead of the people of San Francisco.” The scene, which was captured on video by bystanders, showed SFPD officers forming a circle around the agents as they tried to arrest the mother. Don’t let Google decide who you trust. Make SFGATE a preferred source so your search results prioritize writing by actual people, not AI.

SFGate [3/25/2026 11:58 AM, Ariana Bindman, 10094K] reports that the Transportation Security Administration "tipped off" U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers of a mother and daughter’s detention order, leading to their violent — and highly publicized — detainment at the San Francisco International Airport on Sunday, the New York Times reported this week. On Sunday around 10 p.m., Angelina Lopez-Jimenez and Wendy Godinez-Lopez of Guatemala were heading from San Francisco to Miami to see a relative, the outlet reported Tuesday. But the family never made it out of SFO: Footage shows that ICE agents in plainclothes restrained the mother in front of her young daughter as she wailed and cried, causing outrage both in person and online. Multiple bystanders shouted at the officers and begged them to release her, but their pleas were ignored. Instead, the mother was dragged off in a wheelchair alongside her daughter, who was surrounded by several officers. According to the New York Times, which obtained documents revealing that TSA shares passenger data with ICE, TSA notified ICE of the mother and daughter’s detention order before their flight to Miami. SFO press representatives previously told SFGATE that they were not involved with or notified about the enforcement in advance. While the mother entered the country illegally, she had no criminal record, the outlet said. In the wake of the video, several California representatives have criticized the Donald Trump administration’s flagrant use of ICE agents in the U.S. "Trump promised to go after the worst of the worst, yet ICE agents are targeting our neighbors and kids with impunity," California Rep. John Garamendi posted on X.

Reuters [3/25/2026 2:18 PM, Nate Raymond, 38315K] reports that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has informed a federal court that it deported about 6,000 Cubans to Mexico under an "unwritten" agreement by Mexico to accept them, prompting a judge to demand details and question whether the deal was secret. U.S. District Judge William Young in Boston laid out his concerns in an order on Wednesday in the case of a Cuban man who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in February after more than three decades of living in the United States. Lawyers for Jorge Juan Navarro have argued that ICE violated ⁠its procedures and his due process rights by detaining him while knowing authorities could not promptly deport him to Cuba, which has often refused to take back its citizens. The Trump administration since January has been enforcing a de facto oil blockade in a bid to starve Cuba of fuel and pressure its government for change, which potentially could lead to measures that allowing Cubans living in the United States to return to their home country. Young put the case on hold pending the outcome of the administration’s appeal of another judge’s ruling declaring unlawful its policy of rapidly deporting migrants to countries other than where they came from. But the judge said in the interim the administration should ⁠supply him with evidence of an agreement it says it has with Mexico to accept deported Cubans, saying a government lawyer offered in a hearing to provide him a copy but later told him it was a "standing (unwritten) agreement." The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not respond to a request for comment.

ABC News [3/25/2026 12:57 PM, Laura Romero, 34146K] reports that a Venezuelan migrant who was deported from the United States to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison last year has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging he was wrongfully removed without due process. Attorneys for Neiyerver Adrián Leon Rengel say their client’s removal violated his rights. "Through a series of unconstitutional and ultra vires acts by high-ranking federal officials and law enforcement officers, Plaintiff Neiyerver Adrián Leon Rengel was wrongly identified as a member of the gang Tren de Aragua, repeatedly denied due process, falsely imprisoned, intentionally deceived, and -- ultimately -- illegally sent to El Salvador in blatant violation of a court order," the lawsuit filed on Tuesday states. Rengel is one of more than 250 Venezuelan nationals released to their home country from CECOT in a prisoner swap last July, after being removed from the U.S. under the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th century wartime authority used to remove noncitizens with little-to-no due process. The Trump administration deported two planeloads of alleged migrant gang members to the El Salvador prison by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a "hybrid criminal state" that is invading the United States. Rengel is seeking $1.3 million in damages. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security disputed the allegations in the suit. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Los Angeles Times [3/25/2026 12:48 PM, Gerald Imray, 12718K] reports that a Cambodian man deported by the United States to the African kingdom of Eswatini under the Trump administration’s third-country program was released on Wednesday to be repatriated after spending five months in detention at a maximum-security prison with other deportees, his lawyer said. Pheap Rom was deported to the southern African nation in October and held at the Matsapha Correctional Center. After his release, he took a commercial flight to Johannesburg, South Africa, to start his journey to Cambodia, his U.S.-based lawyer, Tin Thanh Nguyen, told the Associated Press. The U.S. has sent 19 migrants from other countries to Eswatini in three batches since July. Rom is the second to be repatriated after a Jamaican man was flown home in September. President Trump has taken a hard-line stance on immigration and the U.S. has deported around 300 migrants to countries they have no ties with under the third-country program, according to a report compiled by Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Lawyers have criticized the program as unlawful. The U.S. has struck deals with at least seven African nations to take some of those migrants. The U.S. paid Eswatini $5.1 million to take up to 160 deportees, according to details of the deal released by the U.S. State Department. While Eswatini’s government has previously said the migrants are there in "transit" on their way home, the deal allows them to be held in Eswatini for up to a year.

Bloomberg [3/26/2026 12:01 AM, Augusta Saraiva, Shawn Donnan, and Jade Khatib, 18082K] reports four in 10 US counties shrank last year as President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown continued to stifle the nation’s main source of population growth. Some 1,270 counties lost residents in the year to July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau figures out Thursday. That’s nearly 20% more than in the same period a year earlier and encompasses just five months of drastic immigration policy changes under Trump. Some of the steepest numerical declines were in counties that include major cities with large immigrant populations, like Los Angeles, San Diego, Miami, Dallas and New York. That’s in large part due to a massive slowdown in international immigration, which fueled much of the population growth in the aftermath of the pandemic. That pullback is likely to continue. Census officials expect migration to fall to about 321,000 in the year to July 2026 and said earlier this year that the US is “trending toward negative migration” for the first time in more than 50 years. The sea-change in America’s population is evident in a number of large immigration centers. Miami-Dade County saw the second-largest population increase in 2024 as international migration more than offset a decline in new domestic residents. The population dropped by more than 10,000 — or 0.4% — in the year to July 1, 2025. The population growth rate in Harris County, which includes Houston and its suburbs, fell by half for the same reason. “Those trends that we’ve seen at the national level are also playing out at the state and the county level,” Lauren Bowers, chief of the Census Bureau’s population estimates branch, said in an interview. But the effects are also concentrated, she said. “Larger counties are seeing more of an impact than smaller counties with that substantial drop in international migration,” Bowers said. George Hayward, a Census demographer, said five states contributed almost half of the US’s net international migration in the year to July 1, 2025, and just 10 counties accounted for almost a quarter of the national increase. Those areas were also the ones being hit hardest by the decline in immigration, he said. International migration to the US peaked in 2024 in the wake of an unprecedented surge in border crossings during the Biden administration. Entries have since essentially come to a halt. Trump, whose promise to voters to crack down on undocumented immigrants helped seal his return to the White House, has scaled up deportation efforts and taken steps to limit legal immigration. While a majority of US counties still saw positive international migration last year, about nine in 10 saw fewer people come in compared to 2024, the Census data showed. Los Angeles, the Queens and Brooklyn boroughs in New York as well as Chicago saw the sharpest pullbacks in immigration.

New York Times [3/26/2026 12:01 AM, Jeff Adelson and Amy Qin, 148038K] reports that, in the Laredo metro area, on the Texas border, immigration screeched to a virtual standstill. El Centro, a metro that has historically served as a desert gateway into California, lost more people to other countries than it gained. In Denver and its suburbs, the net immigration rate fell by almost three-quarters. In the Chicago area, it was slashed by nearly two-thirds. Every metro area in the United States, in fact, experienced lower immigration rates during the year leading up to July 2025 compared with the previous year, according to new estimates released on Thursday by the Census Bureau. In about 75 percent of all counties, overall population growth — including immigration, domestic migration, births and deaths — either slowed or turned negative. Only 25 percent grew faster. And large urban counties and border counties, which had experienced a surge in new arrivals in recent years, were among the hardest-hit parts of the country. The new census estimates offer the most detailed picture yet of the demographic impacts from the immigration restrictions that started late in the Biden administration and have ramped up during the Trump presidency. The previous year brought record levels of immigration. The census attempts to account for both legal and illegal immigration, as well as deportations and voluntary departures. The numbers also captured the continuing effect of declining birthrates, as deaths outnumbered births in about two-thirds of U.S. counties. It is a sign that many communities are still struggling to keep their population levels up, even as the impact of Covid-related deaths has waned. The nation’s overall population still increased last year by 1.8 million people, but the combination of low birthrates and dramatically slowing immigration led to one of the slowest growth rates in U.S. history. The U.S. census numbers are a measure of the country’s demographic health, and take account of births and deaths as well as immigration, emigration and deportation. The country needs a population of young workers and taxpayers large enough to finance infrastructure like schools, hospitals and health care for older residents. Growth that is too rapid can also present problems, straining resources and pushing up the cost of housing. Some of the strongest population gains came in suburban counties, especially in the South, which continued to grow rapidly as they attracted people from other parts of the country. About 18,000 people moved into Pasco County, Fla., a suburban community about 30 miles outside Tampa, enough to increase its population by nearly 2.8 percent. But for counties along the Mexican border, things looked quite different. In contrast to years when they experienced a surge in immigration, total populations in more than half of these counties dipped in the new estimates. In Webb County, Texas, which includes Laredo, net international migration dropped by about 95 percent. It gained fewer than 700 people total in the new estimates. San Diego County in California lost about 5,300 people. Net international migration fell to about 6,100, from about 18,000 in the previous year. In big metro areas, which have long sustained themselves through immigration, population growth also slowed or declined outright.

NewsMax [3/25/2026 10:58 AM, Jim Thomas, 3760K] reports Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced a bill Tuesday that would require colleges and universities receiving federal funding or benefits to report noncitizen students, faculty members, and administrators to the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS. The bill, the Educational Visa Transparency Act of 2026, says covered institutions would have to submit that information within 60 days of enactment, and again within 30 days after each subsequent class registration deadline for an academic term. The bill requires institutions receiving federal assistance to electronically provide SEVIS a "complete and accurate list" of all students, faculty members, and administrators enrolled at or employed by the institution who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, disaggregated by visa type. The bill says institutions would submit the information through SEVIS, and that designated officials at the Education, Justice, Homeland Security, and State departments could access it for official duties. Cotton’s office said the proposal is intended to protect sensitive academic research and would expand SEVIS to include student, faculty, and staff visa holders in U.S. higher education. Cotton said in the release that "Unmonitored foreign nationals in the labs and research centers of our colleges and universities pose a grave national security threat" and said the bill would require tracking student and faculty visas.

Federalist [3/25/2026 7:42 AM, Adam Johnston, 540K] reports within the last few weeks, the United States’ homefront has been under siege. From a mass shooting at a downtown bar in Austin, Texas, by a man reportedly wearing a "Property of Allah" hoodie with an Iranian flag shirt underneath, to the killing of a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps instructor at Old Dominion University by a convicted ISIS supporter; from a truck attack at a synagogue in Michigan to homemade bombs allegedly thrown at protestors and dropped near police outside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s residence, the violence against Americans has been unrelenting. While the media has attempted to obfuscate or even spread lies about the nature of these attacks, one common denominator links them all together. All four attacks were apparently committed by those who were either "integrated" into the fabric of American society through America’s naturalization process, or, perhaps more ominously, the children of naturalized citizens. With this in mind, it must be admitted that contrary to the assertion of pro-immigration Republican politicians such as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who unequivocally believe that so long as immigration is "legal," it is by nature "good," America’s "legal" immigration system has failed.

Newsweek [3/25/2026 8:07 AM, Billal Rahman, 52220K] reports a Republican lawmaker has proposed legislation that would require colleges and universities to report all non-U.S. citizens enrolled or working at their institutions to the federal government. Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas has introduced the Educational Visa Transparency Act, which would make universities that receive federal funding submit information on all international students, faculty and administrators to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). Reports would be due within 60 days of the bill’s enactment and then 30 days after each academic registration period, according to the text of the bill. "Unmonitored foreign nationals in the labs and research centers of our colleges and universities pose a grave national security threat. My bill will require tracking all student and faculty visas to ensure foreign nationals aren’t stealing valuable research," Cotton said in a news release on Tuesday. The legislation allows officials from the Departments of Education, Justice, Homeland Security and State to access the submitted information for oversight and enforcement. It amends the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act to expand SEVIS reporting requirements for higher education institutions. The bill has been read twice in the Senate.

New York Times [3/26/2026 12:01 AM, Winnie Hu and Jeff Adelson, 148038K] reports that, in the wake of stricter federal immigration and border policies, there has been a steep decrease in newcomers from other countries making their home in New York City, according to new census data released Thursday. The drop-off in migration from abroad was the largest in the country and — along with more New Yorkers leaving for other places — halted the recent growth of the city’s population and blunted its post-pandemic recovery. New York City had 8.58 million residents in July 2025, or 12,200 fewer residents than the year before, according to the new estimates. That was well below its peak of nearly 8.8 million residents reached in early 2020. New York has long relied on a steady influx of new residents from abroad to replace those who leave. The new estimates cover the 12 months before July 2025, a period that saw a national decline in immigration that started with tighter border policies under the Biden administration and continued with the Trump administration’s crackdown. The city gained 66,000 residents from international migration, which is primarily made up of new immigrants, but also includes U.S. citizens who move to the city from another country. That’s 70 percent less than the gains from abroad just one year before, when 220,000 international arrivals added to the population, the most the city has seen in decades. “If we don’t have a healthy stream of international migration, the city’s population will start to falter,” said John Mollenkopf, a professor of political science at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center. “It won’t happen right away, it will be gradual, but it will happen.” Many immigrants are younger and willing to work in entry-level jobs that others won’t take. They often help care for children and, as the city’s population ages, for the growing needs of older people. “They’re just vital to the resilience of the city,” Mr. Mollenkopf said. Overall, international migration added about 544,100 people to the city’s population since the pandemic started in 2020, including many who crossed the southern border of the United States and started over in the city’s shelters. New York City planning officials said that the drop in newcomers from other countries reflected a retreat from recent historical highs to more typical levels experienced before the pandemic. Around the country, many large urban counties also saw sharp declines in international migration, though none as substantial as in New York City. Four of the city’s five boroughs (all but Staten Island) were among the top 10 counties with the largest decline in the number of new international residents. In New York, the number of births and deaths remained relatively stable, with about 36,100 more births than deaths in the new estimates. But that increase was eclipsed by the number of New Yorkers leaving the city for other parts of the country, a long-term trend that accelerated during the pandemic, when the city lost 330,000 more people to other parts of the country than it gained in new arrivals. Since then, the exodus has slowed, but nearly 114,000 more residents left than moved in, up from a loss of nearly 94,000 in 2024. This includes many who have been pushed out by the city’s high cost of living and a shortage of affordable housing.

AP [3/26/2026 12:05 AM, Stephen Smith and Jack Brook, 16072K] reports Spring is peak season in Louisiana for crawfish, the hard-shelled star of outdoor parties. But a shortage of foreign workers is dampening the mood. Deep in Louisiana’s bayous, where crawfish production is a $300 million industry that is a key ingredient for backyard boils and buttery etouffees served in New Orleans’ French Quarter, operators are fuming over labor struggles and pointing fingers at President Donald Trump’s administration over what they say has been a failure to authorize enough guest foreign workers. The shortages add to a list of industries in the U.S. that rely on seasonal foreign labor, including landscaping and construction, whose struggle to fill jobs has been exacerbated during the Trump administration’s wider clampdown on legal avenues for immigration. In Louisiana, the need for crawfish workers has strained an industry that is a symbol of state pride and frustrated Republican officeholders, many of whom broadly support Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda but say their pleas for more legal laborers have gone unanswered. “People have built businesses around these workers and this year we can’t get them,” said Alan Lawson, who runs a crawfish production facility in the rural town of Crowley. “This industry would not exist without it because the American people don’t want to do the jobs we’re offering.” Large-scale crawfish producers use guest workers, many from Mexico and Central America, to shell and freeze the freshwater catch that is often pulled from swampy rice fields. They are hired on H-2B visas for nonfarming jobs and are allowed to stay in the U.S. for less than a year after businesses first offer the jobs to Americans. The Department of Homeland Security is required to release 66,000 H-2B visas each year and can release nearly double that amount. But that process happened later than usual this year — after Louisiana’s crawfish season had already begun. DHS did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The Department of Labor said it respects the crawfish industry and importance to the U.S. economy, and that the agency “has been actively engaging with industry stakeholders to help address workforce needs and identify workable solutions.” But even if guest workers arrive before crawfish season ends around June, Lawson says, the damage is done. Restaurant owners and processors say crawfish prices could spike for consumers already struggling with affordability. U.S. businesses’ increasing reliance on seasonal foreign workers to do grueling jobs predates the Trump administration. The federal government has not kept pace with the expanding need, and Trump’s immigration crackdown also has impacted the labor market. Businesses are seeking tens of thousands more guest workers than the federal government has made available, according to Labor Department data. “The demand is there but the supply is not,” Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation Public Policy Coordinator Andy Brown said. “These businesses want to follow the law. They want to go through the legal parameters to meet their labor needs.” Most seasons at Lawson’s facility, the job of peeling and packaging thousands of pounds of the sweet-tasting, bright red crustaceans is handled by more than 100 foreign workers. None have been allowed to come this season. DHS can begin offering supplemental visas in consultation with the Labor Department at the start of the federal fiscal year in October. However, the Trump administration did not release supplemental visas until February. Initially, it capped them at 35,000, or roughly half what the Biden administration authorized. The Trump administration eventually agreed to release nearly 65,000 supplemental visas — on par with recent years — following pressure from businesses.

Newsweek [3/25/2026 1:07 PM, Dan Gooding, 52220K] reports a Venezuelan man has accused the Trump administration of deporting him two days after his birthday because federal agents saw his tattoos and took that as confirmation he was a member of the Tren de Aragua gang. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, an attorney for Neiyerver Adrián Leon Rengel, a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) applicant, alleged that agents stopped him in Irving, Texas, while on his way to work on March 13, 2025, and that he was "caught in the Administration’s scheme and would soon experience the full force of its unconstitutional and unlawful policies." The only justification for his detention, the complaint alleged, was his tattoos, which agents said confirmed he was a TdA member. Two days later, Leon Rengel was put on one of three planes headed for El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison, despite a court order seeking to stop the deportations under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA). "For four months, Plaintiff languished in CECOT, during which time he was beaten by guards, subjected to inhumane and overcrowded conditions as well as extreme psychological trauma, denied adequate medical care, and held without contact with his family or any legal counsel," the complaint read. Leon Rengel is suing the federal government for $1.3 million in damages.

SFGate [3/25/2026 2:06 PM, Alejandro Serrano, 10094K] reports that people seeking a host of professional licenses in Texas, from electricians to dog breeders, will soon have to prove they are in the country legally after the state’s Commission of Licensing and Regulation on Tuesday adopted a new rule that could affect thousands of workers. Commissioners unanimously approved the change after hearing from a parade of speakers who largely asked them to do the opposite because of worries that it will hamper the state’s economy and burden immigrants trying to make an honest living. The speakers also argued the move will push people to work without a license, and erode state oversight of crucial industries. The commission oversees the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which plans to implement the rule May 1. "TDLR has long been evaluating verification of license eligibility in line with federal law. With the transfer of the Texas Lottery to TDLR, the recent launch of our licensing system modernization project, and increased focus on combatting human trafficking, the department is moving forward with lawful presence verification," Caroline M. Espinosa, a TDLR spokesperson, said Tuesday. "This ensures consistent, secure practices across all programs and strengthens our ability to identify and deter fraud, labor exploitation, and human trafficking."

San Francisco Chronicle [3/25/2026 4:13 PM, Sara DiNatale, 3833K] reports the Bay Area’s nine-county regional economy relies heavily on immigrants, with undocumented workers acting as a backbone in maintenance, hospitality, caregiving and service jobs — often in higher concentrations than in the rest of the state, a new report by the Bay Area Council shows. The Bay Area is home to an estimated 478,000 undocumented immigrants who work or actively seek work at a higher rate than native-born residents. Together, they contribute more than $8.4 billion in local and state taxes annually and carry jobs in industries employers say they’re already having difficulty staffing, the report says. Employers told the report’s author that fears of President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration policies and mass deportation efforts are already affecting foot traffic and workplace absenteeism — which would only get worse if immigration raids intensified. As of the start of this year, the Department of Homeland Security reported it had deported more than 675,000 people and that another estimated 2.2 million people self-deported since Trump’s second term began. Mass deportations would not shift jobs to other workers, but would “shrink the region’s productive capacity, disrupt supply chains, and slow economic growth.” About 73% of undocumented Bay Area residents are active in the labor force, compared with 58% of their native-born counterparts. The report examines jobs led by immigrant workers, both those without legal status and those with visas, green cards or citizenship. Roughly 82% of the Bay Area’s maids and housekeepers are immigrants, and close to 40% of the total are undocumented. But fear of the administration’s immigration crackdown isn’t only affecting those without legal status. Asylum-seekers, who have federal work authorization, have been largely barred from the trucking industry under new federal rules.

Federalist [3/25/2026 7:45 AM, Shawn Fleetwood, 540K] reports the U.S. Supreme Court is considering the legality of a border policy that’s played a key role in immigration officials’ efforts to stave off migrant surges at the U.S.-Mexico border. The justices heard oral arguments on Tuesday in Noem v. Alt Otro Lado, which deals with a challenge to border officials’ now-inactive "metering" policy. As described by the Trump administration, the practice — which was initially implemented in 2016 and later formalized in 2018 — involves "port officials … stand[ing] along the border and temporarily prevent[ing] aliens without valid travel documents from crossing into the United States, generally telling them that they would need to return to the port of entry later, when there were sufficient resources to process them." The Trump administration appealed the case to SCOTUS after the 9th Circuit Court held that the policy violates provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that allow for an individual who "arrives in the United States" to apply for asylum and undergo inspection by an immigration official. The lower court argued that "the phrase ‘arrives in the United States’ encompasses those who encounter officials at the border, whichever side of the border they are standing on." Assistant to the U.S. Solicitor General Vivek Suri rejected that conclusion during Tuesday’s arguments. He contended that such a theory "is wrong for the simple reason that it defies the statutory text." "You can’t ‘arrive in the United States’ while still in Mexico. That should be the end of this case," Suri said, while also citing SCOTUS precedent he argued supports the government’s position. The administration’s attorney faced aggressive pushback from the court’s Democrat appointees — more specifically, Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

NBC News [3/25/2026 10:41 AM, Staff, 42967K] reports Ha Nguyen McNeill, acting administrator of the Transportation Security Administrator, used her opening statement at a House hearing to emphasize the impact the partial government shutdown has had on her agency and its agents. McNeill stressed that the lapse in funding for the Department of Homeland Security "significantly undermines" the security and safety of U.S. transportation. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [3/25/2026 6:44 PM, Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking, 2524K] reports the Transportation Security Administration may have to shut down operations at some airports if the budget impasse drags on, the agency’s acting head said Wednesday, even as record wait time for travelers did little to end the standoff over the funding fight in Congress. The TSA’s Ha Nguyen McNeill described the mounting hardships facing unpaid airport workers — piling up bills and eviction notices, even plasma donations to make ends meet — and warned that lawmakers must ensure “this never happens again.” “This is a dire situation,” she testified at a House hearing, warning of potential airport closures. “At this point, we have to look at all options on the table. And that does require us to, at some point, make very difficult choices as to which airports we might try to keep open and which ones we might have to shut down as our callout rates increase.” Yet on the 40th day of the standoff involving the Department of Homeland Security, there was no easy way out in sight. Neither Republican senators, who made the latest offer, nor Democrats, who countered by reiterating their demands for changes to President Donald Trump ‘s immigration enforcement operations, appeared closer to a compromise. Trump, who initially appeared to have given his nod to the deal, has declined to lend it his full support or put his political weight behind making sure it is approved. Top officials at agencies under the DHS umbrella spoke for more than three-hours before the House Homeland Security Committee about the potential risks of security lapses unless the partial government shutdown comes to an end. DHS has gone without routine funding since mid-February. Democrats are insisting on changes to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement and mass deportation operations after the killings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis by federal officers during protests. The latest GOP proposal would fund most of DHS except for the enforcement and removal operations of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that have been central to the debate. The plan would provide money for other aspects of ICE as well as Customs and Border Protection. While the offer added some new restraints on immigration officers, including the use of body cameras, it excluded other policies that Democrats have demanded, such as requirements that federal agents wear identification and refrain from conducting raids around schools, churches or other sensitive places. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said they needed to see real changes. “We’ve been talking about ICE reforms from day one,” he said. Republican leaders said Democrats are putting the country at risk. “They know this is crazy,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. But conservative Republicans also panned the proposal, demanding full funding for immigration operations and skeptical of the promise from GOP leaders that they would address Trump’s proof-of-citizenship voting bill in a subsequent legislative package. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said late Wednesday that if Democrats put a “more realistic offer on the table, we’ll be back in business.”

NewsMax [3/25/2026 4:42 PM, James Morley III, 3760K] reports Transportation Security Administration acting Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill warned lawmakers Wednesday that prolonged funding uncertainty and a partial government shutdown have pushed airport security operations to a breaking point, straining officers and causing major disruptions for travelers nationwide. Testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee, McNeill said TSA has been operating without stable funding for roughly half of fiscal 2026, with more than 61,000 employees, about 95% of the workforce, required to work without pay. McNeill cautioned lawmakers during questioning that TSA is "being forced to consolidate," implying regional airports may have to close. The agency has already accrued nearly $1 billion in unpaid payroll, she said, as officers struggle to cover basic expenses. The funding lapse is taking a measurable toll on staffing. TSA has lost roughly 460 officers since February, following more than 1,100 departures during last year’s shutdown. Absenteeism has surged, with nationwide call-out rates climbing from 4% to 11% and exceeding 40% at some airports. The staffing shortfall comes as passenger volumes rise, up about 5% from last year during the busy spring break season, leading to sharply reduced screening capacity. McNeill said wait times have exceeded 4.5 hours at some airports, increasing the risk of missed flights and raising security concerns. The situation is expected to worsen ahead of the FIFA World Cup in June, which will drive another surge in travel. Even if funding is restored soon, newly hired officers would not be ready in time to assist during the event as it takes several months for new TSA agents to be properly trained. The combination of unpaid frontline workers, rising attrition and record travel demand has created cascading delays, longer security lines and operational instability at major hubs.

Reported similarly:
NBC News [3/25/2026 6:53 PM, Staff, 42967K] Video: HERE

Washington Times [3/25/2026 11:37 AM, Lindsey McPherson, 1323K] reports that U.S. airports have experienced the highest security wait times in history over the past 40 days while the Department of Homeland Security has been shut down, with some line delays stretching beyond 4½ hours, the head of the Transportation Security Administration told lawmakers on Wednesday. Ha Nguyen McNeill, acting TSA administrator, said more than 480 transportation security officers have quit since the shutdown began on Feb. 14 and multiple major airports are experiencing days where 40%-50% of officers call out of work. “We are being forced to consolidate lanes and may have to close smaller airports if we do not have enough officers,” she said. “It is a fluid, challenging and unpredictable situation.” Ms. Nguyen McNeill asked the public for patience while the TSA staffing shortages continue, lamenting a 500% increase in assaults on officers since the shutdown began. “This is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” she said, noting violators will be prosecuted. Because airport security is an essential function of government needed to protect the public, 95% of TSA’s workforce, 61,000 employees, are forced to work without pay during a shutdown. With the current DHS shutdown and the record 43-day governmentwide shutdown last fall, TSA workers have been working without pay for half the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, Ms. Nguyen McNeill said. If the shutdown is still in effect on Friday, when TSA workers would next be paid if DHS were funded, the collective total of missed paychecks throughout the fiscal year will reach nearly $1 billion, she said.

NPR [3/25/2026 3:19 PM, Ayana Archie, 28764K] reports TSA is experiencing the longest wait times ever in its 24-year history because of the ongoing partial shutdown, the agency’s deputy administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill told the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday. Wait times at some major airports have exceeded four hours, and employees at those airports are calling out of work at rates of 40% to 50%, Nguyen McNeill told members of the committee. If this partial government shutdown continues into Friday, TSA will have missed almost $1 billion in paychecks since it began, Nguyen McNeill said. Nguyen McNeill said employees are unable to pay their utility bills and their services are being shut off as a result. They’re also receiving eviction notices, sleeping in their cars and selling their blood and plasma to make ends meet. More than 480 employees have quit since the shutdown began, she said. Additionally, there has been a 500% increase in assaults against TSA officers since the shutdown began, Nguyen McNeill said. She said legal action will be pursued in these incidents. TSA may have to close smaller airports due to understaffing, she said, and she worries the agency will continue to lose officers to more steady jobs and fail to attract new talent. Nguyen said it takes four to six months to train a TSA officer to work checkpoints, meaning new hires wouldn’t be available to work when several FIFA World Cup matches take place in Los Angeles starting in June.

Reported similarly:
USA Today [3/25/2026 7:35 PM, Natalie Neysa Alund, 70643K]

Bloomberg [3/25/2026 3:56 PM, Myles Miller, 18082K] reports the Transportation Security Administration warned that airport security is under severe strain as a weeks-long Department of Homeland Security funding shutdown drives staffing shortages, long wait times and mounting disruptions across the US. “This has led to the highest wait times in TSA history, with some wait times greater than 4.5 hours,” Acting Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill told lawmakers Wednesday, adding the agency has already lost more than 480 transportation security officers during the funding lapse. Airports that have been significantly hit include those in Atlanta, Houston and New York. Lines have snaked through terminals, baggage claims and even outside in some cases, going viral on social media where frustrated passengers griped about the waits and the potential of missed flights. Early Wednesday morning, videos posted to X showed long lines at LaGuardia Airport in New York City winding through the facility. Typically wait times are posted on LaGuardia’s website, but due to the rapidly-changing situation, updates have been suspended. Lawmakers from both parties used a House Homeland Security Committee hearing to press McNeill on the operational impact of the shutdown and the agency’s response. Republicans said the funding lapse is weakening national security and straining frontline personnel, while Democrats challenged the administration’s reliance on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to support airport operations.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [3/25/2026 1:10 PM, David Shepardson, 38315K]

FOX News [3/25/2026 12:24 PM, Staff, 37576K] reports that TSA Deputy Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill outlined in her opening statement to the House Homeland Security Committee Wednesday the toll on TSA officers and travelers caused by the ongoing partial government shutdown. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [3/25/2026 12:53 PM, Staff, 37576K] reports that Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl tells Fox News Digital that even after a shutdown funding bill passes, airports will not bounce back immediately as payroll delays and callouts continue to strain staffing. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NPR [3/25/2026 4:04 PM, Meg Anderson, 28764K] Audio: HERE reports the acting chief of the Transportation Security Administration told lawmakers Wednesday of mounting hardships for unpaid TSA workers, with hundreds quitting since the DHS shutdown began last month.

NewsMax [3/25/2026 11:55 AM, Theodore Bunker, 3760K] reports that Transportation Security Administration officers working without pay, combined with staffing shortages and long hours during the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, have pushed airport operations to a breaking point, according to a union steward. George Borek, a union steward with the American Federation of Government Employees and a TSA officer, told Newsmax that the situation is "unsustainable." The partial shutdown, now in its sixth week, has left roughly 100,000 TSA employees working without full pay since mid-February amid a political standoff in Washington over immigration policy and DHS funding. At the same time, President Donald Trump has deployed paid ICE agents to assist at airports, a move intended to ease pressure on TSA but criticized by unions who say those agents lack screening training. Borek, an officer at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, appeared on "National Report" Wednesday and described the growing strain on frontline workers who have now missed multiple paychecks. "We go to work with the expectation that we’re going to get paid every two weeks, which has not happened," Borek said. "So certainly, I have to make choices for myself and my family and what I can or cannot do." Borek said many officers are approaching what is effectively their third missed full paycheck, with some initially receiving only partial pay due to the timing of the shutdown. "It’s sad to say that we’ve been thrust into something that is no doing of our own," he said. "Our employees want to come to work; they want to do their job." "We’re not asking for a raise. They just want a paycheck."

USA Today [3/25/2026 5:06 PM, Michelle Del Rey, 70643K] reports the president of a labor union representing Transportation Security Administration employees is lashing out at lawmakers, telling them not to leave Washington, DC, for Easter recess before passing a deal to pay its agents amid the ongoing partial government shutdown. "Don’t even think about going home for Easter recess while tens of thousands of American families are going without paychecks," Everett Kelley, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said at a virtual news conference on March 24. He added, "Do not get on a plane that a TSA officer screened for free and fly home for Easter dinner and tell these people that you’re working on it." Kelley’s remarks come as Congressional members continue to face scrutiny over hours-long security wait times at airports, and as they prepare to return to their districts for Easter and Passover recess, typically a two-week break.

Breitbart [3/25/2026 6:40 PM, Staff, 2238K] reports Ha Nguyen McNeill, acting administrator for Transportation Security Administration, said Wednesday that TSA agents are struggling during the shutdown. She made the comments during a hearing before the House Committee on Homeland Security amid funding issues for the Department of Homeland Security. "Officers are reportedly sleeping in their cars at airports to save gas money, selling their blood and plasma, and taking on second and third jobs to make ends meet, all while expected to perform at the highest level when in uniform to protect the traveling public," she said in her opening statement to the committee. "Many have received eviction notices, lost their childcare, missed bill payments and been charged late fees, damaged their credit, defaulted on loans, and have been unable to even qualify for a loan to help ease the financial burden during the shutdown.” According to TSAcareer.com, the starting base salary for officers is $34,454. The average is $46,000-$55,000 with locality adjustments. Officials from TSA, the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Administration and the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency said their readiness has been severely hurt by the partial government shutdown. The New York Post [3/25/2026 10:22 AM, Emily Crane, 40934K] reports desperate TSA officers being forced to go without a paycheck have started selling their blood and sleeping in their cars just to make ends meet — as disruptions caused by the ongoing Homeland Security shutdown continue to wreak havoc at airports. Some agents have taken the dire steps as they prepare to go yet another week without a paycheck, according to acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl. "We got folks sleeping in cars," Stahl said at Washington’s Reagan National Airport on Tuesday, Fox News reported. He added that others have even resorted to having their "blood drawn to afford gas to come to work." "I talked to a single mother recently who has a 3-year-old child with special needs and can’t afford to pay for childcare for that 3-year-old child," Stahl continued. Others across the country have revealed they are having to rely on food banks, going without medical care and digging into their savings in order to survive — as the partial shutdown enters its 40th day Wednesday. "I never thought I would be in a position where, working for the federal government, I would need to go to a food bank to supplement my groceries," said Taylor Desert, who works at Indianapolis International Airport. "I don’t want to have to spend my entire savings just to afford to keep living."

CNN [3/25/2026 9:51 AM, Randi Furman, 19874K] Video: HERE reports CNN News Central’s Sara Sidner speaks with TSA Union Rep. Tatiana Finlay, who reveals she’s had to resort to skipping meals to ensure her children can eat each day.

The Hill [3/25/2026 7:26 PM, Sarah Fortinsky, 18170K] reports large airports are bearing the brunt of the partial government shutdown, as soaring absentee rates among Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers strain security operations and drive long lines at major hubs. Call-out rates for TSA officers have surged nationwide as the shutdown stretches into its fifth week, with little sign of meaningful progress in Congress toward a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Before the funding lapse, the national call-out rate hovered around 4 percent, the agency’s top official told lawmakers Wednesday. It has since climbed to more than 11 percent — peaking at 11.76 percent on Sunday. At some of the country’s busiest airports, the spike has been far more severe. On Tuesday, Houston recorded a 43 percent call-out rate at its William P. Hobby Airport and a 39.8 percent call-out rate at its George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The same day, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City recorded a 36.8 percent call-out rate; Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport recorded a 36.6 percent call-out rate; Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport recorded a 35.6 percent call-out rate; Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport recorded a 28.1 percent call-out rate; and Philadelphia International Airport recorded a 27.8 percent call-out rate. Smaller airports have not experienced the same widespread, hours-long wait times seen at some of the nation’s largest travel hubs, where passenger volume is significantly higher and where transportation security officers (TSOs) are calling out at rates nearing four times the national average. Several factors help explain the disparity. Aaron Barker, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 554, which covers airports in Georgia, said many of the largest airports are based in metropolitan areas where the cost of living may prohibit TSOs from living close to work. “The cost of living in a lot of areas are different. Day care fees, the cost of gas and things are different when you are in different parts of the country,” Barker said at an AFGE press conference on Tuesday.

The Hill [3/25/2026 6:23 PM, Mallory Wilson, 18170K] reports the White House has turned down billionaire Elon Musk’s offer to pay TSA agents salaries during the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown that affects the airport agents, citing legal reasons. DHS has been shut down for over a month, leaving tens of thousands of agents working without pay. DHS officials told House lawmakers Wednesday that over 480 airport screeners have quit since the beginning of the shutdown and that the agency is expected to lose $1 billion in missed paychecks by the end of this week. If the money were accepted, it wouldn’t have been the first time a billionaire donated to the government to cover paychecks under Trump’s second administration.

Reported similarly:
CBS News [3/25/2026 5:25 PM, Jennifer Jacobs, Olivia Rinaldi, 51110K]

Washington Examiner [3/25/2026 6:23 PM, Emily Hallas, 1147K] reports the White House on Wednesday suggested it is unlikely Elon Musk’s offer to pay airport security workers during the partial government shutdown could be implemented. Musk said Saturday he would be willing to pay Transportation Security Administration employees as paychecks for thousands have been halted due to the Department of Homeland Security’s partial shutdown. The White House told the Washington Examiner that it "greatly appreciates" Musk’s offer but said the best way to ensure federal workers are paid is to end the shutdown. "We greatly appreciate Elon’s generous offer," spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. "This would pose great legal challenges due to his involvement with federal government contracts. The fastest way to ensure TSA employees — and all DHS employees — get paid is for Democrats to fund the Department of Homeland Security.” Musk holds billions in government contracts, including through SpaceX, which is working with NASA on space exploration. The SpaceX founder built a close relationship with President Donald Trump last year, leading the Department of Government Efficiency in a mission designed to target bureaucratic waste, fraud, and abuse at federal agencies. The two men had a falling out last summer but patched up their relationship in later months, with Trump saying in October that the episode marked "a stupid moment in his life." The president said, "But I like Elon, and I suspect I’ll always like him.” The latest development comes as airports around the country have experienced the full weight of the partial DHS shutdown. Thousands of TSA employees have called out sick as their pay has been withheld, prompting historic wait times at airport security checkpoints, with passengers often standing in lines for hours. Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeil told Congress on Wednesday that the agency is approaching nearly $1 billion in missed paychecks, that callout rates have hit 40% to 50% at some airports, and more than 480 employees have quit since the shutdown began.

CBS News [3/25/2026 1:42 PM, Nicole Sganga, 51110K] reports an internal watchdog report in the Department of Homeland Security identified serious vulnerabilities in TSA’s screenings at airports nationwide, among them, one created by a change in the shoes-off policy — and the agency has yet to respond five months later, according to internal communications provided to House Homeland Security Committee staff and reviewed by CBS News. Airports nationwide are in disarray amid Congress’ failure to approve DHS funding, with TSA agents having gone without pay for 40 days. After a classified inspector general audit deployed "red team" testing of airport checkpoints — undercover audits in which investigators attempt to slip simulated weapons or explosives past screeners — investigators raised serious concerns about vulnerabilities in TSA screening procedures. Investigators questioned if a politically popular 2025 policy change allowing passengers to keep their shoes on during screening may have outpaced the technology’s ability to detect threats concealed in footwear. During previous sworn testimony, former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem told lawmakers that "all of the recommendations" in the inspector general’s report had already been implemented. But in a March 4 memo to TSA leadership, Inspector General Joseph Cuffari made clear his office has received no evidence — written or oral — to support that claim. According to internal communications provided to House Homeland Security Committee staff and obtained by CBS News, the TSA has not submitted a required response to the audit— now nearly five months after the report’s release. In fact, auditors say they are still waiting for even the most basic step in the oversight process: A formal "management decision" outlining whether TSA agrees with the findings and what corrective actions it plans to take. Without that, the recommendations remain, in official terms, "open and unresolved." Under federal law and DHS policy, agencies must issue a "management decision" within 90 days, outlining whether they agree with findings and what corrective actions they will take. According to the documents obtained by CBS News, that process has not even begun. "I am writing to inform you that OIG has not received such information — written or oral — from DHS or TSA, despite our requests to the Secretary and you for that information," Cuffari wrote in a March 4 memo addressed to Ha Nguyen McNeill, the senior TSA official performing the duties of the administrator. "Please promptly provide an original copy of the documents describing any actions the Department and/or TSA took on each of the recommendations and any supporting evidence." New DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin was sworn in on Tuesday and is likely to interface differently with congressional staff and lawmakers seeking to probe not just what the TSA audit found, but why key findings of the report were classified as top secret, with access limited to just 13 officials outside of the agency responsible.

CNN [3/26/2026 12:27 AM, Elizabeth Wolfe, 612K] reports airports across the country are bracing for another crush of weekend travelers as they anxiously wait to see whether Congress will reach a deal to end the partial government shutdown that has driven mounting TSA officer shortages and resulted in the longest security wait times the agency has ever seen. There has been no significant progress on a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Transportation Security Administration, and lawmakers are set to leave for a two-week recess Friday. Without a funding solution, overwhelmed airports will go into the weekend – typically some of the busiest travel days – with spring break travel in full swing and only a fraction of their security screening capabilities. TSA workers have been quitting or calling out of work in droves after going six weeks without pay. And it is unclear whether the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deployed to airports this week to help manage the chaos have made a significant dent. Though Senate GOP leaders earlier this week believed they may have found a middle ground that would open DHS by the weekend, the plan has seemingly sputtered out. A new push for a deal is underway, but airport officials have warned of dire fallout if the crisis continues. "We worry conditions will only get worse at airports across the US until Congress ends this shutdown," Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for the Houston Airport System, said in a recorded statement Wednesday. Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport has seen some of the most severe impacts, along with travel hubs in New York and Atlanta. Scrambling to address traveler frustrations, airports have redirected employees from other departments, alerted travelers to arrive hours earlier than planned and brought in outside security personnel. Here is how airports and officials are trying to address travel disruptions. The middle of the week, typically the slowest time for air travel, offered some reprieve. By Wednesday, security wait times had returned to normal in several airports, with some exceptions. George Bush Intercontinental Airport reported a two-hour wait Wednesday afternoon, down from more than four hours earlier in the week. Szczesniak said the airport is able to operate only about half of its 37 TSA checkpoints because of staff shortages. "So that’s 100% spring break loads going through the airport being processed through less than 50% of our TSA lanes," he said. "That is not sustainable.” Nearly 40% of the Houston airport’s TSA officers called out of work on Tuesday, according to DHS. The airport has been forced to redirect employees from unrelated departments to handle crowds. "We’ve reassigned hundreds of employees from across our organization, from finance to IT to maintenance and more, to help manage lines and assist travelers," Szczesniak said.

NBC News [3/25/2026 2:47 PM, Suzanne Gamboa, 42967K] reports that the partial government shutdown is reaching far beyond long lines at airport security and flight cancellations, top Homeland Security officials told a House committee Wednesday. The protracted partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security means new Transportation and Security Administration workers won’t be trained in time to accommodate the surge of fans traveling throughout the country for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, disaster relief funds are dwindling, and some cybersecurity intelligence isn’t being properly shared, the officials told the House Homeland Security Committee. “We are anticipating a significant influx in passenger volume as fans travel through airports to see the games,” said Ha Nguyen McNeill, a senior official acting as TSA administrator. “Even if TSA were to hire new officers upon conclusion of the DHS shutdown, those officers would not be able to work on the checkpoint until well after the World Cup has concluded.” Officials from the Coast Guard, the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency testified about the harsh economic consequences befalling their employees going unpaid. Many are missing rent payments, can’t support their families and are accumulating expenses that won’t be reimbursed.

USA Today [3/25/2026 5:12 PM, N’dea Yancey-Bragg, 70643K] reports the Transportation Security Administration has reported unprecedented airport security wait times amid the partial government shutdown, but travelers from across the country are reporting wildly different experiences. As the shutdown entered its fifth week, TSA workers are having to work without pay, causing absences to soar and security lines to stretch outside terminals at some locations. Wait times at some airports are longer than 4.5 hours, TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill said during a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing. Meanwhile, federal immigration agents have been deployed at more than a dozen airports. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that it sent hundreds of immigration agents to assist with airport security. News of the disruptions has caused concern among some travelers, even those who weren’t flying out of the airports amid high reported wait times, like in Atlanta and Houston. USA TODAY spoke to more than a dozen passengers arriving at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport from airports large and small in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Many travelers said they showed up earlier than usual for their flights and crafted backup plans amid the uncertainty. Some reported bad experiences getting through security.

Newsweek [3/25/2026 6:31 PM, Anna Skinner, 52220K] reports at least two "medical emergencies" occurred at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston, Texas, on Wednesday amid oppressive heat and wait times that stretched to two hours, according to a local Fox News correspondent. A partial government shutdown has left tens of thousands of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers working without pay, triggering staffing shortages that have snarled airport security nationwide as spring travel ramps up. As call-outs and resignations mount, some airports have closed screening lanes or consolidated checkpoints, leading to hourslong waits for passengers, missed flights and mounting pressure on airlines and federal officials to restore Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding.

NPR [3/26/2026 3:00 AM, Ricky Mulvey, Wailin Wong, Cooper Katz McKim, Kate Concannon, 28764K] reports that, every time you buy a ticket that leaves a U.S. airport, you pay a fee that’s supposed to help fund the TSA. So why have TSA workers been working without pay? Today on the show, we explore the history behind an earmarked tax and its very personal impacts. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

New York Post [3/25/2026 6:03 PM, Kevin Sheehan, David DeTurris and David Propper, 40934K] reports weary passengers were subjected to three-hour wait times at LaGuardia Airport Wednesday with security lines snaking around terminals — and even to parking garages — on the 40th day of the partial government shutdown. The painful wait times come even as President Trump deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to help TSA agents who haven’t been paid in more than a month, thanks to a Democratic-led impasse in Congress. Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill said during a House hearing Wednesday that ICE agents are involved in "non-specialized screening functions." Nearly 500 TSA officers have left the job since they stopped receiving paychecks with thousands more calling out, according to federal officials. The callout rate for TSA agents on Tuesday was a shocking 11.14%, according to the latest available figures provided by the agency.

CBS News [3/25/2026 6:17 PM, Daniel Wilkerson, 51110K] Video: HERE reports TSA officers working without pay during the ongoing partial federal government shutdown have now been affected for over a month, with many facing increasingly difficult financial decisions at home. "We provide food for our community, essential household items, and hope," said Dr. Carla Stokes, executive pastor at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. Despite the shutdown, Transportation Security Administration officers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport continue to report to work each day, even as paychecks remain on hold. This situation has forced some families to make tough choices about which bills to pay and how to cover necessities like food and utilities. Leaders at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church say they are seeing more people seeking help. The church’s "King’s Table" food distribution program provides groceries and household items to families throughout metro Atlanta. "We’re doing this because so many people in our neighborhood are struggling with rising gas and food prices. People just need a little help, and we’re happy to lend a hand," Stokes said. While some families are turning to food distributions for immediate relief, others are seeking financial assistance to remain in their homes.

CBS News [3/25/2026 9:46 AM, Nicole Sganga and Kris Van Cleave, 51110K] VideoL HERE reports travelers at a Houston airport voiced shock and disbelief over seemingly endless TSA security lines caused by a severe staffing shortage. "This is insane," one traveler said. "This is the first time I’ve experienced something like this in my entire life," said another. The line at George Bush Intercontinental Airport snaked underground, across terminals and even outside as 36% of TSA officers there called out of work amid a partial government shutdown that has frozen their paychecks. Among those spotted in the security line Wednesday morning was former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, waiting for two hours and counting. Nay Dedrick of Boston said she missed her flight after waiting "6 to 8 hours" on Monday in the long security line in Houston, so she slept at the airport and tried again the next day, finally arriving home Tuesday afternoon. "TSA was only 2 people working," she told CBS News Boston. "The line started downstairs and went all the way down to the basement, and then it goes all the way back up to the third floor." Some travelers said they don’t blame TSA officers for the substantial wait times, but instead blame the government, which is deadlocked over funding. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [3/25/2026 7:33 PM, Juan A. Lozano and Lekan Oyekanmi, 3833K] reports George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston has become the symbol for how the ongoing partial government shutdown has wreaked havoc on the nation’s air travel system. While long security lines have hobbled airports across the U.S., Bush Intercontinental’s problems have been more pronounced. Frustrated travelers at Houston’s largest airport have confronted warnings of four-hour wait times to get through security, as many Transportation Security Administration workers aren’t showing up for their shifts since they’re not getting paid during the shutdown. “And we’ve been in this airport since 8 o’clock in the morning. Very tired, queuing and queuing and very slow,” Edgaer Fernando, who was traveling to Guatemala, said on Tuesday. Union and airport officials have offered a variety of reasons why Bush Intercontinental seems to be worse than other airports. These include the Houston airport having one of the highest callout rates of TSA workers in the country due to the economic challenges they are facing, higher passenger traffic as the airport is a major hub for United Airlines, and a busy tourism month for Houston. Both Bush Intercontinental and Hobby, the city’s other major airport, have had some of the highest callout rates in the U.S. While 11% of TSA workers nationally did not show up for work on Tuesday, at Bush Intercontinental, that number was nearly 40%. At Hobby, it was even higher — 43%. The callout rate in Houston has averaged between 35% and 40%, said Johnny Jones, the secretary and treasurer for Council 100 of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents TSA workers nationwide.

New York Times [3/25/2026 12:46 PM, Christina Morales, 148038K] reports for the past week, travelers flying across the country have waited in security lines that snaked through airports and parking lots as Transportation Security Agency officers called out of work because of a partial government shutdown. Nowhere else has this effect been more palpable than at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, where people waited more than four hours to go through security checkpoints on Tuesday and similar wait times were expected on Wednesday. As the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security reached 40 days, hundreds of T.S.A. officers have quit and many more have called out of work, straining resources during the spring break travel season. On Tuesday, Bush Airport reported that about 40 percent of its security work force did not show up — the highest such rate in the country. “It’s a lack-of-pay issue, 100 percent,” said Johnny Jones, the secretary and treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 100, the union that represents about 4,500 T.S.A. officers in Texas. “When you have 40 percent of your work force not showing up, you’re in trouble. That’s a lot of people.”

CNN [3/25/2026 1:49 PM, Holly Yan and Alexandra Skores, 19874K] reports that increasingly agitated travelers are sacrificing countless hours and missing milestone events as a partial government shutdown spills into its 40th day and the country loses hundreds of airport security employees. Nowhere is the scene more miserable than at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), where predawn lines this week packed an underground tunnel and forced some travelers to miss their flights — again. "We see the families arriving early and waiting for hours. We see missed flights. We see missed moments, weddings, vacations, time with loved ones," said Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for the Houston Airport System. Even more sobering: "We worry conditions will only get worse at airports across the US until Congress ends this shutdown," Szczesniak said. Some travelers at George Bush Intercontinental Airport waited in line for hours this week — only to miss their flights and return to the airport the next day. They were among a sea of frustrated passengers that stretched into the tunnel Tuesday. As they waited, a warning blared over the speakers: "Due to the federal government shutdown, TSA wait times are currently exceeding four hours," the announcement said. "If your flight is departing soon, you may not clear security in time. Please consider contacting your airlines now for rebooking options." On Wednesday, the lines were noticeably shorter, Houston airport spokesperson Casey Curry said. But she acknowledged Wednesdays are typically low-volume days. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS News [3/25/2026 7:21 PM, Staff, 51110K] reports at Houston’s George Bush Airport, security lines snake three stories, underground and even outside amid a severe TSA staffing shortage. Nicole Sganga has the latest.

NewsMax [3/25/2026 11:32 AM, Solange Reyner, 3760K] reports that a full 36% of Transportation Security Administration officers called out of work on Wednesday at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston as the partial government shutdown dragged into its 40th day, CBS News reported. Passengers waited up to eight hours to pass through checkpoints as reduced staffing continues to limit operations. Many TSA workers have not received a full paycheck in more than a month and could miss another one this week as lawmakers continue to debate funding related to the Department of Homeland Security. Houston’s Bush Airport has been hit the hardest by delays — the 36% callout rate was the highest in the country. "It’s a lack-of-pay issue, 100%," Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 100, the union that represents about 4,500 TSA officers in Texas, told The New York Times. Nay Dedrick of Boston told CBS News she missed her flight after waiting "six to eight hours" Monday in the long security line in Houston. She slept at the airport and flew the next day. "TSA was only two people working," she said. "The line started downstairs and went all the way down to the basement, and then it goes all the way back up to the third floor." Nearly 11% of TSA workers who were scheduled to report for duty Monday — more than 3,200 — missed work, and at least 458 have quit altogether since the shutdown began, according to DHS.

The AP [3/25/2026 5:55 PM, Gabriela Aoun Angueira, 1323K] reports the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday opened applications for a major resilience grant program that the agency canceled last year, less than three weeks after a federal judge ordered FEMA to make the funding available. FEMA will make $1 billion available for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, which helps states, local governments, territories and tribes take on preparedness projects to harden against natural hazards like fires, floods, earthquakes and hurricanes. “When done correctly, mitigation activities save lives and reduce the cost of future disasters,” Karen S. Evans, FEMA’s acting leader, said in a statement announcing the resumption. The funding announcement comes after FEMA under a previous acting leader, Cameron Hamilton, canceled the BRIC program last April, calling it “wasteful and ineffective.” That decision drew blowback from Republican and Democratic lawmakers as roughly $3.6 billion was halted for what amounted to several years’ worth of projects to protect infrastructure, communities and homes across the U.S. The Trump administration has slashed disaster preparedness dollars across multiple FEMA programs. It’s been one year since President Donald Trump approved any state or tribe’s request for hazard mitigation funding, a typical add on to major disaster declarations. Now, FEMA’s notice announcing the grant opportunity could signal the administration is embracing aspects of mitigation to safeguard against disasters, stating “BRIC aims to shift the focus of federal investments away from reactive post-disaster spending towards proactive infrastructure-focused hazard mitigation.” A federal judge last December ruled that FEMA could not eliminate BRIC and ordered the agency to reverse course after a coalition of 22 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration over the cancellation. U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns again ordered FEMA this month to take more steps toward restoring the program. Bloomberg [3/26/2025 5:00 AM, Zahra Hirji and Lauren Rosenthal, 18082K] reports that the Wednesday announcement is the biggest sign yet that the agency is complying with the court. It comes after Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin was confirmed by the Senate and sworn into his role. Mullin replaced Kristi Noem, who exercised tight control over FEMA’s spending and presided over the firing of hundreds of disaster workers. Acting FEMA chief Karen S. Evans signed off on the announcement of BRIC’s return, which the agency said will help save lives. “For this new funding opportunity, FEMA has reduced bureaucratic hurdles, focused funding on major infrastructure projects and shifted responsibilities to the states, reducing federal overreach,” Evans said in a statement.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [3/25/2026 10:59 PM, Kanishka Singh, 38315K]
CBS News [3/25/2026 7:42 PM, Staff, 51110K]

The Hill [3/25/2026 10:39 AM, Rachel Frazin, 4464K] reports that President Trump late Tuesday extended the work of a council that is supposed to recommend changes at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), an agency that has long been in the administration’s crosshairs. Trump issued an executive order extending the work of the council until either late May or 10 days after it submits recommendations to him. Previously, he had extended the council’s work until Wednesday after a December meeting to unveil its recommendations was abruptly canceled. Trump and Cabinet members have floated eliminating the agency entirely, but in recent months the president has talked more about doling out less money to states. December documents recently reviewed by The Hill indicate that the council had previously been eyeing a 50 percent staff cut at the agency and making it harder for incidents to qualify areas for disaster aid. It’s unclear if the council still supports those reforms, especially as newly minted Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is expected to become one of its co-chairs, replacing Kristi Noem.

Bloomberg Industry Group Bloomberg Tax [3/25/2026 3:58 PM, Suzanne Monyak, Jacqueline Thomsen, 50K] reports court officials asked Congress for more money next year for security measures, as the federal judiciary combats heightened threats to judges. The judiciary proposed $920.9 million for courthouse security measures in fiscal 2027, which begins Oct. 1, in what would be a 3.2% increase over current funding levels. The funding would pay for court security officers and fixes to outdated or broken security equipment, according to the proposal publicly posted on Wednesday. The security resources are sought as part of a $9.7 billion budget request, a 4.5% increase from last year’s funding ask. According to their proposal, "security incidents of significant concern" for judges increased by 57% last fiscal year and are "on pace to rise again." Federal authorities logged 564 threats against federal judges last fiscal year and 241 threats against federal judges so far this fiscal year, according to March 16 government data. The proposed security money would include nearly $20 million for the judiciary’s vulnerability management program, which aims to help federal judges and their families remove personally identifying information online. The judiciary’s proposal would also continue a pilot program to have the US Marshals Service protect federal courthouse grounds outside of buildings, a responsibility currently handled by the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service. Feedback in courts picked for the pilot program "has been uniformly positive," according to budget documents.

Yahoo! News [3/25/2026 12:59 PM, Amber Coakley, 46783K] reports that a United States Coast Guard crew stopped a vessel carrying 12 undocumented migrants off the coast of San Diego on Monday. Officials said the situation unfolded around 6:09 a.m. when watchstanders detected a panga-style boat traveling north into U.S. waters. A boarding crew from a Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team was deployed to intercept the vessel offshore. Officials say the operator failed to comply with orders to stop and instead attempted to flee the area. In response, the crew used what officials called "graduated use of force," which ultimately included "disabling fire" to stop the vessel. Once on board, officials identified 12 individuals, all of whom claimed Mexican nationality. The group was later transferred to United States Border Patrol personnel at Ballast Point in Imperial Beach. No injuries were reported in connection to the incident.

SFGate [3/25/2026 5:27 PM, Olivia Hebert, 10094K] reports a handwritten “SOS” message in the sand helped save two stranded Hawaii visitors as flash floods swept across Oahu, where Coast Guard and Navy crews also rescued five people and a dog from a rooftop. The rescues unfolded over several hours on March 21 as heavy rain from a second kona low triggered flooding across the island, washing out roads and isolating beachgoers in remote areas, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for Oahu as the storm moved through, prompting mandatory evacuations in parts of Waialua and Haleiwa, according to the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management. The first call came in around 10:25 a.m., when personnel at Coast Guard Sector Honolulu received reports of people stranded in rising water near Waialua. A Navy MH-60 Seahawk helicopter crew from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 37 was dispatched and hoisted five people and a dog from a rooftop, transporting them to Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point in Kapolei. Hours later, shortly after 4 p.m., a Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew spotted a distress signal etched into the sand near Yokohama Bay. Other Coast Guard crews, including the cutters Oliver Berry, Harriet Lane and Hollyhock, along with Station Honolulu boat teams as well as HC-130 Hercules airplane crews continued to conduct overflights to assess storm damage and identify others who might be stranded.

Federal News Network [3/25/2026 10:45 AM, Justin Doubleday, 1297K] reports the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, after a year of workforce reductions that has left CISA’s ranks depleted, is planning to recruit more than 300 people in the coming months. The cyber agency is also loosening restrictions around flexible work schedules for its employees. Acting CISA Director Nick Andersen announced those plans in a March 23 email to staff. Andersen said Department of Homeland Security headquarters had approved CISA’s “critical hire list,” including 329 “mission critical hires” throughout the agency. During the ongoing government shutdown, CISA will only be hiring for “excepted” positions, Andersen added. Roughly two-thirds of CISA’s staff is currently furloughed due to the DHS shutdown. But Andersen said CISA’s human capital office will be working across the agency’s divisions and offices to “assess needs and ensure we’re able to bring on the talent to support our mission.” DHS officials also approved plans to re-implement flexible work schedules, including both “Maxiflex” and alternative work schedules, Andersen added. Flexible and alternative work schedules allow federal employees to deviate from the traditional 9-5, 40-hour work week. “Given the unique work of CISA, which often requires work outside regular hours, this represents meaningful progress for our organization to be able to best complete our DHS mission,” Andersen wrote. “I know many of you have been looking forward to this.”

CyberScoop [3/25/2026 6:20 PM, Tim Starks, 122K] reports an operation to crack down on the widely used RedLine infostealer has netted the extradition of an Armenian man to the United States, where he made an initial appearance in a Texas court Wednesday. Authorities charged Hambardzum Minasyan with conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and conspiracy to commit money laundering for his alleged role with RedLine. Infostealers thieve billions of user credentials such as passwords annually. “Hambardzum Minasyan allegedly conspired with others to enrich himself by developing and administering RedLine, one of the most prevalent infostealing malware variants in the world, which has previously been used to conduct intrusions against major corporations,” a Justice Department news release said. “When executed, RedLine would steal data, including access devices, from victims’ computers.” According to a summary of the indictment, Minasyan allegedly registered two virtual private servers to host RedLine, established repositories of online file sharing for distributing Redline to affiliates and registered a cryptocurrency account to receive affiliate payments. Collectively, the conspirators also responded to questions and requests from affiliates, conspired to steal and own financial information and laundered cybercrime proceeds through cryptocurrency exchanges, the indictment states.

CBS News [3/25/2026 5:03 PM, Zachary Bynum, 51110K] reports as cyberattacks increasingly target schools and local governments, Georgia officials are investing nearly $10 million to strengthen digital defenses across the state. The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA/HS) and the Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) announced Tuesday that $9,873,903 in State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP) funding has been awarded to 44 entities statewide, with a strong focus on protecting K-12 schools. State leaders say the funding comes at a critical moment. According to the Center for Internet Security, 82% of K-12 schools reported experiencing some form of cyber threat between July 2023 and December 2024. That includes ransomware attacks, phishing schemes, and system breaches that can disrupt learning, expose student data, and strain already tight school resources.

Breitbart [3/25/2026 1:00 PM, Lucas Nolan, 2238K] reports that the FCC has prohibited the import of consumer routers manufactured outside the United States, effectively blocking the majority of networking devices from entering the American market. The danger of Chinese hackers to everyday Americans has caused the government to label foreign-made routers an "unacceptable risk" to the security of the nation. The FCC has announced a sweeping ban on foreign-made consumer routers, claiming these devices pose significant national security threats to the United States. The decision follows a similar December action when the FCC banned future drones manufactured in foreign countries from US import unless manufacturers secure special exemptions. By adding all foreign-made consumer routers to its Covered List, the FCC will no longer authorize their radios, which prevents new devices from being imported into the country. The agency justified the action by stating these products represent "an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States and to the safety and security of U.S. persons." Consumers who currently own Wi-Fi or wired routers can continue using their existing devices without interruption. Additionally, companies that have already received FCC radio authorization for specific foreign-made products retain the ability to continue importing those particular models. However, since virtually all consumer routers are manufactured outside the United States, the ban effectively blocks the vast majority of future consumer networking equipment from entering the American market.

FOX News [3/25/2026 4:56 PM, Emma Bussey, 37576K] reports U.S. forces carried out a deadly strike on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean on March 25, killing four alleged narco-terrorists, according to U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). "Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations," it said. "Four male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed," SOUTHCOM added. The strike comes as SOUTHCOM warned it was "applying total systemic friction on the cartels," signaling an escalation in U.S. military efforts to disrupt narcotics trafficking networks operating across key maritime corridors.

FOX News [3/25/2026 7:45 PM, Louis Casiano, 37576K] reports an Arizona gun dealer was indicted last week by a federal grand jury amid allegations he provided weapons to at least two Mexican drug cartels, the Justice Department said Wednesday. Laurence Gray, 65, of Hereford, Arizona, knowingly provided guns to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel in 2025, federal prosecutors said. Both cartels have been designated by the State Department as foreign terrorist organizations. He was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and conspiracy to provide support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Gray, owner of Grips by Larry, a federally licensed dealer, was initially indicted last year alongside Barrett Weinberger, 73, of Tucson. Prosecutors said the pair were involved in illegal gun transactions. On Feb. 22, 2025, Gray allegedly aided someone in the purchase of a Colt 1911 semi-automatic pistol. Other transactions happened in the ensuing months, court documents state. The charges against them at the time included trafficking in firearms, aiding and abetting the straw purchasing of firearms and aiding and abetting material false statements during the purchase of a firearm. Last week’s indictment added material support to terrorism charges against Gray. "Mexican drug cartels extensively use straw purchasers within the United States to legally acquire firearms and illegally smuggle them across the border," according to the Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a Trump administration initiative that streamlines efforts and resources within the Department of Homeland Security to crack down on illegal immigration and to "achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”

New York Post [3/25/2026 5:15 PM, Ben Chapman, 40934K] reports a baby-faced Los Angeles gangster has been sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for his role in a horrifying killing in the SoCal mountains. Cops arrested MS-13 member Kevin Arteaga in a dramatic LA takedown in 2019 that saw 22 alleged gangbangers with the super gang’s infamous Fulton clique charged in connection with first-degree murder and racketeering. Arteaga, 27, has been in federal custody since his arrest. He pled guilty to one count of racketeering in July 2025 and admitted in his plea agreement to his role in a fatal stabbing in Angeles National Forest, prosecutors said. He was sentenced Tuesday for his crimes. Arteaga, who was also known as "Streetboy" and "Lucifer," was collared in a major takedown of MS-13.

New York Times [3/25/2026 5:00 AM, Adam Goldman and Lizzie Dearden, 148038K] reports over the past 18 months, investigators across Europe have dismantled a string of neo-Nazi groups. Some were well organized and armed with guns and knives. Others appeared looser. In Britain, a teenager was arrested and charged with plotting an attack to start a race war. These seemingly unrelated cases shared a thread. In each, the authorities linked key figures to a far-right group known as the Base, which recruits online, largely through white supremacist memes and propaganda. The group’s message is that multiculturalism has made Western society irredeemable. Recruits are urged to commit sabotage and murder to hasten its collapse. American law enforcement officials thought they had stifled the group years ago with a series of prosecutions. Its European resurgence is particularly concerning, experts say, because the Base’s goals align so squarely with the Kremlin’s efforts to conduct sabotage and undermine Western governments. The man behind the Base, the authorities say, is a 52-year-old American living in Russia, far outside the reach of Western authorities.

Daily Wire [3/25/2026 6:55 AM, Kassy Akiva, 2314K] reports the Department of War announced a series of new deals on Wednesday to quickly increase U.S. weapons production, as the Trump administration pushes to place the defense industrial base on a "wartime footing.” The initiatives — spanning missile systems, critical components, and missile defense — are part of a broader effort to accelerate production and build what officials are calling the "Arsenal of Freedom.” The move comes as the United States has struck more than 9,000 targets in Iran, and after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January barring defense contractors from stock buybacks and dividend payments until they accelerate weapons production. The order warned that delays and underperformance by the contractors threaten national security, and that production has not met the needs of the U.S. military and its allies. One of the new central agreements is with Lockheed Martin to accelerate production of the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), a long-range weapon capable of striking targets deep inside enemy territory at a range of 60 to more than 499 kilometers. Under the framework, Lockheed Martin will invest in advanced tooling, factory upgrades, and testing equipment to reduce production delays and ensure that deep-strike capability equipment can be delivered faster. The agreement also opens the door for a potential multi-year contract of up to seven years, pending congressional approval. "Through this agreement, we are actively building the Arsenal of Freedom with speed and urgency," said Michael Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment. "By empowering industry to invest in the factory floor, we are building a decisive and enduring advantage for our warfighters to outpace any potential adversary.” The Department of War said the effort is a "direct outcome of Secretary Pete Hegseth’s mandate to move faster, put the defense industrial base on a wartime footing, and build the Arsenal of Freedom.” A separate framework agreement was reached with Honeywell Aerospace to surge production of critical munitions components, including navigation systems, actuators, and electronic warfare technologies. The agreement is expected to unlock a $500 million investment by Honeywell to expand and modernize its manufacturing capacity.

Roll Call [3/25/2026 6:10 PM, Valerie Yurk and Ryan Tarinelli, 673K] reports Speaker Mike Johnson previewed a floor strategy Wednesday that would leave little room for Republican defections as he pushes to renew a powerful surveillance authority, with chamber leadership navigating a precarious path amid objections from GOP critics of the program. The Trump administration wants to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for 18 months with no changes. Backers of the program say it provides critical intelligence because it allows the U.S. government to collect the digital communications of foreigners located outside of the country. But privacy-minded lawmakers have advocated for adding a warrant requirement regarding the searching of communications of Americans swept up under the program. House leaders are looking to pass a measure before the statutory authority expires April 20 — but lawmakers won’t aim for a floor vote until they get back from a two-week recess, about a week before the deadline. Under the approach outlined by Johnson, lawmakers will have to adopt a rule, which sets up guidelines for floor debate, before they’re able to pass a reauthorization measure with a simple majority. Considering rule votes are typically party line, Johnson will likely have to whip his own ranks just to adopt the rule for the "clean" extension. But with such a slim majority, GOP privacy hawks who are critical of the authority could tank leadership efforts to even allow for floor consideration of a clean extension, if no Democrats vote with Johnson. Meanwhile, some longstanding critics of the program, such as Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., have sounded off against a clean extension. "No FISA reauthorization without a warrant requirement for US citizens!" he said on social media Tuesday. Massie attached screenshots of past posts from President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, warning of abuses of FISA authorities.

AP [3/26/2026 3:23 AM, Staff, 34146K] reports former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro returns to a New York courtroom Thursday as he seeks to have his drug trafficking indictment thrown out over a geopolitical dispute over legal fees. Maduro’s lawyer contends that the U.S. is violating the deposed leader’s constitutional rights by blocking Venezuelan government funds from being used to pay his legal costs. It’s the first time that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, will be in court since a January arraignment at which he protested their capture by U.S. military forces and declared: “I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country.” Flores has also pleaded not guilty. Both remain jailed at a detention center in Brooklyn, and neither has asked to be released on bail. Judge Alvin Hellerstein has yet to set a trial date, though that could happen at the hearing. Maduro, 63, and Flores, 69, continue to enjoy some support in Venezuela, with murals and billboards across the capital, Caracas, demanding their return. But while Maduro’s ruling party remains in power, he has slowly been erased from the government of Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s acting president. Rodríguez has replaced senior officials including Maduro’s faithful defense minister and attorney general, reorganized agencies, appointed ambassadors and eliminated tenets of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has ruled Venezuela for more than two decades. She has even shaken up state television, which had been dominated by Maduro’s hourslong evening appearances. Rodríguez favors much shorter appearances without the musical acts to which her predecessor often danced. Venezuela has also reestablished diplomatic relations with the U.S., which in 2019 cut ties with Maduro’s government and recognized the then-head of the National Assembly, a member of the opposition, as the country’s legitimate leader. The U.S. has eased economic sanctions on Venezuela’s crucial oil industry and also dispatched a chargé d’affaires to Caracas. But even that may not be enough to spare Maduro and Flores from having to foot their own legal bills. In a court filing last month, Maduro lawyer Barry Pollack said the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers sanctions, flip-flopped on a decision to let Venezuela pay for his legal fees. The office approved the arrangement Jan. 9, he said, but then rescinded it without explanation less than three hours later. In a written declaration filed with the court, Maduro argued that he is “entitled to have the government of Venezuela pay for my legal defense.”

Reuters [3/26/2026 1:02 AM, Luc Cohen and Jack Queen, 38315K] reports ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro returns to a U.S. court on Thursday on criminal charges including narcoterrorism, a statute that has rarely been tested at trial and has a limited record of success. Maduro, 63, led Venezuela from 2013 through his capture in Caracas by U.S. special forces on January 3. He pleaded not guilty on January 5 to all U.S. charges against him. The 2006 statute at issue, enacted to target drug trafficking tied to activities the United States considers terrorism, has produced just four trial convictions, a Reuters review of federal court records shows - and two were later overturned over issues stemming from witness credibility. The mixed record highlights what could be a central challenge for prosecutors in the Maduro case: persuading jurors that evidence from cooperating insiders credibly establishes a knowing link between alleged drug crimes and terrorism. "The lesson of these two cases is not that the narcoterrorism statute is unworkable," said Alamdar Hamdani, a partner at law firm Bracewell and former U.S. Attorney in Houston. "It is that the statute’s most demanding element — proving the defendant’s knowledge of the terrorism nexus — requires a quality of evidence and a standard of prosecutorial diligence that leaves no room for institutional gaps, name-spelling errors, or uncritical acceptance of what your witnesses tell you," he said. Prosecutors have yet to disclose who will testify against Maduro. But one former Venezuelan general indicted alongside Maduro has told Reuters he is willing to cooperate. Congress created the narcoterrorism statute 20 years ago to target drug traffickers who finance activities the United States considers terrorism. Since then, 83 people, including Maduro, have been charged with violating it. Thirty-one pleaded guilty to narcoterrorism or lesser charges, eight are awaiting trial, and dozens are not in U.S. custody, according to the review. The conviction reversals do not affect Maduro’s case, and defendants in those cases faced additional charges that were not overturned. Maduro also faces three other counts, including cocaine importation conspiracy. Maduro, a socialist, is accused of leading a conspiracy in which officials in his government helped move cocaine through Venezuela in collaboration with traffickers including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which the U.S. labeled a terrorist organization from 1997 to 2021. Maduro and his fellow indicted officials have always denied wrongdoing, saying the U.S. charges are part of an imperialist conspiracy to harm Venezuela. His lawyer, Barry Pollack, did not respond to requests for comment about the narcoterrorism law’s trial record or possible witnesses against Maduro. A spokesman for the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office declined to comment on the same subjects.

Reuters [3/25/2026 11:44 AM, Harold Isaac and Sarah Morland, 38315K] reports the U.S. on Wednesday offered a reward of up to $3 million and possible relocation in exchange for information on the financial activities of Haiti’s Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif criminal groups. Washington has designated both groups, which bring together hundreds of gangs in the capital Port-au-Prince, agricultural Artibonite region and central Haiti, as terrorist organizations. The U.S. announcement marks a shift in tactics; previous bounties have ⁠been focused on individual gang leaders. Haitian security forces, with the support of a U.N.-backed force deployed three years ago and a U.S. private military company, have intensified attacks on armed gangs that control most of the capital, but have yet to make a major gang leader’s arrest. Once dependent on sponsorship from elites, Haiti’s gangs have grown more economically independent as they cemented control over the capital and ⁠extended to rural areas in recent years.

Bloomberg [3/25/2026 6:10 AM, Alfred Cang, 18082K] reports Vessels seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz under Iranian protection are being asked to provide lists of crew and cargo, along with voyage details and bills of lading, in order to secure a green light from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The process is still idiosyncratic and can vary from ship to ship, according to accounts from people familiar with the trade, but it points to Iran’s increasing efforts to assert control over the vital maritime channel with a semi-formal system as the conflict in the Persian Gulf extends into its fourth week. Iran has requested payments from some but not all ships, according to the people, asking not to be named given the sensitivity of the discussions. These demands — channeled through intermediaries, and of differing size — are generally reserved for oil tankers, gas carriers or other vessels with high-value cargoes, they said. Since US and Israeli strikes began almost a month ago, only a trickle of vessels have made it through the waterway, many of them Iranian or China-linked tankers. Those making it through with apparent protection from Tehran have mostly followed a similar route, hewing close to Iran’s coastline. Iran said in a communique earlier this week that navigation continued for vessels from friendly nations “in co-ordination with the competent Iranian authorities.” While Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has said Iran should keep the strait shut, the letter said the waterway remained open and “traffic has not been suspended.” The IRGC said on Tuesday that it had turned back a container ship for failing to comply with legal protocols and lacking permission to transit the strait. After US President Donald Trump set a 48-hour deadline over the weekend for the reopening of Hormuz and then pushed that back, the US government has been pressing for talks with Iran. Developments including a 15-point plan to end the war have helped cool soaring oil prices on Wednesday — but there has been little sign of letup on the ground, or of immediate changes to traffic around Hormuz.

Reuters [3/26/2026 5:04 AM, Stephen Nellis, 38315K] reports two U.S. senators on Thursday planned to introduce a bill that would ban the government from buying or operating humanoid robots made by Chinese firms. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the third most-powerful Republican in the Senate, and Chuck Schumer of New York, the top Democrat in the chamber, plan to put forward the American Security Robotics Act, which would prohibit the federal government from buying or using unmanned ground vehicles made by adversaries such as China and bar the use of federal funds in connection with the robots. The bill comes as Chinese ⁠firms compete with U.S. firms such as Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab to deliver humanoid robots that can stand in for humans for tasks as varied as dangerous manufacturing work and household chores. At least two Chinese firms - Agibot and Unitree - are preparing to list shares in China this year as their products capture attention there. In statements on Thursday, the lawmakers argued that such robots present a national security risk because they could be used to gather data to send back to China or could be remotely controlled from China. A group of lawmakers last year urged the ⁠Pentagon to add Unitree to a list of firms that work with China’s military. "Robots made by Communist China threaten Arkansans’ privacy and our national security," Cotton said. Schumer said Chinese firms with support from the Chinese Communist Party "are running their standard playbook - this time in robotics - trying to flood the U.S. ⁠market with their technology, which presents real security risks and threats to Americans’ privacy and American research and industry." The bill would contain exemptions for the U.S. military and law enforcement agencies to research Chinese ⁠robots, as long as the robots cannot transmit data to or receive data from China.

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