President Donald J. Trump participates in a roundtable discussion on immigration and border security at the U.S. Border Patrol Calexico Station Friday, April 5, 2019, in Calexico, Calif. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
Presidentย Donald Trumpย announced Wednesday that he would sign an executive order for the Pentagon to prepare Guantanamo Bay to detain 30,000 “criminal illegal aliens.”
David B. Gleason from Chicago, IL, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
“Today I’m also signing an executive order to instruct the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparing the 30,000 person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay,” Trump said. “Most people don’t even know about it.”
He said they need 30,000 beds to house the detainees, adding that putting them there will ensure they do not come back.
“Itโs a tough place to get out of,” Trump added.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
A federal judge said Wednesday that he has found probable cause to hold the Trump administration in contempt for failing to return two planes deporting migrants to El Salvador last month.
In the 48-page opinion, Judge Boasberg said the court had ultimately determined that the Trump administrationโs actions on the March 15 deportation flights, which took place after he issued a bench ruling ordering their immediate return to U.S. soil, demonstrate a “willful disregard” for the court that is sufficient for the government to be found in criminal contempt.”
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Justice Department in a filing Wednesday to answer additional questions by April 23 if they want to “purge” the contempt.
That would involve identifying the individuals responsible for what he described as “contumacious conduct,” and by “determining whose โspecific act or omissionโ caused the noncompliance,” Boasberg said.
The Justice Department could then request that the contempt be prosecuted by an attorney for the government and, should they decline to prosecute the matter, could “appoint another attorney to prosecute the contempt.”
“The Court does not reach such conclusion lightly or hastily; indeed, it has given Defendants ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions,” the judge continued. “None of their responses has been satisfactoryโฆ”
“As this Opinion will detail, the Court ultimately determines that the Governmentโs actions on that day demonstrate a willful disregard for its Order, sufficient for the Court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the Government in criminal contempt,” Boasberg said Wednesday.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
Incoming Trump administration border czarย Tom Homanย told NewsNationโsย Ali Bradleyย there is no โprice tagโ for theย mass deportationsย planned by the incoming administration
โWhat price do you put on national security? I donโt think it has a price tag,โ Homan said. โWhat price do you put on the thousands of American moms and dads who buried their children? You want to talk about family separation; they buried their children because their children were murdered by illegal aliens that werenโt supposed to be here. I donโt put a price on that. I donโt put a price on national security. I donโt put a price on American lives.โ
Homan further defended the mass deportationsโ $86 billion price tag, saying it would save American taxpayers money in the future.
โThis operation would be expensive,โ he acknowledged. โHowever, itโs going to save taxpayers a lot of money in the long run. Right now, weโre spending billions of dollars on free airline tickets, free hotel rooms, free medical care, free meals, the education system.โ
Homan, however, said they will also need help from Congress.
โWe need more resources; we need funding. We obviously need to buy more detention beds because everybody we arrest, we have to detain to work on those removal efforts and get travel documents, get flight arrangements. So we need more detention beds,โ said Homan.
Homan said the Trump administration doesnโt plan on separating families but rather deporting them together. He said the administration is looking into using halfway houses to hold U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants.
โAs far as U.S. children, thatโs going to be a difficult situation because weโre not going to change your U.S. citizenship,โ he said. โWhich means theyโre going to be put in a halfway house or they can stay at home and wait for the officers to get the travel arrangements and come back and get the family. You know the best thing to do for a family is to self-deport themselves.โ
President Trump has ensured anย illegal immigrantย from Venezuela who garnered a massive online following by posting videos of him flashing stacks of cash and urging migrants to “invade” American homes and take them over under squatters’ rights laws has been deported.
Leonel Moreno, 26, told his audience he planned to make a business out of his scams.
“He has been deported,” the Trump administration announced Friday on its @RapidResponse47 X account.
In his videos, he mocked U.S. taxpayers and even other immigrants who work for a living, alternately waving stacks of hundred-dollar bills, crying, singing or posing with an infant with mucus running out of his nose.
“I didn’t cross the Rio Grande to work like a slave,” Moreno said in Spanish, according to a translation of his videos. “I came to the U.S. to mark my territory.”
He bragged about raking in cash via TikTok as well as entitlement payments from U.S. taxpayers. He claimed that his family had received $350 a week in government handouts since entering the U.S. illegally and that at one point he was raking in as much as $1,000 a week with his viral videos.
“You’re hurt because I make more than you without much work while you work like slaves, understand?” he said in one of his videos. “That’s the difference between you and me. I’m always going to make lots of money without much work, and you’re always going to be exploited and miserable and insignificant.”
TikTok eventually shut down his account, which had amassed about 500,000 followers.
ICE picked him up after his online profile exploded, but he spent months in custody under theย Biden administration.ย
Border patrol agents at theย Texas-Mexico borderย made two interesting finds while searching vehicles last weekend, resulting in the arrests of three people in two separate incidents.ย
According to Fox News, a 20-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman, both U.S. citizens, were crossing into the United States through theย Anzalduas International Bridgeย when their vehicle was flagged by CBP agents for a second inspection on Sunday.ย
Upon investigation, officials discovered a spider monkey stowed inside a backpack in the vehicle. The two individuals were taken into custody and the monkey was transported to Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora protects certain types of monkeys and their importation is regulated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to CBP officials. However, monkeys are not permitted to be imported as pets.
On the same day, CPB agents at the Hidalgo International Bridge stopped a 68-year-old Mexican citizen crossing into the U.S. for a second inspection.
Agents discovered approximately 73 pounds of alleged cocaine stashed inside the manโs Ford Explorer. Authorities estimate the alleged narcotics have a street value of approximately $980,000.
Breaking: ๐จ Texas border patrol found another spider monkey trying to be smuggled into America over the weekend!
And with the MAHA news: ๐จ $980K in cocaine was intercepted at the Texas-Mexico border over the weekend!
The man was taken into custody byย Homeland Securityย and the cocaine was seized by CBP.ย
The suspects identities have not yet been released by officials.
“Our frontlineย CBP officersย and agriculture specialists continue to remain vigilant as they conduct their inspections; their attention to detail and inspections experience led to an interception of an endangered species and a significant narcotics seizure in two separate enforcement events,” Hidalgo Port Director Carlos Rodriguez said in a statement. “We remain committed to preventing the exploitation of protected animals and the spread of animal diseases. Seizures of narcotics also reinforce our continued commitment to our border security mission.”
By U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - https://www.ice.gov/about-ice/ero, Public Domain,
President Trump is doubling down…
Over the weekend, President Trump announced ICE must “expand efforts to detain and deport” illegal immigrants in “America’s largest [c]ities,” including Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.”
The president’s comment came in a Truth Social post on Sunday evening after a week of anti-ICE protests that have taken place in major cities across the country, with most demonstrations remaining peaceful while others turned into violent riots in places like LA and Portland.
“Our Nationโs ICE Officers have shown incredible strength, determination, and courage as they facilitate a very important mission, the largest Mass Deportation Operation of Illegal Aliens in History,” Trump wrote. “Every day, the Brave Men and Women of ICE are subjected to violence, harassment, and even threats from Radical Democrat Politicians, but nothing will stop us from executing our mission, and fulfilling our Mandate to the American People.”
“ICE Officers are herewith ordered, by notice of this TRUTH, to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History,” the president added.
The immigration protests began in LA on June 7, after local ICE raids resulted in hundreds of arrests.
The president immediately deployed the National Guard to the area when protests started two weeks ago, garnering criticism from Democrats insisting their presence would only escalate tensions.
As the protests and riots expanded nationally, continuing into this weekend, violence also took hold of certain crowds, injuring both federal and local law enforcement officials, as well as demonstrators.
On Saturday, an innocent bystander was fatally shot during an organized protest in Salt Lake City, Utah, when two event peacekeepers in neon vests opened fire on a suspect, Arturo Gamboa, 24, who ran toward the crowd with a rifle, and ended up shooting the wrong person.
HOLY SHT ๐จ This is the best video on ๐. Signs on a Bridge in California read: โF*ck your protests and Your Foreign Flags. Support your local ICE Raidsโ
In spite of the protests, Trump doubled down on his efforts to deport illegal immigrants in his Sunday post.
“In order to achieve this, we must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in Americaโs largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside,” he said. “These, and other such Cities, are the core of the Democrat Power Center, where they use Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State, robbing good paying Jobs and Benefits from Hardworking American Citizens.”
He added that he wants ICE officers “to know that REAL Americans are cheering [them] on every day.”
“The American People want our Cities, Schools, and Communities to be SAFE and FREE from Illegal Alien Crime, Conflict, and Chaos,” he wrote. “Thatโs why I have directed my entire Administration to put every resource possible behind this effort, and reverse the tide of Mass Destruction Migration that has turned once Idyllic Towns into scenes of Third World Dystopia. Our Federal Government will continue to be focused on the REMIGRATION of Aliens to the places from where they came, and preventing the admission of ANYONE who undermines the domestic tranquility of the United States.”
The Trump administration called for a halt on deportation raids on agricultural sites, hotels and restaurants, and not to arrest “noncriminal collaterals” the New York Times reported. The move came out of fears that the sweeping raids were hurting key industries in the U.S.
NEW: Dodgers National Anthem singer sings in Spanish after being told not to, starts crying during a โstory timeโ while talking about how great of a person she is.
โBaby Nezzaโ said she decided to sing in Spanish because of the ICE raids.
A federal appellate court declinedto issue a stay on a lower court’s orders in a suit challenging the Trump administration‘s authority to deport Venezuelan nationals via a 1798 wartime law.
In a 2-1 decision Wednesday, a three-judge panel sided with the plaintiffs in the suit, further blocking the Trump administration’s ability to move forward with its deportation agenda.
Judges Karen Henderson, Patricia Millett, and Justin Walker of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals presided over Monday’s oral arguments, which they agreed to hear last week on an expedited basis.
In a concurring opinion of the ruling, Henderson, a Bush appointee, said: “At this early stage, the government has yet to show a likelihood of success on the merits. The equities favor the plaintiffs. And the district court entered the TROs for a quintessentially valid purpose: to protect its remedial authority long enough to consider the partiesโ arguments.
“Accordingly, and for the foregoing reasons, the request to stay the district courtโs TROs should be denied.”
Their decision could ultimately be kicked to the Supreme Court for further review.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
Illegal Immigration in the United State via Wikimedia Commons
According to new reports, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller delivered a blunt ultimatum to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) leadership in mid-May: ramp up arrests to 3,000 per day or face personnel changes.
During a tense meeting at ICE headquarters in Washington, D.C., Miller reportedly warned that regional offices failing to meet the target would see their leadership replaced. Sources familiar with the meeting said Miller left no room for interpretation โ improved numbers werenโt encouraged, they were mandatory. (RELATED: Legal Battle May Reveal Big Payouts Tied To Bidenโs Border Policies)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, also in attendance, struck a more measured tone. Still, the message was clear, according to NBC News: immigration enforcement efforts must intensify and take precedence:
Misdemeanor cases for border crossings are regularly appearing in federal court, a rarity in recent years. Justice Department teams focused on other issues are being disbanded, with members being dispersed to teams focused on immigration and other administration priorities.
And prosecutors say cases without immigration components have stalled or are moving more slowly, according to documents seen by NBC News and conversations with six current and former prosecutors and a senior FBI official, who described how immigration is now a central part of discussions around whether to pursue cases.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
โImmigration status is now question No. 1 in terms of charging decisions,โ an assistant U.S. attorney said. โIs this person a documented immigrant? Is this person an undocumented immigrant? Is this person a citizen? Are they somehow deportable? What is their immigration status? And the answer to that question is now largely driving our charging decisions.โ
At least one U.S. attorneyโs office abandoned a potential federal prosecution of someone who prosecutors felt was dangerous because the case against the person lacked an immigration component, an email obtained by NBC News showed. The office instead left the case to state prosecutors.
Mobilizing National Resources
Following the confrontation, ICE launched โOperation At Large,โ a coast-to-coast initiative designed to supercharge apprehensions. The scale is unprecedented. Over 21,000 National Guard troops and 250 IRS agents have been folded into the effort, alongside thousands of ICE and federal law enforcement personnel. (RELATED: Police Case That Fueled 2020 Protests Returns To Supreme Court)
The operationโs reach has required coordination across agencies, pulling FBI and DOJ resources away from their usual focus areas and toward immigration-related priorities.
The Daily Mailhas more on Miller’s dramatic call to action:
He then reportedly gave them an open challenge and asked: ‘Why aren’t you at Home Depot? Why aren’t you at 7-Eleven?’
Miller further pushed, getting into what an official called a ‘p***ing contest,’ saying: ‘What do you mean youโre going after criminals?โ
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
In a statement to the Examiner, ICE deputy assistant director of media affairs Laszlo Baksay said the descriptions were ‘inaccurate.’
However, the conservative-leaning outlet cited sources within ICE and DHS who claimed Millerโs remarks further eroded morale among rank-and-file agents, which was already low.
โHe had nothing positive to say about anybody,โ one official told the paper, describing the mood following Millerโs visit.
Another source painted a darker picture of the internal climate confronting ICE agents:
โTheyโve been threatened, told theyโre watching their emails and texts and Signals. Thatโs what is horrible about things right now. Itโs a fearful environment. Everybody in leadership is afraid. Thereโs no morale. Everybody is demoralized.โ
Despite the backlash, Miller defended the administrationโs approach during an appearance with Sean Hannity, insisting the 3,000-arrest-per-day quota is only a temporary benchmark โ and warning that agents should be prepared for that figure to rise.
Localized operations have revealed just how expansive the crackdown has become since Miller and Noem appeared at Potomac Center Plaza in Southwest D.C. Across the nation, agents have ramped up early-morning sweeps and workplace raids, often coordinated with minimal local notification. In Florida, a weeklong action labeled โOperation Tidal Waveโ resulted in 1,120 arrests โ the largest ICE enforcement action ever recorded in a single state.
Tennessee saw similar efforts, with 196 arrests in the Nashville area. The local response was sharply critical. Nashvilleโs mayor denounced the operation as out of step with the cityโs values and implemented policies limiting cooperation with ICE. Republicans in Congress are now investigating whether the mayorโs office leaked information about ICE agents โ a serious charge with national implications.
Focus on Career Criminals โ But Collateral Arrests Are Rising
Officially, the crackdown targets individuals with criminal records or prior deportation orders. But internal ICE guidance reportedly encourages officers to make โcollateral arrestsโ โ detaining illegal immigrants encountered in the field, even if they werenโt the original target and have no criminal history.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/us_icegov/54295293536/in/photostream/, Creative Commons Attribution-Public Domain Mark 1.0 Universal (CC BY-NC-SA 1.0)
The broader approach has raised legal and logistical concerns, as well as fears of potential overreach, according to immigrant advocacy groups.
Leadership Purge Signals Internal Pressure
It also hasnโt come without fallout inside ICE. Two senior officials โ Kenneth Genalo and Robert Hammer โ have been removed from their posts in recent weeks. Sources say the firings reflect internal friction over how aggressively to pursue the administrationโs ambitious targets. They also serve as a warning to others who might be perceived as resistant to the push.
White House: Fulfilling the Mandate, Critics Question the Cost
The administration stands by the operation. Officials say it delivers on President Trumpโs second-term promise: to secure the border and remove criminal illegal aliens.
Still, questions remain. Legal scholars are raising red flags over the breadth of federal involvement, and local-federal cooperation is growing more strained. As the operation continues, so does the debate โ over strategy, law, and the real-world impact on communities nationwide.
By Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America - Thomas Homan, CC BY-SA 2.0,
MINNEAPOLIS โ Border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday that the Trump administration will conclude Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis and the Twin Cities area, saying the large-scale federal immigration enforcement effort achieved its objectives and made the region safer.
Speaking at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Fort Snelling, Homan said the stepped-up ICE operation would be scaled back after weeks of heightened federal presence and cooperation with state and local law enforcement. โI have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude,โ Homan told reporters.
Homan said the successful results of the mission โ including arrests of individuals with criminal histories and disrupting unlawful agitator activity โ warranted the drawdown. โTwin Cities and Minnesota in general are and will continue to be much safer for the communities here because of what we have accomplished under President Trumpโs leadership,โ he said during his third press conference since being tasked with leading the surge.
Federal officials say the initiative, which began late in 2025, has resulted in thousands of arrests of dangerous illegal aliens and public safety threats, helping stem criminal activity and bolster cooperation with local law enforcement.
Homan outlined that federal officers will either return to their home duty stations or be reassigned elsewhere once the drawdown is complete. โLaw enforcement officers drawing down from this surge operation will either return to the duty stations or be assigned elsewhere.โ
In recent days, Homan confirmed that 700 of nearly 3,000 federal immigration officers have already been reassigned, a move he framed as responsive to productive coordination with state officials.
The operation had drawn intense national attention and criticism after two Americans โ Renรฉe Good and Alex Pretti โ were killed in separate confrontations with federal agents during enforcement actions, sparking protests and legal challenges.
The Trump administration has closed fiscal year 2025 with a historic milestone on border security โ the lowest U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions in more than five decades, according to preliminary enforcement data released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Border agents recorded 237,565 apprehensions in fiscal year 2025 โ slightly above the 201,780 apprehensions in 1970 but dramatically below recent levels. The numbers represent an 87% drop compared to the average of the past four fiscal years (1.86 million apprehensions) and showcase what can happen when the federal government finally enforces immigration laws.
This achievement came even though 72% of this yearโs total apprehensions happened during the final 111 days of the Biden administration โ before President Trump returned to office and immediately began reversing his predecessorโs โopen-borderโ policies.
โFiscal year 2025 shows what happens when we enforce the law without compromise,โ said CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott. โFor too long, agents and officers were handcuffed by failed policies. Today they are empowered to do their jobs โ and the result is the most secure border in modern history.โ
Reversing Bidenโs Border Chaos
When President Trump took office in January 2025, he inherited what many described as a border crisis fueled by Bidenโs mass-release policies. In just the first 111 days of the fiscal year, under Bidenโs watch, 172,026 apprehensions occurred โ nearly three-quarters of the yearโs total.
But once Trumpโs immigration directives took effect, the situation changed dramatically. Over the next 254 days, apprehensions plummeted to 65,539 โ just 27% of the fiscal yearโs total.
September 2025 alone saw only about 279 apprehensions per day along the Southwest border โ a staggering 95% decline compared to the Biden-era daily average of 5,110. It also marked the fifth consecutive month of zero illegal immigrant releases by Border Patrol โ a stark contrast to 9,144 releases in September 2024.
Across all entry points, CBP recorded roughly 26,000 total encounters in September, down 89% from Bidenโs monthly averages.
Strong Action From Day One
President Trump wasted no time taking decisive action to reestablish border control:
Deployed additional personnel to the southern border.
Ended โcatch-and-releaseโ, ensuring illegal migrants are no longer released while awaiting hearings.
Shut down Bidenโs CBP One app parole loophole, later repurposing the app to help migrants self-deport.
Paused parole programs and authorized ICE to cancel parole statuses.
Ordered strict enforcement of existing immigration laws, restoring morale and authority to frontline border agents.
These policies stand in sharp contrast to Bidenโs approach, which relied on controversial โparoleโ programs and insisted on new legislation instead of acting on existing laws.
