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Report: Appeals Court Blocks Trump Admin’s Deportation Flights

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Image via Pixabay

A federal appellate court declined to 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 parties’ arguments.

“Accordingly, and for the foregoing reasons, the request to stay the district court’s 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.

Obama Appointee Blocks Trump Immigration Order

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This is far from over…

A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from revoking the legal status and work permits of the more than 530,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who flew into the United States during former President Joe Biden’s time in office. 

The migrants came to the U.S. under Biden’s controversial CHNV mass humanitarian parole program.

In her order, Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee, wrote that each migrant needs to have an individualized, case-by-case review.

“The Termination of Parole Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, 90 Fed. Reg. 13611 (Mar. 25, 2025), is hereby STAYED pending further court order insofar as it revokes, without case-by-case review, the previously granted parole and work authorization issued to noncitizens paroled into the UnitedStates pursuant to parole programs for noncitizens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (the “CHNV parole programs”) prior to the noncitizen’s originally stated parole end date,” she wrote. 

Biden created the CHNV program in 2023 via his executive parole authority. The program was launched in 2022 and initially first applied to Venezuelans before it was expanded to additional countries.

The Biden administration argued that CHNV would help reduce illegal crossings at the southern border and allow better vetting of people entering the country amid an influx of migrants. 

The program was temporarily paused due to widespread fraud.

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security and the Trump administration told Fox News that Talwani essentially ruled that Trump can’t use his own executive authority, the same authority Biden used, to revoke the parole that Biden granted. 

“It is pure lawless tyranny,” a Trump administration official told Fox News. 

In March, the roughly 532,000 migrants under the CHNV program were told to leave the U.S. 

Mother Of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s Nephew Nabbed By ICE

Federal immigration authorities have detained the mother of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew, a woman who officials say overstayed a decades-old tourist visa. Bruna Caroline Ferreira was taken into custody in Revere, Massachusetts, after allegedly remaining in the United States illegally since her B2 visa expired in June 1999, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson quoted by NBC News.

Ferreira, originally from Brazil, shares an 11-year-old son with Leavitt’s older brother, Michael Leavitt. In a statement to New Hampshire outlet WMUR, Michael emphasized his son’s welfare amid the situation. “The only concern has always been the safety, well-being, and privacy of my son,” he said.

Karoline Leavitt, 28, the youngest White House press secretary in U.S. history, declined to comment on the arrest. However, a source told WMUR that Ferreira and Leavitt have not been in contact “for many years,” adding that the child “has lived full-time in New Hampshire with his father since he was born. He has never resided with his mother.”

According to DHS, Ferreira entered the United States legally in 1998 but failed to depart when required. “She entered the US on a B2 tourist visa that required her to depart the US by June 6, 1999,” the agency said. “She is currently at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center and is in removal proceedings. Under President Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem, all individuals unlawfully present in the United States are subject to deportation.”

NBC News reported that Ferreira had previously been arrested on suspicion of battery, though the outcome of that case is unclear. No charges appear in Massachusetts’ online court records.

Ferreira’s attorney, Todd Pomerleau, strongly disputes DHS’s characterization of his client, arguing she should not be facing deportation. He said she has “maintained her legal status” through the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and was actively working toward obtaining a green card before her arrest.

“She’s in the process of actually getting her green card and she was abruptly arrested and taken from her young child right before Thanksgiving,” Pomerleau told WCVB. “Bruna has no criminal record whatsoever. I don’t know where that is coming from. Show us the proof. There’s no charges out there. She’s not a criminal illegal alien.”

Pomerleau said the family has been struggling with the distance, noting that Ferreira’s son has not spoken to her since she was taken into custody. “I’m just trying to fight to get her out of jail,” he said. “She should not be sitting in a jail hours away from her family and from her child’s life. She’s a great mom, and from what I heard, I think he’s been a pretty good dad.”

He added, “His mother is locked up in Louisiana, where she should have never been in the first place.”

The case comes as the Trump administration carries out what it describes as a broad “mass deportation campaign,” emphasizing stricter enforcement of existing immigration laws. The initiative includes encouraging voluntary return for those in the country illegally and increasing operations by ICE, the Border Patrol, and state National Guard units.

A relative of Ferreira has launched a GoFundMe campaign, stating she was brought to the U.S. as a child and “followed all protocols.” The fundraiser says, “Since then, she has done everything in her power to build a stable, honest life here. She has maintained her legal status through DACA, followed every requirement, and has always strived to do the right thing.”

Ferreira remains in federal custody as her removal proceedings continue.

VP Vance Says Trump Aims To Complete Border Wall By 2029

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Trump at the border wall via Wikimedia Commons

The Trump Administration is working hard to secure the border.

During a visit to Eagle Pass, Texas, a reporter asked Vice President Vance how he and the President would define “success” when it comes to the initiative and how much of the border needs to be “walled off” before the end of Trump’s administration.

“I think the president’s hope is that by the end of the term we build the entire border wall,” the vice president replied.

“And of course that’s the physical structure — the border wall itself — but we even heard today, there are so many good technological tools, so many great artificial intelligence-enabled technologies that allow us” to guard the southern border, he added.

The Hill reported that Vance also suggested the administration would employ artificial intelligence (AI) tools to aid with efforts to combat illegal immigration — a top priority for Trump, who promised while on the campaign trail to conduct the largest deportation operation in history. The vice president pointed to AI-enabled cameras that can spot migrants up to 2 miles away from the border, before they cross over.

“We’re using artificial intelligence to make us better at the job of border enforcement, but we’ve got to make sure that technology is deployed across the entire American southern border,” Vance said.

“We’re going to do it as much as we can, as broadly as we can, because that’s how we’re going to protect the American people’s security,” he added.

Building the wall was a centerpiece of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. During his first term, his administration reinforced more than 400 miles of the already existing wall and added about 80 miles of barrier to the border.

Trump administration officials recently told GOP senators that they’re running out of money to secure the border and need Congress to immediately pass $175 billion to complete the U.S.-Mexico border wall and hire more law-enforcement agents.

Trump Border Czar Warns California Officials Can Be Arrested If They Disrupt ICE Raids

By Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America - Thomas Homan, CC BY-SA 2.0,

Things are escalating…

On Sunday, Border czar Tom Homan warned California officials could face arrest and prosecution if they “cross the line” following President Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles to quell ongoing immigration protests.

Trump ordered at least 2,000 National Guard members to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after two days of clashes with demonstrators, despite state and city leaders saying they had not asked for assistance.

Homan said Trump’s order was not only to protect law enforcement officers but also to “protect this community.”

“The rhetoric is so high against ICE officers in this city that it’s a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt,” Homan told NBC News’s Jacob Soboroff in an interview slated for broadcast Sunday night. “We’ve got help coming, and we’re going to do our job, and we’re going to continue doing that job.”

On Sunday morning, Newsom, in a post on the social platform X, claimed the federal government is “taking over the California National Guard” because “they want a spectacle.”

“Don’t give them one. Never use violence. Speak out peacefully,” he added.

In the NBC News interview, Homan bashed Newsom’s comments and called him “an embarrassment for the state.”

“I have absolutely no respect for this governor,” Homan said. “Criminal aliens are walking in this state every day because of his government policy. I don’t care what the governor thinks of me. I’m not running a popularity contest.”

Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Admin. From Deporting Migrants To Guantanamo Bay

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A federal court on Sunday issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from sending three Venezuelan immigrants held in New Mexico to the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detention camp.

Lawyers for the trio said in a legal filing that the detainees “fit the profile of those the administration has prioritized for detention in Guantánamo, i.e. Venezuelan men detained in the El Paso area with (false) charges of connections with the Tren de Aragua gang.”

In the filing, the lawyers asked a U.S. District Court in New Mexico for a temporary restraining order to block the administration from flying them to the U.S. military base. The lawyers noted that “the mere uncertainty the government has created surrounding the availability of legal process and counsel access is sufficient to authorize the modest injunction.”

The filing came as part of a lawsuit on behalf of the three men filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and Las Americas Immigrant Advisory Center.

Judge Kenneth J. Gonzales granted the temporary restraining order, according to attorney Jessica Vosburgh, who represents the three men.

“It’s short term. This will get revisited and further fleshed out in the weeks to come,” Vosburgh told The Associated Press.

Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt separately said that flights carrying detained illegal immigrants had been sent to Guantánamo.

Immigrant rights groups sent a letter on Friday demanding access to people who are now being held at the U.S. naval station, arguing that the base should not be used as a “legal black hole.” Guantánamo has been criticized around the world for its inhumane abuse and torture of detainees, including interrogation tactics.

The immigrants are being held in the Guantánamo detention camp that was set up for detainees in the aftermath of 9/11. The immigrants are separated from the 15 detainees who were already there, including planners in the 2001 terrorist attack.

Trump has promised to expand the detention camp to hold up to 30,000 “criminal illegal aliens.”

Report: Trump Admin Sends Over 100 Iranians Back To Tehran In Rare Deal

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By United States Government - https://x.com/PressSec/status/1882759560613527770, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=159931598

The Trump administration has reportedly deported a planeload of more than 100 Iranians under a deal struck with the Iranian government.

Iranian officials confirmed to The New York Times that the planeload of migrants took off from Louisiana on Monday night and was expected to arrive in Iran via Qatar on Tuesday. A U.S. official also reportedly confirmed the plan to the outlet.

Monday’s round of deportations is the first step in a larger plan to deport approximately 400 Iranian nationals.

“The Trump Administration is committed to fulfilling President Trump’s promise to carry out the largest mass deportation operation of illegal aliens in history, using all the tools at our disposal,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News on Tuesday.

The deal marks a rare instance of cooperation between Tehran and the US, which saw heightened tensions in the wake of this summer’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Iranian officials told The Times that the deportation deal came about after months of discussions between the two nations.

The identities of the Iranian deportees are unknown, but The Times reported that the group included men and women, some of whom were couples. The outlet also noted, citing Iranian officials, that some of the deportees volunteered to leave the U.S. after spending time in detention centers, while others were not going voluntarily.

Iranian officials also told The Times that in almost every case, the deportees either had asylum requests denied or had yet to appear before a judge for a hearing on their requests.

“We have urged the American government to respect the rights of Iranian migrants and their citizenship rights under international law. They must not be denied consular services, fair judicial process, or the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Noushabadi told Tasnim news agency.

Another official told the news agency that the individuals being deported had left Iran legally, but how they entered the U.S. was “another matter.” For decades, the U.S. had granted refuge to Iranians fleeing political repression due to the regime’s reputation for brutal human rights abuses.

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Trump Border Czar Lays Down The Law After Democrats Storm ICE Facility

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By Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America - Thomas Homan, CC BY-SA 2.0,

President Trump’s border czar issued a stark warning to Democrats who recently stormed a Newark, New Jersey, ICE facility in the name of an “oversight” visit.

Tom Homan’s warning came days after Democratic officials allegedly stormed the ICE facility

“If you cannot support ICE, shame on you. If you can support sanctuary cities, shame on you, but you can’t cross that line,” Homan said Wednesday, railing against the Democrats during an appearance on “Kudlow.”

“When you cross a line of impediment, when you cross the line of knowingly harboring and concealing an illegal alien, when you criminally trespass one of our facilities, we will ask the attorney general to prosecute you.”

“You can’t cross that line of impediment,” he continued.

Homan previously responded “yes” when asked by a reporter if the lawmakers implicated in the situation should face censure or removal of their committee assignments. 

He also told Kudlow he had been in touch with Trump counselor Alina Habba, the acting U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey, regarding the matter.

“Alina’s taking it seriously, going through a lot of videotape, talking to a lot of witnesses, and we’ll see where the investigation falls,” Homan shared.

He proceeded to blast the lawmakers as “very inappropriate” and “unprofessional,” stressing the need to control a facility containing “dangerous” illegal immigrant criminals for the safety of all parties – the detainees, officers and the public.

“Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) recently offered a specific warning to DHS officials, including Homan and Sec. Kristi Noem, regarding Democratic officials entangled in the news.

“You lay a finger on [New Jersey Congresswoman] Bonnie Watson Coleman or any of the representatives that were there – you lay a finger on them, and we’re going to have a problem,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Instagram.

Homan dismissed the rhetoric, saying the New York Democrat “doesn’t know what she’s talking about” and that he has much more knowledge and experience in the border security realm than she does.

House Republicans have introduced measures to punish the Democrats involved in the altercation, including a censure resolution against Rep. LaMonica McIver, another lawmaker from New Jersey who was at the protest, and a resolution to strip them of their committee assignments.

On Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) warned against repercussions for his fellow Democrat lawmakers who clashed with federal agents at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, last week.

During an exchange with Fox News reporter Chad Pergram, Jeffries repeatedly said “they’ll find out” when pressed what might happen if the House Democrats involved in the incident were to be arrested by federal authorities or get sanctioned.

Federal Judge Faces Impeachment Threat Over Recent Deportation Fight

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Image via Pixabay

Things are heating up…

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump called for the impeachment of a judge in a Truth Social post, referring to U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg who recently sought to block deportation flights to El Salvador.

“This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President – He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING! I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY,” Trump declared in the post.

“I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” the president added.

Over the weekend, Republican Rep. Brandon Gill (Texas) said he would be pushing to impeach the federal judge who ordered the Trump administration to halt deportations of Venezuelan gang members.

“I’ll be filing Articles of Impeachment against activist judge James Boasberg this week,” Gill wrote in a post on X.

On Saturday, President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The order was intended to target members of the Tren de Aragua gang, who Trump said could be arrested, restrained and removed from the country. The moment marked only the third time the wartime act has been used and the first time since World War II.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg had earlier ordered a temporary block on the deportation of five of the group’s members, which prompted Trump to issue the proclamation.

The editorial board of The New York Post also hammered billionaire Elon Musk for calling to impeach Judge Boasberg, calling the move “way out of line.”

“Elon Musk is way out of his lane in cheering a bid to impeach federal Judge James Boasberg, who’s put a temporary hold on deportation flights of illegal migrant gangbangers,” the editorial board wrote in their Sunday piece, which was highlighted by Mediaite.

“We like the idea of the flights: The brutes of Tren de Aragua and MS-13 have had it too easy for far too long, and current efforts to get tough are a necessary correction to Biden-era denial,” they added

“The case seems destined to go all the way to the Supreme Court. Can the feds simply declare anyone a TdA member before putting them on a plane off to an El Salvadoran prison?” the Post editorial board questioned in their piece.

“Which makes it just plain silly for Musk to tweet ‘necessary’ of a Texas rep’s plan to file to impeach the judge: It’s nothing of the kind, and cheering it only makes Musk look reckless — a reputation he doesn’t need when many DOGE actions also face court challenge,” they added.

Trump Mulls Arresting Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary: Watch

President Donald Trump holds a press conference with Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room on Friday, June 27, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

President Trump said he is open to considering investigating and possibly arresting Biden-era Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

During a Tuesday press conference in Florida after a tour of a migrant detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” Trump held a press conference alongside Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) and current Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The President was asked about people calling for the arrest of Mayorkas due to his handling of the southern border under former President Joe Biden.

NEW YORK CITY (September 11, 2022) Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas lays flowers for USSS Master Special Officer Craig Miller and participates in the September 11th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony at Ground Zero in New York City, NY. (DHS photo by Sydney Phoenix)

“I ran into former DHS Secretary Mayorkas and I asked him a couple of questions about his disastrous handling of the border. He didn’t like my questions, but the number one question that I heard from people responding to my video was, ‘Why hasn’t he been arrested yet?’” The Blaze’s Julio Rosas asked the president at Tuesday’s presser.

Trump blasted Biden for the last-minute pardons he handed out before leaving office. However, the President was unaware of whether Mayorkas received a Biden pardon. He did not.

“Was he given a pardon, Mayokas? Was he not?” Trump asked.

“I don’t believe so,” Rosas said.

“Well, I’d take a look at that one because what he did is it’s beyond incompetence. Something had to be done. Now, with that being said, he took orders from other people, and he was really doing the orders. And you could say he was very loyal to them because it must have been very hard for him to stand up and sit up and, you know, talk about what he allowed to happen to this country and be serious about it. So he was given orders. If he wasn’t given a pardon, I could see looking at that,” Trump said.

The president was then reminded that the House of Representatives voted to impeach Mayorkas, though the effort never made it anywhere in the Senate. The vote in the House to impeach Mayorkas was over “willful and systemic refusal to comply with” immigration laws.

“He was impeached, but yeah, it was just a fake impeachment. It was a fake impeachment. But why don’t you take a look at it? I think he was so bad. They were all so bad, look, it was the worst president in the history of our country,” Trump said.

Trump’s remarks against Mayorkas come hours after the President floated potentially deporting billionaire Elon Musk back to South Africa.

“We’ll have to take a look,” Trump said. “We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon! Wouldn’t that be terrible?”

Watch:

After a brief ceasefire between the president and his former DOGE lieutenant, the war of words has ratcheted up again over the past 24 hours — with Musk revving up his criticism of the Trump-backed “Big, Beautiful” budget bill. Musk, in a Monday post on X, denounced the legislation and floated the idea of forming a new political party.