Construction continues on new border wall system project near Yuma, AZ. Recently constructed border wall near Yuma, Arizona on June 3, 2020. CBP photo by Jerry Glaser.
In a disappointing turn for border security advocates, the Texas Legislature has officially canceled the state’s ambitious effort to build its own border wall — a project that Gov. Greg Abbott hailed in 2021 as a bold step toward protecting Texans in the absence of meaningful federal action. Despite allocating more than $3 billion to the initiative, only about 65 miles of wall — much of it scattered in rural areas — has been completed.
Gov. Abbott launched the state-funded wall project in December 2021 after Biden administration inaction left Texans on the front lines of an escalating border crisis. At the time, Texas was the first state to attempt such a massive undertaking — one born out of necessity as illegal crossings surged and federal authorities turned a blind eye.
Standing beside towering steel beams at the border, Abbott made it clear that Texas would do what President Biden refused to: secure the southern border. “It’s heavy and it’s wide,” he said. “People aren’t making it through those steel bars.” He was right — but it turns out they didn’t have to. Thanks to landowner restrictions, bureaucratic red tape, and court battles, the wall was never continuous. Instead, it became a patchwork of isolated segments that migrants — and cartels — could easily walk around.
According to The Texas Tribune, only 8% of the 805 miles identified for construction have been completed. Those segments — largely concentrated on privately owned ranches — often sit in remote areas with lower migrant traffic. In other words, the federal government’s refusal to act left the state with the toughest and most expensive terrain, forcing Texas to play defense on the hardest frontlines with both hands tied.
And while the total cost of the wall project now stands at more than $3 billion, legislators pulled the plug quietly, slipping the decision into the final state budget without debate or public notice.
The 2025-26 state budget, passed in early June, includes a substantial $3.4 billion allocation for border security — but none of that will fund further wall construction. Instead, those resources are being redirected to Operation Lone Star, Abbott’s ongoing border crackdown that mobilizes Texas Department of Public Safety officers and National Guard troops to deter illegal crossings and apprehend migrants.
Sen. Joan Huffman (R), who led budget negotiations, defended the shift, stating that wall construction “should have always been a function of the federal government.” Texas had stepped up, she said, because Washington had failed — and continued to fail.
Some GOP lawmakers have raised concerns not about the need for border security, but about the strategic wisdom of funding isolated wall segments. Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood) questioned whether lawmakers were spending billions “to give the appearance of doing something rather than taking the problem on to actually solve it.” Sen. Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) was more blunt, calling it a “hamster wheel” strategy.
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 — improved numbers weren’t encouraged, they were mandatory. (RELATED: Legal Battle May Reveal Big Payouts Tied To Biden’s 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
“Immigration status is now question No. 1 in terms of charging decisions,” an assistant U.S. attorney said. “Is 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.”
At least one U.S. attorney’s 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 “Operation At Large,” 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 operation’s 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 you’re going after criminals?’
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 Miller’s remarks further eroded morale among rank-and-file agents, which was already low.
“He had nothing positive to say about anybody,” one official told the paper, describing the mood following Miller’s visit.
Another source painted a darker picture of the internal climate confronting ICE agents:
“They’ve been threatened, told they’re watching their emails and texts and Signals. That’s what is horrible about things right now. It’s a fearful environment. Everybody in leadership is afraid. There’s no morale. Everybody is demoralized.”
Despite the backlash, Miller defended the administration’s approach during an appearance with Sean Hannity, insisting the 3,000-arrest-per-day quota is only a temporary benchmark — 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 “Operation Tidal Wave” resulted in 1,120 arrests — 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. Nashville’s mayor denounced the operation as out of step with the city’s values and implemented policies limiting cooperation with ICE. Republicans in Congress are now investigating whether the mayor’s office leaked information about ICE agents — a serious charge with national implications.
Focus on Career Criminals — 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 “collateral arrests” — detaining illegal immigrants encountered in the field, even if they weren’t 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 hasn’t come without fallout inside ICE. Two senior officials — Kenneth Genalo and Robert Hammer — have been removed from their posts in recent weeks. Sources say the firings reflect internal friction over how aggressively to pursue the administration’s 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 Trump’s 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 — over strategy, law, and the real-world impact on communities nationwide.
President Trump has ensured an illegal immigrant 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 the Biden administration.
Ted Eytan from Washington, DC, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
On Wednesday, Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) introduced articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Kelly outlined three impeachment articles against the secretary, accusing Noem of obstruction of Congress, “violation of public trust” and “self-dealing.”
“Secretary Noem has brought her reign of terror to the Chicagoland area, L.A., New Orleans, Charlotte, Durham, and communities north to south to east to west,” Kelly said at the press conference. “She needs to be held accountable for her actions.”
The first impeachment article alleges Noem denied Kelly and other members of Congress “oversight of ICE detention facilities,” the congresswoman said at her presser.
Kelly explained the second article, which accuses Noem of violating public trust, by saying Noem “directed DHS agents to arrest people without warrants, use tear gas against citizens, and ignore due process.”
Kelly said Noem frequently says “she’s taking murderers and rapists off our streets, but none of the 614 people arrested during Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago has been charged or convicted of murder or rape.”
On the third impeachment article, which accuses the secretary of self-dealing, Kelly said Noem “abused her power for personal benefit,” and “steered a federal contract to a new firm run by a friend.”
Kelly announced her intention to file the impeachment articles last week, after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis.
Jonathan Ross, ICE agent who shot Good in her car last week in Minneapolis, experienced internal bleeding as a result of the encounter, officials claim.
In video shot by an eyewitness, Ross and other ICE agents were seen approaching Good’s red Honda Pilot as she blocked a road during an ICE operation. When one of the agents ordered Good to “get out of the f*cking car” and stuck his hands in the vehicle, she tried to drive off. That’s when Ross, who was in front of the car, fired off three shots. Good was pronounced dead a short time later.
The Trump administration has argued that the shooting was justified as self-defense, going so far as to call Good a “deranged leftist” and “domestic terrorist” who was looking to harm federal agents.
Video shows Ross walking away on his own after firing the fatal shots. Noem said at the time that he was hospitalized, but she did not specify his injuries.
The congresswoman said that as of Wednesday morning the measure has the support of almost 70 members of Congress.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) brushed off the impeachment effort as “silly.”
“How silly during a serious time. As ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them, Rep. Kelly is more focused on showmanship and fundraising clicks than actually cleaning up her crime-ridden Chicago district,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to The Hill.
“We hope she would get serious about doing her job to protect American people, which is what this Department is doing under Secretary Noem.”
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
President Donald Trump signs Executive Orders, Thursday, April 17, 2025, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)
President Donald J. Trump announced Thursday that he will “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries” after two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot in Washington, D.C., earlier this week. “I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover,” he wrote on his social-media platform.
Earlier on Thursday, the administration revealed plans to re-examine green cards issued to immigrants from 19 countries. The June memo lists these countries — including Afghanistan, Burma, Cuba, Somalia, Venezuela and others — as of concern.
The sharper policy response comes after the suspect in this week’s attack was identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national. He entered the U.S. in 2021 under the humanitarian resettlement program launched following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The Washington, D.C. Shooting: What Happened
On Wednesday afternoon near the White House, Lakanwal allegedly ambushed two West Virginia National Guard members. The victims, 20-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, were shot during what prosecutors are calling a “brazen, targeted attack.”
Beckstrom died from her injuries late Thanksgiving Day, President Trump said. Wolfe remains in critical condition.
According to prosecutors, Lakanwal drove cross-country from Washington state for the sole purpose of carrying out the ambush. He allegedly fired 10–15 rounds from a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver, striking one Guardsman, then leaning over to shoot a second time, and then firing on the other. Authorities said the remaining National Guard member then returned fire, and Lakanwal was apprehended.
This horrific attack unfolded while hundreds of National Guard troops remain deployed across D.C., under Mr. Trump’s 2025 strategy to restore public safety in the capital.
Administration Response: Immigration Crackdown
In response to the ambush, President Trump not only called for a complete halt to migration from unspecified “Third World Countries,” but late Thursday the administration also announced an indefinite pause on Afghan immigration. Officials said they would conduct a sweeping review of green card approvals tied to the 19 countries flagged in June.
In his statement, Trump did not list which additional countries would be subject to the pause — though the 19-country list already includes several nations the administration deemed high risk.
Why This Matters — and What It Signals for National Security
Supporters of the president’s crackdown argue that the D.C. ambush underscores the danger of lax vetting under previous administrations. The suspect in this case reportedly worked in a CIA-backed unit during the U.S. war in Afghanistan, then obtained resettlement under a program from the prior administration.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has opened “Deportation Depot” migrant detention center in Florida, a follow-up to the embattled “Alligator Alcatraz.”
“Deportation Depot” is located about 45 miles away from Jacksonville in the community of Sanderson, at the site of the Baker Correctional Institution.
The facility has the capacity for 1,500 detainees, Fox News reported. As of Friday, a little over 100 migrants had been moved there.
DeSantis said last month that he moved to begin work on a new facility to fulfill an urgent need for more shelter for illegal migrants as they’re rounded up by ICE agents throughout the state.
“There is a demand for this,” DeSantis told reporters at the time. “I’m confident that it will be filled.”
The opening of the new facility came a day after the $250 million “Alligator Alcatraz” was granted a rare win by an appeals court.
The detention center was ordered to ship out all detainees and close within 60 days. The ruling by Judge Kathleen M. Williams stemmed from a lawsuit filed by the Friends of the Everglades and the Miccosukee Tribe that accused the Sunshine State of violating the National Environmental Policy Act.
A stay on Williams’ ruling was granted by a three-judge panel in Atlanta on Thursday, pending an appeal. “Alligator Alcatraz” can continue holding detainees for now.
In a video posted on his X account Thursday, DeSantis declared: “The mission continues on immigration enforcement.”
DES MOINES, Iowa — Speaking at the Iowa State Fairgrounds hours before Independence Day, President Donald Trump said he is drafting legislation to shield long-serving farm and hospitality workers from immigration enforcement actions.
“We’re working on legislation right now,” Trump told the crowd. “Farmers, look, they know better. They work with them for years.”
He referenced cases where immigrant workers had been employed for over a decade before being removed through federal action.
“You had cases… where people have worked for a farm for 14, 15 years, and they get thrown out pretty viciously. And we can’t do it,” Trump said.
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump announces he is working on legislation to protect long-time farm and hospitality workers who get "thrown out viciously," presumably referring to immigration raids.
"Radical right people, who I happen to like, may not be quite as happy, but they'll… pic.twitter.com/hH53kLKFSs
The remarks appear to address the impact of immigration raids, such as those reported at California farms, where labor shortages have followed large-scale enforcement. A significant portion of that workforce is made up of illegal immigrants.
After weeks of back-and-forth, Trump ultimately echoed her stance on Thursday night — arguing that those in agriculture and hospitality deserve more authority over who they employ. “We’re going to work with them, and we’re going to work very strong and smart,” he said. “We’re going to put you in charge. We’re going to make you responsible. And I think that’s going to make a lot of people happy.”
Acknowledging that the proposal may not sit well with his party’s immigration hardliners, Trump added: “radical right people, who I also happen to like a lot, they may not be quite as happy. But they’ll understand, won’t they?”
He then turned to Rollins and said, “Do you think they’ll understand that you’re the one that brought this whole situation up?”
The comments signal a more pragmatic tone on immigration from the president, who has long emphasized enforcement but now appears open to reforms aimed at stabilizing the labor force in key sectors.
On Tuesday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines ruled that President Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged illegal immigrant gang members complies with the law.
Haines, a Trump appointee with a background as a prosecutor in Pennsylvania, ruled that Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) of 1798 to deport Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang members is legally valid, citing TdA’s actions as a “predatory incursion” under the law.
Haines, a Trump appointee, emphasized her “unflagging obligation is to apply the law as written.”
“Having done its job, the Court now leaves it to the Political Branches of the government, and ultimately to the people who elect those individuals, to decide whether the laws and those executing them continue to reflect their will,” Haines wrote in her 43-page ruling.
The new split comes as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has filed a wave of lawsuits across the country challenging Trump’s use of the AEA, calls on the Supreme Court to immediately take up the issue and swiftly provide a nationwide resolution.
“The Alien Enemies Act — historically invoked during wartime, including World War II — empowers the president to detain or deport nationals of enemy nations. Trump’s application of the law targets TdA, a Venezuelan transnational gang designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization during his second administration, despite ongoing legal debate over whether gang activity constitutes an “invasion” or “incursion.”
Tuesday’s ruling contrasts with other federal judges’ decisions, such as Judge Fernando Rodriguez’s May 1, 2025, injunction against the AEA’s use, highlighting a judicial split that may lead to a Supreme Court challenge.
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)
The creator of ICEBlock—an iPhone app designed to alert users to the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers—has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming federal officials violated his free-speech rights by urging Apple to pull the app from its store.
Joshua Aaron, the developer behind the app, contends in his complaint that building, distributing, and promoting ICEBlock is “First Amendment-protected speech.” He alleges that Attorney General Pam Bondi and other administration officials engaged in a coordinated “pressure campaign” to force Apple to remove the app, calling the effort an unlawful act of censorship.
“We’re basically asking the court to set a precedent and affirm that ICEBlock is, in fact, First Amendment-protected speech and that I did nothing wrong by creating it,” Aaron told The Associated Press on Monday. “And to make sure that they can’t do this same thing again in the future.”
The lawsuit also asks a federal judge to bar any criminal prosecution of Aaron, citing what he describes as “unlawful threats” from Bondi, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, ICE Acting Director Todd M. Lyons, and White House Border Czar Tom Homan—all of whom, according to Aaron, indicated they would investigate him for creating the app.
He told the AP that one of his motives for suing is “to basically have them stop threatening myself and my family.”
Why the App Was Removed
Apple removed ICEBlock and similar apps in October after Bondi publicly warned that the tools endangered federal immigration officers by allowing the public—including individuals seeking to evade law enforcement—to monitor ICE activity in real time.
Bondi defended the removal in a Fox News interview, arguing that Aaron’s app could compromise officer safety. “He’s giving a message to criminals where our federal officers are. And he cannot do that,” she said. “And we are looking at it, we are looking at him, and he better watch out, because that’s not protected speech.”
The dispute comes amid the Trump administration’s continued efforts to restore aggressive federal enforcement of immigration law—an agenda that has been a central pillar of the president’s policy platform. ICE has been directed to prioritize arrests of criminal offenders, expand cooperation with local law-enforcement agencies, and counter efforts by progressive “sanctuary” jurisdictions to obstruct federal operations.
Officials like Noem, Homan, and Bondi have repeatedly emphasized the dangers facing ICE officers on the ground. From hostile sanctuary-city policies to the rapid spread of mobile apps that help individuals avoid lawful apprehension, the administration argues that these challenges make it more difficult to enforce immigration laws and protect communities.
Border patrol agents at the Texas-Mexico border made two interesting finds while searching vehicles last weekend, resulting in the arrests of three people in two separate incidents.
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 the Anzalduas International Bridge when their vehicle was flagged by CBP agents for a second inspection on Sunday.
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 man’s Ford Explorer. Authorities estimate the alleged narcotics have a street value of approximately $980,000.
Breaking: 🚨 Texas border patrol found another spider monkey trying to be smuggled into America over the weekend!
And with the MAHA news: 🚨 $980K in cocaine was intercepted at the Texas-Mexico border over the weekend!
The man was taken into custody by Homeland Security and the cocaine was seized by CBP.
The suspects identities have not yet been released by officials.
“Our frontline CBP officers 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.”
