Tag: dhs

Rioter Arrested After Laying Traps to Disable ICE Vehicles

The Department of Homeland Security has announced the arrest of an anti-ICE agitator who was reportedly using caltrops to deflate federal vehicles.

The individual was apparently detained after obstructing law enforcement by employing homemade tire deflating devices. The objects were constructed using hose and large screws. Officials found a bag full of the devices in the individual’s possession during the arrest.

One individual online reported that MS Now briefly showed some of the caltrops in the roadway, but quickly cut away without mention.

Independent reporter Andy Ngo, who has widely covered riots in far-left cities, claimed on X that this move was ripped directly from the Antifa playbook.

“The rioters in Minnesota are using the Antifa tactics from 2020,” Ngo said on X. “Antifa distribute[d] guides on making these sharp nail devices. They were regularly thrown across streets in Portland to slow down [Portland police].

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DHS: Minneapolis Holding 1,370 Criminal Illegals, Refuses to Turn Them Over for Deportation

Senior Trump administration officials and Fox News hosts sharply criticized Minnesota’s Democratic leadership during a Fox News segment addressing violent protests, alleged interference with federal immigration enforcement, and an ongoing Department of Justice investigation tied to recent unrest in Minneapolis.

During the discussion, Tricia McLaughlin condemned what she described as the left’s reaction to the protests and the treatment of worshipers whose First Amendment rights were violated.

“This is outright hysteria we are seeing from the left, and this should be the easiest thing in the world for Tim Walz and Mayor Frey to condemn. This shouldn’t be a Republican or Democrat issue. These are worshipers who are practicing their First Amendment rights to worship, and yet those rights were trampled on by these protesters who trespassed and began intimidating these Christians worshiping,” McLaughlin said.

She added, “So I’m glad to see the Department of Justice is taking this incredibly seriously, and I hope we see mug shot soon.”

Dana Perino introduced video of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, noting, “Mayor Frey talked about protesters overall. He was on CNN on Sunday, watch.”

In the clip, Frey defended demonstrators and rejected claims of disorder.

“Invaded, under siege, occupied. You know, use whatever word or superlative that you want to attach. But the bottom line is, what is taking place is designed to intimidate. It is not fair, it’s not just, and it’s completely unconstitutional. They’re peacefully protesting. They’re standing up for one another,” Frey said.

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DHS Says ICE Officers Have “Federal Immunity.” The Law Is More Complicated.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), long seen as emblematic of dangerously expanding federal power, circulated a video clip asserting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers enjoy “federal immunity” when performing their duties. Posted on Tuesday, the release comes amid widespread national attention and protests sparked by the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis on January 7. Good’s death has become a flashpoint in ongoing debates over immigration enforcement, federal use of force, and civil rights, with tens of thousands gathering in Minneapolis and rallies under the banner “ICE Out For Good” held in cities across the country in recent days.

The DHS reposted a clip of Stephen Miller, the White House chief of staff, delivering a message to ICE officers. Miller’s remarks carried a clear implication: Federal officers, he suggested, operate beyond the reach of state and local authority, and anyone who interferes commits a felony. That framing sits uneasily with constitutional text, legal precedent, and long-standing limits on federal power. While immigration enforcement is undeniably a federal responsibility, the Constitution does not grant federal officers blanket immunity from the law, nor does it erase the authority of state and local law enforcement, particularly that of elected sheriffs.

“Reminder”

In the clip, Miller delivered a blunt message to ICE officers. He framed it as both reassurance and warning at once. The language left little room for qualification:

To all ICE officers: You have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties. Anybody who lays a hand on you or tries to stop you or tries to obstruct you is committing a felony. You have immunity to perform your duties, and no one — no city official, no state official, no illegal alien, no leftist agitator or domestic insurrectionist — can prevent you from fulfilling your legal obligations and duties. The Department of Justice has made clear that if officials cross that line into obstruction, into criminal conspiracy against the United States or against ICE officers, then they will face justice.

Miller made the remarks during a period of intense tensions between federal immigration authorities and state and local officials in Illinois. At the time, DHS had launched Operation Midway Blitz, a large-scale enforcement campaign across the Chicago area beginning in early September 2025. The operation immediately triggered legal and political backlash.

That context matters, since the DHS’s “reminder” of the “federal immunity” coincided with active litigation challenging the legality of ICE’s conduct on the ground.

The Illinois Context

This Monday, the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago consolidated those disputes into a sweeping federal lawsuit against the DHS and senior ICE officials. The complaint spans 103 pages and accuses the administration of deploying what plaintiffs describe as unlawful and dangerous immigration enforcement tactics.

According to the filing, ICE agents conducted arrests without valid judicial warrants, detained individuals without probable cause, and carried out enforcement actions that violated both constitutional protections and long-standing federal court orders governing immigration arrests in the region. State and city officials characterized the federal presence as “coercive” and destabilizing. They argued that it bypassed established legal limits on federal law enforcement authority and violated the Tenth Amendment’s reservation of powers to the states.

DHS dismissed the lawsuit as “baseless.” Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the department was looking “forward to proving that in court.”

The Illinois complaint echoed earlier claims raised by civil-rights attorneys representing detainees. In separate federal filings, those attorneys alleged that ICE violated a binding consent decree that restricts when agents may conduct warrantless civil arrests. Those filings documented cases in which U.S. citizens and lawful residents were mistakenly detained, raising serious due-process concerns.

Suing separately is a group of journalists, news organizations, unions and protesters. They accused the federal government of violating the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Fourth Amendment’s ban on excessive force and unreasonable seizures, among other charges.

A judge in Chicago ruled that some of the arrests challenged in court were unlawful, finding that ICE failed to satisfy constitutional and procedural requirements. The court ordered detainees released and warned that continued violations could trigger further judicial oversight.

The Illinois litigation underscores the tension at the heart of DHS’s decision to resurface Miller’s remarks.

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DHS Expands Surveillance Reach With New Drone Office

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), long seen as emblematic of unconstitutionally expanding state power and surveillance, is increasing its capabilities again with a new office focused on drone and counter-drone technologies. The move adds another layer to a surveillance apparatus that already includes biometric tracking, AI systems, wide-area cameras, and data-fusion tools used across federal agencies. The announcement comes as the nation prepares for multiple high-profile events later this year.

The New Office

DHS explained in its press release:

Drones are transforming industries nationwide, but they are also increasingly exploited by malicious actors. The new DHS Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems will oversee strategic investments in drone and counter-drone technologies that can outpace evolving threats and tactics.

The language emphasizes speed, adaptability, and scale. DHS confirmed that the office is already operational and focused on rapid procurement and deployment across its components.

The department said it is finalizing a $115-million investment in counter-drone technologies.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem cast the initiative in geopolitical terms. “Drones represent the new frontier of American air superiority,” she said, adding that the new DHS entity will address both long- and short-term security needs of America:

[The new office] will help us continue to secure the border and cripple the cartels, protect our infrastructure, and keep Americans safe as they attend festivities and events during a historic year of America’s 250th birthday and FIFA [soccer’s World Cup venues in] 2026.

As reported by NextGov/FCW, the authority stems from the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act, which “extended DHS and the Justice Department’s counter-drone authorities until 2031.”

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DHS Invokes Immigration Enforcement To Justify Gathering Americans’ DNA

Government agencies inevitably turn enforcement responsibilities into opportunities to extend the security state. Every initiative to document, monitor, track, or otherwise spy on Americans starts with a mandate to ensure that people are obeying some rule or law. So it is with immigration policies, which fuel government efforts to gather biometric information not just on those who want to enter the country, but on citizens born and raised here. Fortunately, the scheme is getting pushback.

Massive Data Sweep Hiding in a Proposed Rule Change

On November 3 of last year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed a rule change allowing its agents to gather and store more biometric data on anybody associated with applications for “benefits” including family visas, Permanent Resident (green) Cards, and work permits. The DHS summary of the rule states, in part:

DHS proposes to require submission of biometrics by any individual, regardless of age, filing or associated with an immigration benefit request, other request, or collection of information, unless exempted; expand biometrics collection authority upon alien arrest; define “biometrics;” codify reuse requirements; codify and expand DNA testing, use and storage; establish an “extraordinary circumstances” standard to excuse a failure to appear at a biometric services appointment…

According to the proposal, the purpose of gathering biometric data, including fingerprints, photographs, signatures, voice prints, ocular images, and DNA (which is heavily emphasized by DHS) is “identity management” to verify that people are who they say they are.

Immigrants aren’t especially popular in certain U.S. circles at the moment, or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that leniency towards those who want to enter the country is unpopular. But the rule change also ropes in lots of Americans. The proposal specifies that “by ‘associated,’ DHS means a person with substantial involvement or participation in the immigration benefit request, other request, or collection of information, such as a named derivative, beneficiary, petitioner’s signatory, sponsor, or co-applicant.”

As attorneys Alessandra Carbajal, Lee Gibbs Depret-Bixio, and Ryan Mosser  note in an analysis, the new rule would affect not just immigrants but “U.S. citizens, nationals, and lawful permanent residents, regardless of age.” They add that “signatories for employers that serve as sponsors/petitioners may potentially be subject to biometrics requirements. This would mark a departure from current practice, where only foreign nationals seeking benefits typically provide biometrics.”

“This data collection would not be limited to just immigrants, it would also impact millions of American citizens,” agrees Institute for Justice (I.J.) attorney Tahmineh Dehbozorgi. “DHS is claiming this DNA collection is meant to serve one narrow purpose, but realistically, it is creating a vast genetic dragnet that endangers the Fourth Amendment rights of everyone, all without Congress’ approval.”

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Assaults On ICE Are ‘Highly Coordinated,’ While Local Law Enforcement Told to Stand Down

The Department of Homeland Security has surged federal law enforcement personnel into Minneapolis amid what officials describe as a sharp escalation in violence against officers operating in the city, which has been designated a sanctuary jurisdiction, according to DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

McLaughlin said the deployment was necessary because sanctuary policies in Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota restrict cooperation between federal agents and local law enforcement, leaving DHS officers exposed while carrying out immigration enforcement operations.

“So what’s happening with Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota is it is a sanctuary city, so DHS law enforcement, we’re not allowed to engage with their local law enforcement,” McLaughlin said.

“We’re not allowed in their jails, and local law enforcement are not allowed to respond to backup to our officers.”

According to McLaughlin, those restrictions have coincided with what she described as a coordinated campaign of violence against federal officers.

“So what we’ve been seeing is a highly coordinated campaign of violence against our law enforcement officers,” she said.

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‘Who is hiding behind these masks?’: Investigators want to know whether ICE is employing former Jan. 6 defendants, demand docs about ‘violent rioters’ hired by DHS

As controversies involving federal immigration agents pile up in multiple cities, congressional investigators are demanding to know whether the Trump administration has hired anyone who was previously pardoned for taking part in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In a four-page letter on Monday, House Judiciary Democrats put the question directly – and in plain terms – to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

“How many pardoned January 6th insurrectionists have been hired by your respective departments?” the letter begins.

In the letter, Maryland Rep. and ranking member Jamie Raskin details how some in the orbit of Jan. 6 have since come to work for the DOJ itself in high-profile positions. Among such employees are pardoned ex-FBI supervisor Jared Wise, who now serves as senior adviser in the office of the Deputy Attorney General. Raskin also makes reference to “J6 enthusiast and defense counsel” Ed Martin, who currently serves as Associate Deputy Attorney General and the head of the DOJ’s “Weaponization Working Group.”

Still, those references – to Wise and Martin – merely preface Raskin’s overarching concern.

“We know that some participants in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol have been rewarded with high-ranking positions in the Department of Justice,” the congressman said in a press release. “However, it remains unclear how many more have been invited to join the ranks of this Administration, including among the masked Department of Homeland Security agents and officers that have dragged, tackled, beaten, tased, shot, and killed citizens and non-citizens alike in communities around the country.”

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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey Loses It and Starts Cussing During Crazy CNN Interview

In an unhinged appearance on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” Wednesday night, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey unleashed an expletive-filled tirade against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over their characterization of the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good as she attempted to ram her car into an ICE agent.

Good was shot during an anti-ICE protest, in which she was using her vehicle to impede the operation, in a residential Minneapolis neighborhood.

According to DHS, Good attempted to “weaponize” her vehicle by trying to ram into agents, prompting one officer to fire three “defensive shots” in fear for his life and the safety of others.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem went even further and labeled Good’s actions as an act of “domestic terrorism” and defended the agent’s response as justified.

During a press conference after the shooting, Frey had called the claim of domestic terrorism “bullsh-t.”

Frey repeated the comment while speaking to Cooper in the evening.

The mayor claimed that Good was trying to make a three-point turn when she was shot, despite the fact that footage shows her driving right into an agent. He claimed it was “clearly not [done] with any sort of intention to run someone over.”

Frey insisted Good was just trying to “get out of there.”

“You don’t need a legal degree to know that that doesn’t authorize a use of deadly force,” Frey stated.

“That, and I’ll say it again, is bulls–t. That is bulls–t. The way that they’ve been conducting themselves is also bulls–t, and we need to be very clear-eyed about what is happening,” Frey said.

Frey claimed ICE is “terrorizing communities and ripping families apart,” once again villainizing the brave agents who are out risking their lives to arrest these criminals.

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Hilton Hotels: Hotel Behind DHS Room Cancellations Has ‘Apologized’

Hilton Hotels used a late afternoon X post on Monday to announce the hotel accused of denying rooms to DHS officers is independently owned and has “apologized for the actions of their team.”

In a follow-up post they added, “[The hotel has] taken immediate action to resolve this matter. Hilton’s position is clear: Our properties are open to everyone and we do not tolerate any form of discrimination.”

On Monday morning, Breitbart News reported DHS’s allegations that Hilton Hotels were denying rooms to Department of Homeland Security officers in the Minneapolis area. Hilton Hotels responded to the DHS by saying the hotel in question was independently owned.

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500 Illegal Immigrants Arrested In Minnesota, 1,000 Immigration-Fraud Cases Investigated: DHS Official

As additional investigators surge to fraud-plagued Minnesota, federal agents have already arrested 500 illegal immigrants and probed 1,000 immigration-fraud cases during the past two months, a Homeland Security official estimated.

Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security assistant secretary, gave those updated figures Dec. 30 during an interview with the Charlie Kirk Show.

Fraud was substantiated in about half of the immigration-fraud investigations, she said, and many of the arrested illegal immigrants were from Somalia.

Somalis dominate the list of nearly 100 people federally charged in various schemes to defraud the government, authorities have said.

McLaughlin gave additional details in a Dec. 30 Fox News interview. She said “hundreds” of investigators were on the ground in Minnesota.

They were knocking on doors of day care centers, health care centers, and “other organizations that take taxpayer dollars,” she said.

“These suspected perpetrators are really trying to cover their tracks,” McLaughlin said. She accused the suspects of “trying to whitewash” their operations to appear to be “legitimate” businesses, but they are shams, McLaughlin said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ramped up its operations in Minnesota in recent months, well before a media firestorm erupted over widespread Somali childcare fraud.

YouTuber Nick Shirley gained nearly 132 million views after he posted a Dec. 26 video saying he uncovered over $110 million in alleged fraud in a single day.

The video shows Shirley visiting day care centers that appeared to have no children present, yet these sites had received large payments from a federal childcare program run through the state of Minnesota.

Federal officials have since cut off funding to that program in Minnesota, and are demanding more solid documentation from day care providers nationwide.

ICE has frequently encountered resistance and protesters in Minnesota, which is considered a “sanctuary” state that shields illegal immigrants.

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