Tag: dhs

30 Dead, 17 Fatal Crashes, and a Judge Tells DHS to Wait

Thirty people were killed in 17 crashes in 2025 involving what the left’s dictionary calls “non-domiciled commercial drivers” who, under the Trump administration’s current rule, would no longer qualify for those licenses.

The issue isn’t foreign CDL drivers; plenty of lawful immigrants and foreign-born drivers safely operate commercial trucks daily. The issue is whether somebody who can’t adequately read road signs, understand warnings, communicate with police, or follow instructions in English should be behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound commercial vehicle on an American highway.

That’s a safety standard, not a nationality test.

When crashes expose drivers who apparently couldn’t meet that basic standard, the question becomes unavoidable: Who licensed them, who failed to catch it, and why were they still on the road?

Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga put DHS’s access to roughly 17 million commercial driver records on hold Friday. His administrative stay is temporary, and he hasn’t ruled the subpoena unlawful. 

DHS must file its opposition Monday, the states reply Wednesday, and Trenga has scheduled a hearing for Thursday.

DHS wants five years of records from the Commercial Driver’s License Information System, including names, birth dates, license numbers, states of record, and Social Security numbers. The subpoena says the information would be used to investigate illegal practices at CDL schools, criminal fraud involving CDLs issued to illegal aliens, and civil immigration enforcement.

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Judge Blocks DHS From Obtaining 17 Million Commercial Driver’s License Records

A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Department of Homeland Security from obtaining 17 million Commercial Driver’s License records.

US District Judge Anthony Trenga, a George W. Bush appointee, entered an administrative stay and prevented the Trump Administration from obtaining the records it subpoenaed.

Judge Trenga also ordered the DHS to immediately return any subpoenaed documents and not inspect the records.

The judge said he needs more time to consider the motion to quash the subpoenas.

On Friday, 21 Democrat state attorneys general and DC filed lawsuits challenging the records request.

The blue state attorneys general sued the Department of Transportation (DOT), the DHS and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Last month, President Trump unveiled his “Freedom Haulers” initiative to license veteran truck drivers and crack down on illegal alien truck drivers.

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Murders In The US Set To Hit 126-Year-Low Following Illegal Immigrant Deportations: DHS

Crime rates have fallen to “historic lows” across the United States, with homicides this year on track to register the lowest level in at least 126 years, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In the first half of 2026, homicides were down 18 percent compared to the first half of last year, DHS said in a July 31 statement. Carjacking crimes tumbled 47 percent during this period, motor vehicle thefts fell 20 percent, robberies dropped 17 percent, and residential burglaries declined 13 percent.

The numbers come from a July 2026 report from the nonpartisan think tank Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) that assessed crime stats across various U.S. cities.

Compared to the first half of 2022, the second year of the Biden administration, homicides in the first half of 2026, the second year of the current Trump administration, were down by 51 percent, according to the CCJ report.

For violent crimes, 2 percent fewer aggravated assaults and 6 percent fewer gun assaults were reported in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year. However, domestic violence incidents were up 8 percent, and sexual assaults by 3 percent for this period.

When compared to the first half of 2019, the year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic onset, homicides, aggravated assault, gun assault, sexual assault, domestic violence, robbery, and carjacking crimes were all lower in the first six months of 2026, the report said.

In its statement, DHS gave examples of some of the illegal immigrants with criminal histories who have been deported from the United States: A Salvadoran national with convictions for homicide and assault, a Costa Rican with convictions for property crimes and burglary, a Honduran Tren de Aragua gang member convicted for robbery, and a Vietnamese national convicted for armed carjacking.

“President [Donald] Trump promised to make America safe again, and he has done just that,” Lauren Bis, assistant secretary at the DHS’s Office of Public Affairs, said in the statement.

“Crime has fallen to record lows under the Trump Administration.”

“It’s no surprise that this drop in crime coincides with deportations of dangerous criminal illegal aliens. It is common sense. When you remove criminals from the country, crime rates fall,” Bis said.

In the first year of the current Trump administration, almost three million illegal immigrants had left the United States, then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a Jan. 20 DHS statement.

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Obama Judge Blocks Trump Admin From Ending Temporary Protected Status for Somalis – DHS Responds

A federal judge on Friday once again blocked the Trump Administration from terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis.

The termination was supposed to take effect on March 17, however, a federal judge previously halted the termination.

On Friday, US District Judge Allison Burroughs, an Obama appointee, issued a new administrative stay after the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint and an emergency motion.

There are more than 100,000 Somalis living in the US. An estimated 5,000 Somalis are eligible for Temporary Protected Status.

The Justice Department responded to the judge’s order.

“Judge Allison Burroughs just entered yet another order preventing the termination of Somalia TPS. There is no serious debate about what is going on in these cases—defiance, obstruction, and delay,” Homeland Security general counsel James Percival said.

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DHS: Govt. has issued $84B in civil fines to illegal aliens who remain in U.S. after receiving final orders of removal

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it has already issued more than $84 billion in civil fines to illegal aliens who remain in the United States after receiving final orders of removal.

According to the agency, federal authorities have levied over 103,000 total fine notices against non-citizens and illegal aliens since the start of the Trump administration’s crackdown. The dynamic relies on “revived statutory penalty authorizing fines of up to $998 per day” for individuals who refuse to voluntarily depart the country after a deportation order becomes final.

The statutory framework permitting civil monetary penalties for failure to depart was originally established under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.

However, according to analysts, the provision was rarely utilized by prior administrations due to the reality that most of these individuals subject to removal lacked the assets to pay. To overcome these challenges, the DHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have reportedly “overhauled the enforcement framework.”

Under rules enacted in mid-2025, federal authorities eliminated a mandatory 30-day notice of intent, authorized immigration officers to mail direct fine notices via standard mail and shortened the window for individuals to contest or appeal penalties to just 15 business days.

Individual penalties issued under the policy are now much more steep, accumulating daily up to the five-year statutory limit, which can yield total personal fines exceeding $1.8 million per individual. To collect on these debts, the federal government has employed an approach involving civil lawsuits filed by the DOJ in federal district courts, wage garnishment, seizure of tax refunds and partnerships with private debt collection agencies.

Officials emphasize that these measures are intended to incentivize compliance with federal court orders, describing the financial penalties as an alternative to voluntary departure.

Alongside the financial measures, the Trump administration has structured an exit mechanism tied to its “CBP Home” app. Under current regulations, undocumented individuals who agree to self-deport using the app are granted complete forgiveness of all accrued civil fines, provided with a free return flight to their country of origin and issued a $2,600 exit bonus.

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DHS used anti-China funds on World Cup security

Congressional Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act included $170 million for efforts to counter the national security threats posed by China’s illegal fishing operations worldwide.

But the Trump administration didn’t spend the money on that.

Instead, the Department of Homeland Security diverted the vast majority of that funding to security measures for FIFA World Cup matches, America250 celebrations and other major sporting events, according to a senior congressional official and an administration official who were briefed on how the money was allocated.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) secured the $170 million as part of the OBBB for “maritime domain awareness” technology that helps track the Chinese vessels.

Cruz told us he has “sought to provide resources for those programs, but unfortunately the bulk of the funding has not gone where it needed to go.” But Cruz didn’t say where the money went.

The funding diversion occurred under then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. The department, now led by Secretary Markwayne Mullin, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Approximately $155 million of the $170 million funding pot was spent on counter-drone technology for events like World Cup matches and America250 tributes, including sensors that monitor and track drones in their vicinity, the officials said. The rest was used for Coast Guard communications technology and a Merchant Marine credentialing system.

In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday, a bipartisan group of senators led by Cruz called on the Trump administration to impose sanctions on 29 supply vessels that facilitate Beijing’s illicit fishing activities.

The letter reads in part:

“Anyone linked to the vessels, including through beneficial ownership, will be exposed to reputational and financial crime risks. The vessels would switch from being assets to liabilities, greatly complicating the ability of the CCP to continue their IUU fishing activities.”

Cruz’s committee handles the annual Coast Guard authorization bill. Cruz said he intends to continue pushing the issue so that the Coast Guard has enough resources to counter China’s illegal fishing.

The nine senators who signed the letter to Bessent said China is carrying out these activities “at a scale that constitutes ecocide conducted via gross human rights abuses.”

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“Mutiny Against the Supreme Court” – DHS Blasts Biden Judge for Indefinitely Extending Block on Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopians

US District Judge Brian Murphy, a Biden appointee on Friday indefinitely extended a block on the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

In 2022, the Biden Regime allowed more than 5,000 Ethiopians to enter the US and live here with special protections.

Their TPS status was extended again in April 2024 and expired on February 13, 2026.

Upon taking office again in January 2025, President Trump immediately revoked the Biden-era ‘Temporary Protected Status’ and ordered the DHS to ensure that the TPS designations were limited.

Judge Murphy previously said President Trump violated the process by revoking the protections.

Earlier this year, Judge Murphy issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and blocked the Trump Administration from ending the protection for the Ethiopians.

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DHS allows officers to review visa applicants’ use of welfare programs while considering permanent status qualification

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a final rule overturning a 2022 regulation from former President Joe Biden’s administration to allow immigration officers to consider an applicant’s use of welfare programs to determine if they qualify for permanent legal citizenship.

In a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) news release on Thursday, the DHS held that the decision will better align immigration law with “Congressional intent that aliens in the United States be self-reliant and not dependent on taxpayer-funded government benefits.”

Furthermore, under the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), a person applying for a visa, admission, or adjustment of status is ineligible “because of the likelihood of becoming a public charge.”

“With this final rule, USCIS officers are empowered to assess all pertinent facts on a case-by-case basis for each applicant,” the DHS stated.

“The Trump administration is upholding the rule of law and protecting American taxpayers from subsidizing aliens who may become dependent on public benefits. USCIS is committed to safeguarding the safety, security, and financial well-being of Americans,” said USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler. 

The rule will be effective on September 18th. A revised version of Form I-485, used to apply for permanent residence or adjust one’s status, will be released. The new version of the form will be required after the effective date.

The new policy could impact hundreds of thousands of migrants seeking green cards every year from inside the U.S., as well as deter migrant households from applying for taxpayer-funded social programs, such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

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DHS Issues Funding Warning To States That Don’t Purge Voter Rolls

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Friday said that states that do not purge their voter rolls of potentially ineligible voters and noncitizens could lose funding.

It came as he said the DHS has identified more than 250,000 noncitizens who were illegally on voter registration rolls in four states: California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Nevada.

“We know Iran hacked state voter files and attempted to compromise our systems where military members used to vote,” he said, adding that DHS “security enhancements” will be mandatory.

“If these states want a grant, and they want to be reimbursed to run federal elections, they’re going to have to implement security measures.”

Voting systems have to be secured, and voter registration lists need to be “scrubbed,” Mullin said.

“We need to make sure that individuals that are legally able to vote are voting,” he said.

When a staff member discovered the relationship with the prospective defendant, Johnston fired the employee, according to Hanaway.

“President Trump is correct when he said that election security is national security … this is just exposing what took place and to make sure it never happens again.

“And there’s some really easy steps that can be taken to secure our elections, and it shouldn’t be a partisan issue.”

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Fake Records May Have Put Untrained Drivers On America’s Roads

Fake training records can move an unprepared driver one step closer to a commercial license.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin are now investigating about 75 entry-level driver training schools suspected of doing exactly that.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has identified approximately 75 entry-level driving training schools suspected of fraudulent activities, including using improper driver certifications, falsifying training records, and failing to properly train drivers applying for CDLs, among other violations. USDOT will engage DHS’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in its investigations of these schools.

“USDOT has spent the last year rooting out bad actors from our trucking industry,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “We’ve knocked over 24,000 drivers off our roads for failing to speak English, forced states to cancel over 28,000 licenses illegally issued to foreign drivers, and purged over 9,500 unqualified training schools from our FMCSA registry. DHS will be a force multiplier of our efforts to clean up America’s roads. President Trump is using every lever at his disposal to ensure the safety of American families.”

“Too many American lives have been lost in completely avoidable accidents because illegal aliens have been granted commercial driver’s licenses to drive trucks and 18-wheelers on America’s roadways,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “DHS law enforcement is partnering with the Department of Transportation to eliminate CDL fraud, strengthen the integrity of the CDL system, and investigate commercial driver’s license schools throughout the country. This is a whole of government approach, to keep America’s roads safe.”

This is part of the administration’s ongoing efforts to root out fraud from American trucking and restore integrity to the industry.

Federal officials say the schools may have used improper certifications, falsified training records, or failed to train CDL applicants properly. Homeland Security Investigations will work with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to determine whether poor instruction crossed into criminal fraud.

The licensing system gives training schools enormous power. Federal rules require many first-time applicants to complete approved instruction before taking a CDL skills test.

Registered schools then submit completion records electronically, and state licensing agencies use those records to decide whether an applicant may test.

Providers also self-certify that they meet federal standards when joining the registry. A dishonest school damages the first major checkpoint before an applicant ever sits for the road test. Fraud at that stage reaches far beyond paperwork.

Duffy’s department had already found deep problems. In February, more than 300 investigators conducted 1,426 on-site inspections across all 50 states. They issued 448 proposed removal notices, while 109 providers removed themselves after learning investigators were coming. Another 97 remained under investigation.

The violations were not harmless technical errors. Investigators found instructors without the proper licenses, schools using the wrong vehicles, incomplete student assessments, and providers that failed to meet their state requirements. One school had even trained bus drivers.

Nearly 10,000 training locations have now been removed from the federal registry. The department also says more than 24,000 drivers were taken out of service for failing English proficiency requirements, while states canceled more than 28,000 licenses illegally issued to foreign drivers.

Those numbers expose a system that went too long without firm inspection. The new joint probe adds criminal investigators who can follow records, payments, identities, and possible coordination between schools and applicants.

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