Department of Homeland Security

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Driver Fleeing Border Patrol Killed in Shootout

Suspect allegedly fired at officers, civilian cars in West Texas

(Newser) - A traffic stop at a West Texas border checkpoint turned deadly Wednesday after a driver sped off and opened fire on pursuing officers, authorities say. Officials identified the man as 33-year-old James Douglas McMillan of Greenfield, Wis., who had pulled into the US Border Patrol checkpoint in Sierra Blanca but...

Trump Reportedly Considers Firing Kristi Noem

Punchbowl News says president has been making calls after Capitol Hill testimony

(Newser) - Is Kristi Noem's job in jeopardy as head of Homeland Security? Punchbowl News reports that President Trump has been "quietly" calling top Republicans on Capitol Hill to ask if he should fire her. The development comes after Noem spent two grueling days being grilled by the Senate and...

Angry at Noem, GOP Senator Threatens Rare Move

Thom Tillis says he will hold up Senate business unless he gets answers from DHS chief

(Newser) - One of the fiercest critics of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem during her Senate testimony on Tuesday was a fellow Republican: Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Not only did he call her leadership of the department a "disaster," he threatened to hold up the work of the...

Pentagon Shoots Down DHS Drone With Laser

Lawmakers demand probe into 2nd uncoordinated snafu in Texas near US-Mexico border

(Newser) - The Pentagon just zapped the wrong drone, again. Defense officials on Thursday used a high-energy laser to bring down a "seemingly threatening" drone that turned out to belong to Homeland Security above Fort Hancock, Texas, forcing the FAA to briefly close airspace below 18,000 feet, multiple people familiar...

Columbia Student Detained by ICE, Then Abruptly Released

Ellie Aghayeva released after an unrelated Mamdani-Trump meeting

(Newser) - Federal immigration authorities arrested a Columbia University student early Thursday, triggering protests on campus and allegations that agents gained entry to the university-owned residence by posing as police officers searching for a missing child. Just hours after detaining student Ellie Aghayeva, though, the federal government abruptly reversed course, permitting her...

Judge: 'Third Country' Deportation Is Unlawful

He says deportees are not given 'meaningful notice' or opportunities to object

(Newser) - The Trump administration's latest policy of deporting immigrants to "third countries" to which they have no ties is unlawful and must be set aside, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in a case that already reached the nation's highest court.
  • US District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Massachusetts
...

Grand Jury Doesn't Indict in Long-Unrevealed DHS Killing

Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, was shot in his car in South Padre Island

(Newser) - A Texas grand jury declined on Wednesday to indict a federal immigration agent who shot a man in his car in South Padre Island, a death the Department of Homeland Security did not disclose for almost a year. The government accused Ruben Ray Martinez of driving into an agent. The...

DHS Plans a Big Shift on Green Card Rules

New policy targets refugees lacking green cards for indefinite detention

(Newser) - A new directive from the Department of Homeland Security would turn a paperwork lapse into grounds for arrest and open-ended detention for many refugees who arrived under former President Biden. In a Wednesday memo, DHS rescinded 2010 guidance that said refugees who failed to apply for a green card after...

Top DHS Spokesperson Is Stepping Down
Top DHS
Spokesperson
Is Stepping
Down
Feb 17, 2026 12:42 PM CST

Top DHS Spokesperson Is Stepping Down

Tricia McLaughlin's departure comes as public opinion about ICE tactics appears to be souring

(Newser) - A high-profile voice defending the Trump administration's immigration push is stepping down. Tricia McLaughlin, the combative spokesperson for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and one of the administration's most visible champions of its crackdown, will leave the Department of Homeland Security next week, according to agency officials. Axios...

Cops: Teacher Killed in Crash With Man Fleeing ICE

Linda Davis' vehicle was struck by another in Savannah

(Newser) - Police say a crash that killed a public school teacher in Georgia on Monday was caused by a driver who was fleeing immigration agents, reports WTOC . The details:
  • ICE agents were trying to pull over 38-year-old Oscar Vasquez Lopez about 7:45am in Savannah when he "fled the scene,
...

Homan: ICE Agents Are Keeping Their Masks

Democrats push for changes amid funding shutdown

(Newser) - President Trump's border czar dismissed Democratic lawmakers' demands for changes to ICE before they agree to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security, saying agents will not be removing their masks. At the same time, Democrats stuck to their list that also includes ending racial profiling in policing and...

Local Cops Hedge on Investigating Federal Agents
When ICE Agents Shoot,
Local Cops Often Step Back
LONGFORM
Feb 15, 2026 1:40 PM CST

When ICE Agents Shoot, Local Cops Often Step Back

Legal experts say local police have obligation to investigate shootings by feds, but it rarely happens

(Newser) - Police in one Chicago suburb were securing the scene when they decided that the one thing they wouldn't do is scrutinize the federal agent who'd just killed a man. Bodycam footage from Franklin Park, Illinois, shows then-police chief Mike Witz telling his officers last September that they wouldn'...

DHS Pressures Platforms for Identities of Anti-ICE Users

Providers could resist the subpoenas, which have sparked lawsuits

(Newser) - The Department of Homeland Security is pressuring tech companies to disclose the identities behind social media accounts that criticize or track Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, say officials and tech employees familiar with the requests. Over the past several months, Google, Reddit, Discord, and Meta have received hundreds of administrative...

This Shutdown Isn't Like the Last, but Expect Delays

Air traffic controllers are getting paid, but TSA agents aren't, meaning possible airport holdups

(Newser) - A shutdown of the US Department of Homeland Security that took effect early Saturday impacts the agency responsible for screening passengers and bags at airports across the country. Travelers with airline reservations may be nervously recalling a 43-day government shutdown that led to historic flight cancellations and long delays last...

ICE to Spend $38B Turning Warehouses Into Detention Sites

Immigration agency's plan would create network of large regional processing and removal centers

(Newser) - US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is moving ahead with a sweeping plan to turn industrial warehouses into a national network of immigrant detention hubs, with an estimated price tag of $38.3 billion, newly released documents show, reports the Washington Post . The records, posted on New Hampshire's state website...

Fired Over a Blanket? Noem Won't Like Exposé

Wall Street Journal is out with a not-so-flattering look at DHS chief's reign

(Newser) - The Wall Street Journal is out with an investigative look at Kristi Noem's tenure running the Department of Homeland Security, and it's a safe bet she will not be pleased. The story notes that Noem has been taking heavy bipartisan criticism for her DHS tactics and "constant...

Filing: IRS Mistakenly Shared Taxpayer Info With DHS

News comes amid deal between agencies to share info to identify, deport undocumented immigrants

(Newser) - The IRS erroneously shared the taxpayer information of thousands of people with the Department of Homeland Security, as part of the agencies' controversial agreement to share information on immigrants for the purpose of identifying and deporting people who are illegally in the US, according to a new court filing. The...

DHS Shutdown Nears as Negotiations Go Nowhere

With Congress leaving town, agency is on track to shut down Saturday

(Newser) - Members of Congress are heading out of town with one of the government's key departments about to go dark. After a Department of Homeland Security funding bill fell eight votes short of advancing on Thursday, lawmakers in both chambers began a weeklong recess that makes an early Saturday shutdown...

Judge Blocks California's Mask Ban for Federal Agents

But ruling leaves state's ID requirement for law enforcement in place, for now

(Newser) - California's attempt to unmask federal agents just ran into a constitutional snag, though not a complete stop. A federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday blocked the state's new ban on face coverings for federal law-enforcement officers, ruling that the law illegally singled them out by exempting state...

Liam Is Home, but Maybe Not for Long

DHS seeks to end asylum claims of 5-year-old Minn. boy at center of ICE storm

(Newser) - Federal immigration officials are moving to fast-track the deportation case of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his family, according to their attorney. The federal government filed a motion on Wednesday to speed up removal proceedings and shut down the Minnesota family's asylum bid, said their legal team, per MPR...

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