Latest news with #DepartmentofHomelandSecurity
USA Today
2 hours ago
- Politics
- USA Today
'No Secret Police': Lawmakers propose prohibiting masked agents
'No Secret Police': Lawmakers propose prohibiting masked agents Show Caption Hide Caption ICE to continue worksite raids following pause One week after President Trump's halt on raids for certain worksites, ICE is set to continue those operations. Fox - 26 Houston Two California lawmakers are pushing legislation that would prevent law enforcement from covering their faces when making arrests in the state. The "No Secret Police Act," introduced by two Democrats in the California Senate, is a reaction to immigration sweeps across the country by masked agents in plainclothes, who are increasingly refusing to identify themselves by name or the agency they work for. 'The recent federal operations in California have created an environment of profound terror," Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said in a statement. "If we want the public to trust law enforcement, we cannot allow them to behave like secret police in an authoritarian state." A now-widespread protest movement against the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement was ignited in Los Angeles in early June, when street protests turned violent. California lawmakers have been among President Donald Trump's most vocal opponents. The bill, co-sponsored by Jesse Arreguin, D-Berkeley, would also require officers be identifiable by their uniform. It would exempt SWAT teams and permit the use of medical-grade masks and those used to protect workers during emergencies like wildfires. 'This bill will ensure that law enforcement are easily identifiable, maintaining that trust and accountability," Arreguin said in a statement. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a June 20 post on the social media site X that ICE agents have experienced "a 500% increase in assaults." She didn't provide the total number of assaults or a time frame for the increase. But videos circulating online have showed increasingly violent confrontations between masked federal agents and civilians seeking to document or prevent arrests. "These are the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to arrest violent criminals and gang members," she said. Local police officers typically wear uniforms with a nameplate and carry a badge. U.S. Border Patrol agents wear an olive green uniform with a name tag and agency patches. FBI agents also typically show a badge when engaging with subjects or civilians. ICE agents, however, are rarely uniformed.
Chicago Tribune
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
ICE imposes new rules on congressional visits
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security has imposed new limits on visits by members of Congress and their staff to immigration enforcement facilities, intensifying a conflict between federal immigration officials and Democratic lawmakers. Under federal law, members of Congress can make unannounced oversight visits to immigration facilities that 'detain or otherwise house aliens.' Lawmakers are not required to provide 'prior notice of the intent to enter a facility' to conduct oversight, though members of their staff must request a visit at least 24 hours in advance. 'What are they hiding?': Illinois Democrats denied entry into ICE processing center in visit WednesdayBut in guidance released this month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement asks members of Congress to give at least 72 hours' notice for a visit to its facilities. Asked about the policy, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, went even further, suggesting that federal officials would not be allowed entry unless they provided a week's notice. 'A week is sufficient to ensure no intrusion on the president's constitutional authority,' the spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, said in a statement. She added that 'any request to shorten that time must be approved' by the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem. In its new guidance, ICE asserts that it has broad power to 'deny a request or otherwise cancel, reschedule or terminate a tour or visit' by lawmakers or their staff under a number of circumstances that include 'operational concerns' or if 'facility management or other ICE officials deem it appropriate to do so.' The new policy, updated since February, also denies that ICE field offices are subject to the provision in federal law about congressional oversight visits. Democratic lawmakers in California, Illinois and New York have been turned away from ICE facilities recently, sometimes after trying in vain for hours to gain access to buildings that they say they are authorized to visit. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, criticized the new ICE policy as an attempt to skirt congressional oversight. In a statement, he said the new guidance was 'an affront to the Constitution and federal law.'
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
DHS sets strict limits on lawmaker visits to immigration detention centers
Live Events You Might Also Like: Trump administration gives personal data of immigrant medicaid enrollees to deportation officials You Might Also Like: 'Any illegal immigrants?' Trump asks White House workers about deportation status You Might Also Like: Federal judge says Trump can't tie state funding to immigration enforcement The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has tightened rules for members of Congress visiting immigration detention centers . The new policy requires lawmakers to give up to a week's notice before they can access these facilities, creating fresh tension between federal immigration officials and Democratic under federal law, members of Congress could enter Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities without advance notice to conduct oversight visits. Staff were only required to provide 24 hours' notice. The updated guidance from ICE, released this month, asks lawmakers to give at least 72 hours' notice — with the Department of Homeland Security going even further, saying visits should ideally be arranged seven days in McLaughlin, a DHS spokesperson, said in a statement that a week's notice would 'ensure no intrusion on the president's constitutional authority.' McLaughlin added that any request to visit sooner must first be approved by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.(Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates)The policy also states ICE can cancel, reschedule, or deny visits if it has 'operational concerns' or if facility managers decide a visit is not appropriate. Another change says ICE field offices are no longer subject to the law allowing lawmakers to make surprise visits — a key part of the federal oversight updated policy comes after tense visits by elected officials to immigration detention sites. In recent months, lawmakers in California, Illinois, and New York reported being kept outside ICE centers for hours. Some were denied entry entirely, even after they had scheduled visits in Jersey Representative LaMonica McIver and other Democratic lawmakers were among those recently barred from entering an ICE facility in Newark. On the same day, Newark's mayor, Ras Baraka, was briefly arrested when he tried to join the congressional Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, top Democrat on the House Committee on Homeland Security, called the new restrictions illegal and unconstitutional. 'This guidance is an affront to the Constitution and federal law,' Thompson said in a statement. 'We have an obligation to oversee these taxpayer-funded facilities, and this policy is designed to shut us out.'The issue has already sparked complaints from elected leaders across party lines. Some Republicans have also expressed concern about restrictions that could limit their oversight lawmakers and federal agencies on a collision course over transparency, legal challenges and further protests are expected. Many lawmakers have already indicated they will continue to press for access to ICE facilities without new policy is expected to face scrutiny in Congress in the coming weeks as the Biden administration responds to the growing controversy.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Released from Hospital After Allergic Reaction
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Released from Hospital After Allergic Reaction originally appeared on L.A. Mag. Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was hospitalized Tuesday in Washington D.C. following an allergic reaction, and released later that to Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin Noem is 'alert and recovering' after receiving treatment for the reaction. Noem was transported to the hospital by ambulance from Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington according to a DHS official. Noem, who assumed leadership of the DHS in January, oversees a workforce of roughly 260,000 employees tasked with responsibilities ranging from immigration enforcement and airport security to disaster response. Since taking office, she has maintained a high profile presence in her role amid backlash against recent immigration enforcement actions, and has frequently taken part in immigration enforcement last week, Noem held a press conference that drew national attention when U.S. Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed and flanked by federal agents. This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on Jun 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
Los Angeles Times
13 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Half-mile drug-smuggling tunnel connecting Tijuana to San Diego shut down by Border Patrol
At a depth of about 50 feet, a roughly half-mile-long tunnel connecting a home inside the Nueva Tijuana neighborhood with a commercial warehouse across the border in San Diego County has been uncovered by federal authorities. U.S. and Mexican authorities say they believe the passage was dug to transport large-scale contraband. The tunnel measured 42 inches in height, 28 inches in width and was equipped with electrical wiring, lighting, ventilation systems and a track system, according to authorities. Whatever safe passage the tunnel offered ended Monday when Border Patrol agents shut down the construction site with the aid of Department of Homeland Security officials and Mexican authorities. 'As we continue to strengthen the nation's air, and maritime border security, it's not surprising that foreign terrorist organizations would resort to underground routes,' Jeffrey D. Stalnaker, acting chief patrol agent of the San Diego Sector, said in a statement. 'Disruption of narcotics smuggling tunnels is critical to protecting American lives.' Border Patrol agents from San Diego's Tunnel Team discovered the tunnel in April as it was actively under construction but didn't uncover the origin point until this week. They mapped the tunnel and documented that it was 2,918 feet in length, which included more than 1,000 feet within the U.S. The tunnel ran underneath the Otay Mesa border point and was believed to have exited at a commercial warehouse. As agents attempted to discover the tunnel's starting point, they encountered barricades placed by workers to inhibit law enforcement. That entrance was eventually discovered in Nueva Tijuana, a neighborhood only a few blocks from the U.S. border. Mexican federal and state authorities from Baja California executed a search warrant 'for crimes against national health,' according to a post on X from Omar Hamid García Harfuch, Mexico's secretary of Security and Civilian Protection. The entrance to the tunnel had been hidden under recentlyn placed tile, according to the Border Patrol. Mexico's Security Cabinet confirmed that a package containing methamphetamine was seized inside the tunnel. 'I'm grateful for the exceptional work of the Tunnel Team agents who placed themselves in danger, as well as the cooperation of our Mexican law enforcement partners,' Stalnaker said. Contractors are expected to pour thousands of gallons of concrete into the tunnel, preventing its future usage. In 2022, authorities discovered a similar tunnel under Otay Mesa that was roughly 1,750 feet long, 60 feet deep and 4 feet in diameter with reinforced walls and a rail system. Six people were eventually charged with conspiracy to distribute nearly a ton of cocaine. Since 1993, more than 95 tunnels have been found and decommissioned in the San Diego area, according to the Border Patrol.
