Former acting ICE director voices support for Trump policies and access to sanctuary city jails
In his first interview since stepping down from a lead position at ICE, the agency’s former acting director, Patrick Lechleitner, told Andrea Mitchell he “couldn’t agree more” with Trump border czar Tom Homan’s argument that ICE should have unrestricted access to jails in sanctuary cities.
“It’s when they release people and don’t tell us things become challenging,” Lechleitner said of jails releasing undocumented immigrants without communicating their immigration status to ICE. “All of a sudden, these individuals are very difficult to identify. They’re in the community. Now we have to get a fugitive operations team together.”
Homan made the case to NBC News for unrestricted ICE access to jails in sanctuary cities in an interview at the southern border last week. Homan declined to put a price tag on Trump’s sprawling mass deportation agenda, but said the estimated $86 billion is a “great start.”
Lechleitner, when asked about the cost of sustaining the expansive ICE operations, said, “This is going to require a lot of money to keep this up and sustain it. That’s where Congress comes in.”
Lechleitner, who was critical of the Biden administration’s handling of the border upon stepping down, noted numbers of illegal crossings were “very high,” saying of the administration, “I wish they had gone in and done some work earlier.” He pointed to the nondetained docket, a list of noncitizen immigrants who are not being held while awaiting their immigration proceedings, arguing the “well over 8 million people out there” were “overwhelming the capabilities of ICE.”
Speaking about the Trump administration’s interagency support for federal immigration enforcement, Lechleitner, said it’s “nice to see the people of ICE getting the support they need to do the work that they’re being asked to do,” because it is “just too much for ICE to do on its own.”
Justice Department's public integrity head resigns
Corey Amundson, the head of the public integrity unit at the Justice Department, has resigned, NBC News has learned.
NBC News reported last week that Amundson was among the DOJ officials who had been informed they were being reassigned to the effort to take legal action against so-called sanctuary cities.
Amundson would have had to sign off on parts of the Jack Smith investigation, under Justice Department policy.
Florida Republicans upend DeSantis’ Trump-inspired immigration push
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Trump’s push to quickly overhaul the nation’s immigration system is at the center of a civil war between Republicans in Florida, with Gov. Ron DeSantis facing off against the GOP-dominated state Legislature.
DeSantis earlier this month called lawmakers back to Tallahassee for a special legislative session with the explicit purpose of aligning state law with an expected wave of immigration-focused executive orders from Trump.
But Republican leaders in both the state House and Senate, who had previously panned DeSantis’ plans as “premature,” abruptly ended the special session Monday morning and quickly called their own.
The move effectively killed all the legislation already filed by DeSantis’ allies, and allowed Republican leadership to draw up their own immigration proposals, including language that puts the governor in a tricky political position. The plan from legislative leaders would take sweeping immigration oversight authority away from DeSantis and move it to Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, a statewide elected official who is eyeing a run for governor in 2026 and has had an icy relationship with DeSantis.
Dozens detained in Colorado raid targeting suspected Venezuelan gang members
The Drug Enforcement Administration said agents detained almost 50 people, including suspected members of a Venezuelan gang, during a raid on a private party in Colorado. NBC Denver affiliate KUSA's Angeline McCall reports.
Navajo citizens report 'traumatizing' experiences, tribal president says
Navajo citizens in Southwestern states have reported “negative, sometimes traumatizing experiences with federal agents targeting undocumented immigrants” in the week since Trump issued a series of strict immigration-related executive orders, according to Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren.
In a statement Friday, Nygren said that “recent reports of negative interactions with federal immigration agents have raised concerns that have prompted fear and anxiety among our community members,” noting his office has been inundated with calls from Navajo citizens in Arizona and New Mexico reporting interactions with federal immigration agents who have asked them for proof of citizenship.
Nygren urged Navajo citizens to remain “calm and assured” in their interactions with federal immigration enforcement officials and announced that his office has set up a hotline to field related tips and complaints.
“It’s best to be prepared,” Nygren said. He advised Navajo citizens to carry their certificates of Indian blood, official documents issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that designates Native American ancestry, when they are in public. Nygren also recommended citizens carry state-issued identification, like driver's licenses, saying “it can provide an additional layer of reassurance.”
Nygren said that the advice his office received from the relevant federal and state agencies has been “valuable” and that tribal leaders are “better prepared to address this issue head on.”
In addition to the hotline, Nygren announced his office is working to secure professional counselors to provide mental health support to Navajo citizens “suffering the emotional and mental impacts of negative encounters with federal immigration agents.”
The Navajo tribe is one of the largest federally recognized tribes in the United States, and its designated tribal land extends across the Southwest states of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.
Senate Democrats introduce resolution condemning Trump's pardon of violent Jan. 6 offenders
Senate Democrats introduced a resolution today to condemn Trump's blanket pardons rioters found guilty of assaulting police officers in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
“I refuse to allow President Trump to rewrite what happened on January 6th—armed insurrectionists, incited by Trump himself, broke into the U.S. Capitol and violently assaulted Capitol Police officers in their attempt to overthrow a free and fair election,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who led the initiative alongside Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Andy Kim, D-N.J., said in a release.
Sen. John Fetterman, of Pennsylvania, was the final Democrat to sign the resolution, bringing it unanimous support from the chamber's Democrats.
Murray told NBC News she will try to get Senate approval of the resolution this week by a procedure known as unanimous consent, meaning if just one Republican senator objects, the measure won't be adopted.
"Affirming that U.S. senators condemn unconditional pardons for people who were found guilty of violently assaulting Capitol Police officers should be the easiest thing in the world," Murray said. "If Republicans care even the tiniest bit about law enforcement, they should be outraged by these pardons. I hope and expect my Republican colleagues will allow this very simple resolution to pass as a show of support for the officers who put their lives on the line to keep senators safe.”
Inspector general fired by Trump warns terminations are a 'threat to democracy'
One of the inspectors general fired by Trump last week, Hannibal "Mike" Ware, warned in an interview on MSNBC this morning that the president's terminations of 18 of them amount to a "threat to democracy."
He said the reason given for his firing was "changing priorities of the administration."
"The reason that is alarming is because IGs are not a part of any administration," Ware said. "IGs oversee how the priorities of the administration is being conducted to make sure that there is transparency in government, and to make sure that there’s no fraud waste and abuse, and how taxpayer funds are being expended."
Ware added, "We’re looking at what amounts to a threat to democracy, a threat to independent oversight and a threat to transparency in government."
Ware served as the inspector general overseeing the Small Business Administration. He was also the head of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.
Emhoff returns to law practice
Doug Emhoff will be returning to practicing law after ending his time as second gentleman in Washington, D.C.
Emhoff has joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, a corporate law firm, as a partner, a release from the firm today aid. His practice will focus on "advising corporations, boards of directors, and individuals on their most consequential business challenges, sensitive investigations, and complex litigation, including matters with significant reputational concerns that are international in scope, and emerging legal issues across industries and sectors," it said.
“I am delighted to be joining Willkie, where I am looking forward to working alongside trusted and innovative legal counselors,” Emhoff said in the release.
While the firm says Emhoff will split his time between New York and Los Angeles, it also added that he will continue to serve as an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washingon.
Trump seeks to circumvent laws on California's water amid wildfire response
Trump has signed an executive order seeking to circumvent federal and state laws dealing with California’s water system in an effort to provide the southern part of the state with necessary water resources to fight wildfires.
Almost immediately after the onset of the recent spate of wildfires in Los Angeles, “firefighters were unable to fight the blaze due to dry hydrants, empty reservoirs, and inadequate water infrastructure,” the executive order said.
Trump’s order said the wildfire disaster has affected the entire country and it’s in the nation’s “interest to ensure that California has what it needs to prevent and fight these fires and others in the future.”
“Therefore, it is the policy of the United States to provide Southern California with necessary water resources, notwithstanding actively harmful State or local policies,” the order said.
Hegseth says he backs Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Brown
On arriving at the Pentagon for his first day in the office as defense secretary, Pete Hegseth told reporters said he supports the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown, who was under threat of being fired by Trump.
“I’m standing with him right now, I look forward to working with him," Hegseth said.
Trump had floated the idea of firing Brown, but after a meeting with him changed his mind. Trump's team originally considered firing any military leaders it deemed too focused on diversity initiatives. Brown's term ends in 2027.