Department of Homeland Security

Federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant at Rep. Ilhan Omar's Washington, D.C.-area home in October 2026, weeks before midterm elections. The probe examines whether Omar or her late father misstated her birth date on immigration paperwork to derive citizenship. Agents seized her phone, notebooks, computers and passport, and subpoenaed relatives. The Wall Street Journal reported the investigation aims to build a case to strip her citizenship and deport her. Omar denounced the search as political intimidation; Democratic leaders condemned it, while Trump officials claimed a strong case.

45 reports · 7 sources · Updated Oct 19, 12:57 AM UTC

Katie Zacharia left her role as White House press secretary after five days, according to multiple outlets including NBC News, The New York Times, The Guardian and CNN. Reports differ on the characterization: some describe a firing, while a White House official cited by 13WHAM-TV said she was "transitioning out." President Trump said he advised her to "reconsider" the position. Her brief tenure followed scrutiny of her legal credentials, including her admission that she failed the bar exam while calling herself a lawyer, and a widely criticized 14-minute debut briefing.

45 reports · 8 sources · Updated Oct 16, 06:08 PM UTC

A federal judge in New York, Jennifer L. Rochon, ordered the Trump administration to immediately stop broadcasting taxpayer-funded television advertisements promoting President Trump, ruling they are likely illegal. The order followed a lawsuit by a coalition including watchdog Common Cause, which argued the ads were an unlawful use of public funds. The Department of Homeland Security had allocated $20 million for the spots. The temporary restraining order lasts two weeks, barring new contracts or expansions of existing agreements. The White House defended the ads as a public information campaign.

11 reports · 3 sources · Updated Oct 12, 10:16 PM UTC

The Pentagon announced that Nidal Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, will be executed by firing squad on December 3 at Fort Hood, Texas, and the execution will be livestreamed. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the plan, saying the public must see serious consequences for such acts. President Donald Trump approved the execution, which would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961 and the first firing squad execution since World War II. The plan has drawn bipartisan criticism and international opposition.

36 reports · 6 sources · Updated Oct 12, 12:11 PM UTC

The Democratic National Committee and a coalition including Common Cause sued the Trump administration over television ads promoting President Donald Trump that were funded with taxpayer money. The DNC's 31-page complaint, filed October 7, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges the ads violate federal propaganda law. More than $12 million was spent since September, with the Department of Homeland Security setting aside $20 million. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon issued a two-week temporary restraining order halting remaining broadcasts and new contracts.

11 reports · 4 sources · Updated Oct 12, 12:54 AM UTC

An ICE agent shot 28-year-old Dominican immigrant Oscar Belgal in the neck in Manhattan's Marble Hill neighborhood on Thursday evening while his five-year-old son sat in the back seat. Belgal survived and was hospitalized, then transferred to a Brooklyn detention facility; a federal judge temporarily blocked his deportation. DHS chief Markwayne Mullin defended the agents, saying they did not know a child was present and that Belgal had resisted arrest and struck two ICE vehicles. Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the shooting unconscionable and demanded ICE be abolished, while protests erupted near the scene and hospital.

10 reports · 5 sources · Updated Oct 10, 09:37 AM UTC

President Donald Trump directed the use of Department of Homeland Security funds, specifically from Customs and Border Protection, to finance television ads praising his presidency. After bipartisan criticism, Trump announced his super PAC, MAGA Inc., will reimburse taxpayers. Nearly $1.5 million was spent, with $20 million reportedly set aside. Democratic senators called the ads illegal Hatch Act violations.

10 reports · 3 sources · Updated Oct 6, 08:26 AM UTC

On October 2, 2026, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued an injunction halting the Trump administration's $1.7 billion border security project in Big Bend National Park, Texas. The project, led by the Department of Homeland Security, planned vehicle barriers, patrol roads, and surveillance systems. Environmental groups and local stakeholders sued, challenging the use of waivers to bypass environmental laws. Construction had begun in August but paused due to local opposition. The Center for Biological Diversity called the ruling a "historic victory."

5 reports · 2 sources · Updated Oct 3, 12:47 AM UTC

The family of Renée Good, a 37-year-old mother of three killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026, filed two federal lawsuits on October 1, 2026. One suit, under the Federal Tort Claims Act, alleges wrongful death through battery, assault, false imprisonment, and negligence. The second, citing the Ku Klux Klan Act, alleges a conspiracy to interfere with civil rights, naming Ross, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, border czar Tom Homan, and others. The lawsuits challenge the self-defense claim, asserting Ross was not in danger when he fired three shots.

11 reports · 5 sources · Updated Oct 2, 08:30 PM UTC

The Trump administration used funds from the Department of Homeland Security, including money allocated for border security and memorials, to produce and air television ads promoting President Trump. The ads, which have cost over $1.7 million and aired thousands of times, feature Trump in campaign-style settings. Democratic senators have called the ads illegal, and a Republican senator blocked a resolution criticizing them. The White House defends the ads as public service announcements.

20 reports · 5 sources · Updated Oct 1, 11:29 PM UTC

The U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority lifted lower court restrictions on the Trump administration's expansion of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database, allowing the government to use Social Security data to identify noncitizen voters. The 6-3 ruling permits the Department of Homeland Security to include data on every American for voter eligibility checks ahead of midterm elections, though federal law limits mass roll alterations close to elections. Critics warn the system could disenfranchise eligible voters.

13 reports · 5 sources · Updated Sep 26, 12:42 AM UTC

President Donald Trump withdrew the nomination of Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper and Marine, to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on September 17, 2026. The nomination stalled after Senate Homeland Security Committee Chair Rand Paul requested more information about an investigation into federal agents allegedly killing two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. Trump offered no reason for the withdrawal, leaving the agency without a Senate-confirmed director since 2014.

11 reports · 6 sources · Updated Sep 18, 08:53 AM UTC

On September 14, 2023, U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV in Boston issued a preliminary injunction blocking a Department of Homeland Security rule that would have capped F visas for international students at four years and I visas for journalists at 240 days. The judge ruled the policy “arbitrary and capricious,” citing DHS’s failure to address concerns or consider alternatives, and warned of “catastrophic” damage to higher education and the economy. The rule was set to take effect September 15.

5 reports · 4 sources · Updated Sep 16, 07:00 PM UTC

A September 2026 DHS OIG report revealed that at least 79 immigrant detainees were held in two outdoor metal cages, each measuring 4 feet 3 inches by 7 feet 9 inches, at the Alligator Alcatraz soft-sided detention camp in the Florida Everglades from July 2025 to January 2026. Staff called the cages "calming areas," but the OIG found locking mechanisms and documented disciplinary use. The report also cited overcrowding, insufficient medical care, and food safety violations.

5 reports · 2 sources · Updated Sep 14, 09:15 PM UTC