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January 2026

130 entries from January 2026.

Jan 31

Federal agents deployed tear gas and chemical munitions against protesters and journalists at Portland ICE facility

Over the weekend of January 31–February 1, 2026, federal agents deployed tear gas and chemical munitions against protesters and freelance journalists outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Portland, Oregon. The deployments were the subject of lawsuits by protesters, journalists, and nearby residents, represented in part by the ACLU of Oregon, who alleged the munitions were used in retaliation for First Amendment activity. On February 3, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order barring agents from using less-lethal munitions and chemical agents absent an imminent threat of physical harm.

Jan 30

United States and Grenada signed third-country deportation MOU after months of resistance

The United States and Grenada signed a Memorandum of Understanding on January 30, 2026 in Washington, D.C., allowing the U.S. to propose third-country nationals for transfer to Grenada on a case-by-case basis. Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell had publicly resisted the arrangement for weeks, repeatedly telling reporters in January that Grenada had "not agreed to accept" any deportees, before signing alongside seven other Caribbean leaders at the State Department.

CBP agents smashed a livestreaming bystander's car window and detained her for hours at an El Monte, California gas station

On January 30, 2026, federal agents responding to a Customs and Border Protection call surrounded U.S. citizen Maria Santay's car at a gas station in El Monte, California, and broke her window with a hammer while she livestreamed the encounter on Instagram and cried out that she was a citizen. Agents then drove her roughly 40 miles round trip to Santa Ana and back before releasing her from custody that evening; Santay says she was denied a restroom and made to urinate in handcuffs in a parking lot before her release.

Federal grand jury indicts independent journalist Georgia Fort and former CNN anchor Don Lemon under FACE Act for covering anti-ICE church protest

On January 30, 2026, federal agents arrested independent journalist Georgia Fort and former CNN anchor Don Lemon following an anti-ICE protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, where a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official serves as pastor. A federal grand jury in Minnesota indicted both on charges of "conspiracy against right of religious freedom at place of worship" under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act of 1994. Both journalists have maintained they were reporting on the protest, not participating in it. As of mid-May 2026, Fort reports that the legal constraints of the pending prosecution have functionally silenced significant portions of her newsgathering.

Former Bucks County deputy sheriff Ryan Gaffney photographed naked people in custody with personal phone

On January 30, 2026, Ryan Gaffney, then a Bucks County deputy sheriff, covered his body camera and used his personal cellphone to photograph a man who was naked from the waist down and suffering a mental health crisis during a warrant execution in Middletown Township. Gaffney shared the image with female employees in the sheriff's office and sent it to personal contacts. A court-ordered forensic search later uncovered a second incident from December 26, 2024, in which Gaffney photographed a handcuffed man in custody in a hotel room and distributed that image to 12 personal contacts over four dates.

Jan 29

DHS and ICE agents chased down and detained a St. Peter, Minnesota bystander at gunpoint for filming an immigration operation

On January 29, 2026, DHS and ICE agents in three vehicles boxed in and detained a U.S. citizen at gunpoint in St. Peter, Minnesota after she filmed federal immigration agents from her car, dragging her from the vehicle and forcing her to the ground when she refused to exit. Agents held her and began driving her toward a Twin Cities-area immigration detention facility before turning back roughly 20 minutes later and returning her to St. Peter police without explanation or charge. DHS said she had driven recklessly and attempted to ram an officer's vehicle; her dashcam video, reviewed by NPR, shows her calmly refusing commands and asking bystanders to call 911.

President Trump and his sons sued the IRS and Treasury for $10 billion over a tax-return leak

On January 29, 2026, President Donald Trump, his two adult sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization filed suit in federal court in Florida against the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department, seeking at least $10 billion in damages over the 2019 leak of Trump's tax returns. The complaint attributes legal responsibility to the IRS for the conduct of Charles Littlejohn, a Booz Allen Hamilton contractor with staff-like access to taxpayer records who was sentenced to five years in prison in 2024 for disclosing thousands of returns, including Trump's, to news organizations. Trump filed in his personal capacity; as the sitting president he also heads the executive branch whose Department of Justice is responsible for defending the federal agencies named as defendants.

Jan 28

AG Bondi posted sealed booking photos of 16 Minnesota defendants in violation of a court sealing order

On January 28, 2026, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X the names and booking photos of 16 people arrested in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area on federal charges of assaulting or impeding immigration officers, describing them as "rioters," while their cases remained under a federal court sealing order. Magistrate Judge Dulce Foster later found in one of the cases that Bondi's post "directly violated a court order sealing the case" and "thumbed its nose at the notion that defendants are innocent until proven guilty."

FBI raids Fulton County, Georgia election office to seize 2020 ballots; DNI Gabbard joins

On January 28, 2026, FBI agents executed a federal search warrant at the Fulton County, Georgia election office in Union City, seizing the physical 2020 presidential-election ballots, ballot images, tabulator tapes, and voter rolls of the county Donald Trump falsely blames for his narrow Georgia loss. The warrant followed a December 2025 Justice Department lawsuit demanding the records; Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard — who has no domestic law-enforcement authority — joined the raid, ran a parallel election-fraud inquiry, and arranged a call for Trump to thank the agents. County officials said the seizure left them unable to vouch for the chain of custody of the 2020 records.

NPR investigation reveals DOE secretly rewrote nuclear reactor safety rules, kept them hidden until forced release

NPR reported on January 28, 2026 that the Department of Energy had quietly rewritten internal safety, security, and environmental rules for a new generation of experimental nuclear reactors under its Reactor Pilot Program, cutting roughly 750 pages -- about two-thirds -- of requirements including guard-training and nuclear-material-security standards, and loosening groundwater protections. The department shared the rewritten rules with ten companies participating in the program but did not make them public; NPR obtained copies and reported the changes were made without any public comment process, months after DOE officials told companies they intended to cut red tape to meet a Trump executive order deadline of July 4, 2026 for at least three of the reactors to come online.

Education Department found San Jose State violated Title IX over transgender volleyball player, threatened funding

On January 28, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights concluded that San Jose State University violated Title IX by allowing a transgender athlete to compete on its women's volleyball team and by allegedly retaliating against players who objected. The department offered SJSU a settlement requiring it to adopt binary definitions of sex, restore athletic records and titles it said were misappropriated, and send personalized apologies to every woman on the 2022-2024 indoor volleyball roster and the 2023 beach volleyball team, warning that rejection could bring a Justice Department lawsuit and the loss of federal funding.

Jan 27

ICE agent attempted to enter Ecuador's consulate in Minneapolis, was turned back by employee

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent attempted to enter Ecuador's consulate in Minneapolis on January 27, 2026, and was physically turned back by a consular employee, in an encounter captured on video that Reuters verified. Ecuador's foreign ministry filed an official diplomatic protest with the U.S. embassy in Quito over the incident; ICE said its officers were pursuing a fugitive who fled into the building and that its agents never actually entered the consulate.

Federal agents blocked Minnesota investigators from Alex Pretti shooting evidence, refused to honor state search warrant

On January 27, 2026, federal agents blocked Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from accessing evidence at the Minneapolis scene where federal officers had killed Alex Pretti three days earlier, turning away state investigators even after they obtained a valid search warrant. Federal agents also failed to maintain proper chain of custody for the murder weapon, placing it on a vehicle seat rather than securing it in a labeled evidence bag. The FBI subsequently refused to share evidence with state investigators, and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty issued formal Touhy demands after a federal judge dissolved an emergency evidence preservation order.

Jan 26

Chief Judge Schiltz found ICE, DHS Secretary Noem, and Acting Director Lyons defied 'dozens' of court orders; summoned Lyons over contempt

On January 26, 2026, Minnesota Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz ordered Todd Lyons, ICE's acting director, to personally appear in federal court to explain why he should not be held in contempt, finding that Lyons, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and the acting ICE director of the agency's St. Paul field office had failed to comply with "dozens of court orders" in recent weeks. The order arose from ICE's failure to hold a court-ordered bond hearing for detainee Juan Hugo Tobay Robles, or release him, within seven days as a January 14, 2026 order had required. DHS called Schiltz an "activist judge" and did not address the specific findings of noncompliance.

Homeland Security Investigations agents pepper-sprayed bystanders during Phoenix-area Zipps raids that arrested 39 workers

On January 26, 2026, Homeland Security Investigations agents served search warrants at 15 Zipps Sports Grill locations across the Phoenix metro area, arresting 39 workers, including a married couple who had worked at the chain for 18 years. As agents left several locations, they pepper-sprayed bystanders and protesters who had gathered to watch or object, including a woman in Tempe who was hospitalized; a police-procedures expert who reviewed video of one incident found no use-of-force justification for it.

Federal prosecutors misreported ICE detainee's Maine location to court, nearly stripping habeas jurisdiction

Court filings entered Jan. 26, 2026 revealed that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maine, relying on incorrect location information from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told a federal judge that immigration detainee Cristian Yair de la Cruz Guillermo had been moved to Massachusetts -- which would have stripped the Maine court of habeas jurisdiction over his case -- before correcting the claim the same day to say he remained in Fort Fairfield, Maine. U.S. District Judge John Woodcock Jr. then issued a temporary restraining order barring CBP, ICE, DOJ and DHS officials from moving Guillermo out of state, citing a similar location misreport in an unrelated detainee's case.

Trump announced DOJ and Congress were investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar's finances amid Minnesota fraud scandal

On January 26, 2026, President Trump wrote on Truth Social that the Justice Department and Congress were "looking at" Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), tying the claim to her reported net worth and an ongoing Minnesota fraud investigation involving mostly Somali-American defendants. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the same day that the administration was "very focused on getting to the bottom of" whether Omar was connected to the fraud rings. The Justice Department had not confirmed an active case, and Omar called the post a deflection from Trump's declining support.

FBI opens criminal probe of Minneapolis anti-ICE activists' Signal chats

On Monday, January 26, 2026, FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau had opened a criminal investigation into encrypted Signal group chats used by Minneapolis anti-ICE activists to share descriptions and license plates of suspected immigration-enforcement vehicles. Patel disclosed the probe in an interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson, saying it was prompted by a viral X thread from influencer Cam Higby, who claimed to have "infiltrated" the chats, and that the FBI was examining whether the activity crossed legal thresholds such as "doxxing" agents. Free-speech advocates noted that observing and documenting on-duty law enforcement is generally lawful and warned the investigation could chill protected organizing.

ICE-linked SUV accelerated at a Minnesota protest monitor before agents shouted her home address at her

Emily Beltz, 44, said that on January 26, 2026, an SUV she had been following near her Minneapolis-suburb apartment building -- after apparently identifying her home through license-plate tracking -- "suddenly turned and sped at" her car before braking hard at the last moment, while a masked agent inside shouted her home address at her. Beltz's account, along with nearly 100 other sworn statements describing federal agents in Minnesota's "Operation Metro Surge" immigration deployment identifying protest-monitors' home addresses, was later filed February 13, 2026 in an ACLU-led civil case, Tincher v. Noem.

ICE agents arrested asylum seeker Isa Maluenga Avila without explanation, detained her 18 days at Eloy

On January 26, 2026, masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Isa Maluenga Avila, a 41-year-old Tucson asylum seeker lawfully admitted at the Nogales port of entry in 2023, without explanation as she left a bank, and sent her to Eloy Detention Center. ICE gave no reason for the arrest, and Maluenga Avila had no criminal record and no active removal case or final removal order against her. She was held 18 days in conditions she described as inhumane before an immigration judge ordered her release on February 13, 2026, after DHS moved to dismiss its case rather than respond to a federal habeas corpus petition her attorney had filed.

Jan 25

Alligator Alcatraz guards Trejos and Seenaraine allegedly battered detainee during Jan. 25 transfer at Florida facility

On Jan. 25, 2026, Critical Response Strategies corrections officers Stephen Trejos and Andre Seenaraine allegedly battered detainee Rigoberto Rodriguez Arce, a Cuban national ICE had detained weeks earlier, during a chaotic detainee transfer at Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention facility in Ochopee. A witness said Trejos slammed Rodriguez Arce to the ground and struck him after handcuffed detainees banged their cuffs on benches, and that Seenaraine later punched him in another room; Trejos's attorney says surveillance video instead shows a single "compliance strike" after Rodriguez Arce spat at him. Collier County prosecutors charged both officers with misdemeanor battery in June 2026, both pleaded not guilty, and the case became public in September 2026.

Jan 24

University of Arkansas at Little Rock scrubbed two race-focused history lectures from its website citing state law

Arkansas Times reporting published January 24, 2026 revealed that University of Arkansas at Little Rock administrators had pressured organizers of its "Evenings with History" lecture series to retitle or add disclaimer language to two lectures on race and history, citing the state's 2025 ACCESS Act, and had the events' announcements removed from the university's website after a history professor refused to make the changes. Rather than accept the administration's requested edits, UALR's history department voted to withdraw from the two lectures entirely, and the university said only that it was reviewing its participation in the series for compliance with the law.

CoreCivic held ~1,500 Dilley detainees, many children, in what detainees described as putrid water and bug-contaminated food, sparking mass protest

On January 24, 2026, an estimated 80% of the roughly 1,500-1,900 people held at CoreCivic's South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas -- many of them children -- staged a roughly 30-minute protest, chanting "Libertad" and "let us out," after guards ordered visiting attorneys to leave and physically blocked other detainees from joining; the Frio County Sheriff's office, Texas DPS, and Border Patrol responded. Detainees told immigration attorney Eric Lee, present for a client visit, that drinking water was "putrid" and meals contained "bugs," dirt, and debris, describing conditions attorneys said had not changed despite a prior lawsuit alleging inhumane food, water, and medical care at the facility.

Border Patrol agents shoot and kill U.S. citizen VA nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis

On January 24, 2026, two federal agents — Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and CBP officer Raymundo Gutierrez — shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and Department of Veterans Affairs intensive-care nurse, on a Minneapolis street during a federal immigration surge. The Department of Homeland Security said Pretti was armed and "violently resisted," but bystander videos showed him pepper-sprayed and pinned to the ground before the shots, and the Hennepin County medical examiner ruled the death a homicide. The two agents were placed on administrative leave and the Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation.

AG Bondi demanded Minnesota turn over voter rolls, Medicaid/SNAP data, end sanctuary policies amid deadly ICE crackdown

On January 24, 2026, U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi sent Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz a letter demanding the state hand over its voter rolls, Medicaid and SNAP recipient data, and repeal its "sanctuary" policies, framing compliance as a path to end the federal immigration surge in the Twin Cities. The letter came hours after Border Patrol agents fatally shot U.S. citizen Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon rejected the demand as "an outrageous attempt to coerce Minnesota," and Gov. Walz called the voter-roll request unrelated to any legitimate concern.

ICE agents stopped and arrested F.R.P. in a Walmart parking lot in Cheektowaga, New York; his wife was arrested in the same incident

On January 24, 2026, ICE agents stopped a man identified in court filings as F.R.P. in a Walmart parking lot in Cheektowaga, New York, arresting and detaining him without a judicial warrant for 25 days. His wife was arrested in the same incident. His arrest is one of eight named in the April 2026 class-action lawsuit Benitez v. DHS, which alleges ICE and CBP agents have conducted a systematic pattern of warrantless stops and arrests of Latino residents across New York based on race and ethnicity.

ICE agents stopped and arrested R.C.R. in a Walmart parking lot in Cheektowaga, New York; her husband was arrested in the same incident

On January 24, 2026, ICE agents stopped a woman identified in court filings as R.C.R. in a Walmart parking lot in Cheektowaga, New York, arresting and detaining her without a judicial warrant for 26 days. Her husband was arrested in the same incident. Her arrest is one of eight named in the April 2026 class-action lawsuit Benitez v. DHS, which alleges ICE and CBP agents have conducted a systematic pattern of warrantless stops and arrests of Latino residents across New York based on race and ethnicity.

DHS immigration agents arrested F.R.P. and his wife without a warrant in a Cheektowaga Walmart parking lot, complaint alleges

On January 24, 2026, DHS immigration officers stopped and arrested F.R.P., a 63-year-old Latino resident of Buffalo with a pending asylum application and employment authorization, along with his wife R.C.R., without a warrant in the parking lot of a Walmart in Cheektowaga, New York. F.R.P. was released on bond on February 18, 2026; R.C.R. was released on bond on February 19. The arrest is among eight incidents documented in a class action complaint filed April 8, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, alleging that DHS agencies ICE and CBP engage in a systematic policy of racial profiling and warrantless immigration arrests targeting Latino New Yorkers.

Immigration officer detained Cheektowaga woman with pending asylum claim for 26 days after warrantless arrest

On January 24, 2026, a federal immigration officer detained R.C.R., a 55-year-old Cheektowaga resident, without a judicial warrant while she was in a Walmart parking lot with her husband. R.C.R. had a pending asylum application and employment authorization at the time; she was held for 26 days and released on bond on February 19, 2026.

Baltimore Mayor Scott's administration cut off Inspector General's IT access; Cumming said it jeopardized whistleblower confidentiality

On January 24, 2026, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott's administration, through the city's Office of Information & Technology, cut off Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming's office from administrative access to city IT systems and heavily redacted records subpoenaed as part of her investigation into the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE). The city said the access removal addressed a Law Department attorney-client privilege violation; Cumming said it stripped her office's ability to monitor who accesses sensitive systems, including whistleblower complaints and ethics files, calling the action "unprecedented."

Texas AG Paxton issued opinion enabling exclusion of Islamic schools from voucher program over unsubstantiated terrorism claims

On January 24, 2026, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a legal opinion authorizing the state comptroller to exclude private schools from the state's new voucher program over alleged ties to terrorism or foreign governments. The opinion followed a request from Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock after researcher Sam Westrop — previously found liable in the U.K. for over $173,000 in libel damages for a false terrorism claim — alleged that nearly 50 Texas Islamic and Chinese-linked private schools had extremist or foreign-government ties. The comptroller's office used taxpayer funds to investigate the schools and delayed their admittance to the voucher program before four Islamic schools sued and were subsequently admitted.

Jan 23

JTF Southern Spear killed 2 aboard suspected narcotics vessel in eastern Pacific; 36th strike, ~117 campaign deaths

On January 23, 2026, Joint Task Force Southern Spear, operating at the direction of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, conducted a lethal strike on a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people and leaving one survivor. The strike was characterized by SOUTHCOM as targeting "Designated Terrorist Organizations" engaged in narco-trafficking, yet no public evidence was provided identifying the victims or their alleged activities. This was the 36th strike in the Southern Spear campaign since September 2025, resuming after a three-week gap following the January 3 capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Intercept investigation revealed ICE database marked protest observers as domestic terrorists; DHS revoked travel credentials in retaliation

A January 23, 2026 video captured an ICE agent recording a protest observer and stating, "we have a nice little database, and now you're considered a domestic terrorist," the first documented evidence of a DHS/ICE/CBP database labeling lawful protest observers as terrorists and revoking their TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, and passport access. The Intercept filed a FOIA lawsuit against DHS on June 24, 2026 after the agency refused to produce documents about the program, with court exhibits from a Minnesota immigration case corroborating the database's use and at least one civilian losing travel credentials within three days of photographing an ICE operation.

ICE detained former Venezuelan opposition mayor Carlos Garcia-Oden at routine Cincinnati check-in

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Carlos Garcia-Oden, a former opposition mayor of Mérida, Venezuela, at a scheduled immigration check-in in Cincinnati, Ohio, on January 23, 2026, and booked him into the Butler County Jail as deportation proceedings began. Garcia-Oden had complied with ICE check-ins for years, held a valid work permit through 2030, and had no criminal record; his family said ICE gave no reason for the arrest. He fled Venezuela in 2017 after being sentenced in absentia for opposing Nicolás Maduro's government and has an asylum claim pending.

ICE detained Chicago man acquitted in Bovino murder-for-hire plot, held him without a hearing for weeks

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took Juan Espinoza Martinez, a 37-year-old Chicago construction worker, into custody on Jan. 23, 2026 -- one day after a federal jury acquitted him of offering a bounty for the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino -- and held him at the Clay County Justice Center in Brazil, Indiana without a hearing before an immigration judge. U.S. District Judge James Hanlon ruled Feb. 6, 2026 that the continued detention was unlawful for lack of that hearing and ordered the government to release Espinoza Martinez or grant him a bond hearing.

Jan 22

ICE removed all detainees from Cumberland County Jail and DHS canceled its housing contract hours after sheriff criticized ICE's tactics

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed all roughly 50 federal detainees from the Cumberland County Jail in Portland, Maine, on January 22, 2026, and the Department of Homeland Security formally canceled the jail's detainee-housing contract the next day, hours after Sheriff Kevin Joyce publicly criticized ICE's arrest of a county corrections officer as "bush league." ICE Deputy Assistant Director Patricia Hyde said on the record that the cancellation followed Joyce "criticizing those who actually protect our communities," and in the same rushed transfer ICE moved detainees in violation of standing federal court orders, prompting two judges to order several immediate releases.

ICE flew a 2-year-old and her father to Texas despite a court order to release the toddler

On January 22, 2026, ICE agents detained Elvis Joel Tipan Echeverria and his 2-year-old daughter in south Minneapolis as they returned home from grocery shopping. After a federal judge ordered that the toddler not be moved out of state and be released, the government placed both on a commercial flight to Texas roughly twenty minutes later, in contravention of the order. The child was returned to her mother in Minnesota the next day; her father, who has an active asylum case, remained in federal custody.

National Park Service removed the George Washington slavery exhibit at Philadelphia's President's House Site

On January 22, 2026, the National Park Service removed 34 educational panels documenting the nine people George Washington enslaved while living at the President's House in Philadelphia, implementing President Trump's March 2025 executive order directing federal cultural sites to remove content that "inappropriately disparages" Americans. The city of Philadelphia sued, and a federal judge ordered the exhibit restored in February 2026, but the Third Circuit reversed that injunction in June, and NPS installed replacement panels in July that critics say soften Washington's record on slavery; Philadelphia is now seeking a rehearing of the appellate ruling.

EEOC's Republican majority rescinded its 2024 workplace harassment guidance, including transgender protections

On January 22, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Republican-appointed majority — Chair Andrea Lucas and Commissioner Brittany Panuccio — voted 2-1 to rescind its 2024 enforcement guidance on workplace harassment, skipping the standard notice-and-comment process. The 190-page guidance, adopted under President Biden following the Supreme Court's Bostock ruling, included examples of unlawful harassment based on gender identity and sexual orientation; a federal court in Texas had already vacated that specific section in May 2025 for exceeding EEOC's authority, but the January 2026 vote eliminated the remainder of the document, covering harassment standards for race, sex, religion, age, and disability as well. The commission's lone Democrat, Kalpana Kotagal, voted against the rescission, calling it "throwing out the baby with the bathwater."

Education Dept. found Connetquot school district violated Title VI by dropping its Native American mascot to comply with state law

On January 22, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights concluded that Connetquot Central School District on Long Island, New York, violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by renaming its "Thunderbirds" mascot to "T-Birds" under a settlement complying with a 2023 New York State Education Department regulation banning Native American mascots and imagery in public schools. Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said the district "engaged in race- and national-origin-based discrimination" by abandoning the name and ordered it to revert to "Thunderbirds" and all associated logos; New York's Education Department called the finding "a mockery of our nation's civil rights laws."

DOJ and FBI arrest anti-ICE church-protest organizers under FACE Act and conspiracy statute

On January 22, 2026, Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel announced federal charges against Minneapolis civil-rights organizer Nekima Levy Armstrong, St. Paul school-board member Chauntyll Allen, and others over a January 18 anti-ICE demonstration inside Cities Church in St. Paul, where one pastor also directs the local ICE field office. The activists were charged under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and 18 U.S.C. § 241 (conspiracy against rights); Levy Armstrong was processed and released the same day after a federal magistrate found insufficient evidence to detain her. These were the first arrests in a prosecution that a February 27 superseding indictment would expand to 39 defendants.

ICE agents smashed a lawfully present driver's car window and tased him during a Portland, Maine stop

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stopped civil engineer Juan Sebastián Carvajal-Muñoz while he drove to work in Portland, Maine, on January 22, 2026, smashed his car window with a crowbar, and dragged him out at taser-point after he showed a REAL ID through the window. Agents held Carvajal-Muñoz, who holds a valid H-1B visa through September 2027, for roughly 16 hours — moving him toward an ICE facility in Burlington, Massachusetts — before releasing him that night. He sued ICE agent Jack Cory Ravencamp and four then-unnamed agents in April 2026 under the Maine Civil Rights Act, alleging the stop was based on his race.

Jan 21

House Speaker Mike Johnson endorsed impeaching judges Boasberg and Boardman over their rulings against Trump

House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a Capitol news conference on January 21, 2026 that he supports impeaching U.S. District Judges James Boasberg and Deborah Boardman, calling their rulings against the Trump administration "egregious abuses" and saying "extreme times call for extreme measures." His remarks endorsed an impeachment campaign already underway among House and Senate Republicans, including articles Rep. Brandon Gill had filed against Boasberg and a Senate hearing Sen. Ted Cruz had convened arguing both judges violated their constitutional duties.

ICE deported pregnant asylum seeker Zharick Buitrago Ortiz from Atlanta amid reported medical distress, pending asylum claim

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Zharick Daniela Buitrago Ortiz, a 21-year-old Colombian asylum seeker who was eight months pregnant, from Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport on January 21, 2026, while a derivative asylum claim on her mother's application remained pending. Her attorney said she was in "serious medical distress" with intense back and abdominal pain and had been denied medical care before the flight; DHS disputed the medical-distress claim on the record, saying she had been medically cleared per policy and describing her as a suspected gang member who had previously been removed. Hours later, a federal judge granted part of an emergency motion to halt the removal, but ICE had already put her on the plane.

TSA Acting Administrator McNeill falsely told Congress TSA does not send passenger data to ICE; FOIA-obtained agreement showed it does

On January 21, 2026, Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security that TSA does not send passenger data to ICE, saying the agency only "helps ICE check against information." A Memorandum of Agreement between TSA and ICE, signed in May 2025 and disclosed by American Oversight through a FOIA lawsuit on July 28, 2026, states that TSA "intends to share specified data elements with ICE" and sets procedures for ICE to retain that information.

Institute of Museum and Library Services funded 'Freedom Trucks' museums that presented fabricated and AI-generated history to the public

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded a $14 million grant to Freedom 250 to fund a fleet of six "Freedom Trucks" mobile museums, which launched January 21, 2026 and toured schools and communities nationwide with content produced by PragerU and Hillsdale College. Reporting by The Washington Post, Inside Higher Ed, and independent journalist Jonathan Larsen documented that the exhibits presented fabricated and AI-generated historical claims, including an invented George Washington quotation, a false statement that Muhammad Ali had "disavowed" Islam, and a long-debunked myth that Congress authorized an official "Aitken Bible." Historians said the government-funded exhibits advanced a sanitized, Christian-nationalist account of American history.

Michigan Department of Civil Rights shelved $1.1M tribal boarding-school report and omitted its apology recommendation

Bridge Michigan reported on January 21, 2026 that Michigan's Department of Civil Rights had shelved a $1.1 million report on the state's role in Native American tribal boarding schools, completed in October 2025 by Washington-based consulting firm Kauffman and Associates, rather than release it to the public. Kauffman said the department and the Attorney General's office, serving as its legal counsel, directed the firm to cut its initial 350-page report to 50 pages and remove references to local government involvement. A follow-up House hearing in late February found the department had also omitted the report's recommendations, including a recommended state apology, from the 16-page summary it gave the Legislature.

Jan 20

ICE secretly deported eight shackled Palestinians from Phoenix to the occupied West Bank

On January 20, 2026, ICE flew eight Palestinian men - shackled at the wrists and ankles for the entire journey - out of a Phoenix deportation hub on a private jet bearing the emblem of Dezer Development, the company run by Trump donor Gil Dezer, with refueling stops in New Jersey, Ireland, and Bulgaria. The men landed at Ben Gurion Airport and were released by Israeli authorities at a military checkpoint near Ni'lin in the occupied West Bank, in an operation coordinated with Israel and approved by the Shin Bet. A joint +972 Magazine and Guardian investigation found the flight was one of at least two such secret removals in early 2026, carried out with little or no due process.

Office of Management and Budget ordered agencies to compile detailed federal-funding data on 14 Democratic-led states and D.C.

On January 20, 2026, the White House Office of Management and Budget, led by Director Russell Vought, directed nearly every federal agency to compile detailed spending data — grants, loans, contracts, subcontracts, and other awards — for 13 Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., later expanded to include a 14th state. OMB's memo described the review as a "data-gathering exercise" that "does not involve withholding funds," framing NOTUS reported was written specifically to avoid conflicting with a federal judge's ruling days earlier that targeting Democratic states for funding cuts violated the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.

ICE and DHS launched 'Operation Catch of the Day,' a Maine immigration surge aimed at the state's Somali community

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched "Operation Catch of the Day" in Maine on January 20, 2026, an enforcement surge explicitly aimed at the state's Somali immigrant community and centered on Lewiston and Portland. DHS said the operation targeted "the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens" but disclosed criminal histories for only 4 of the roughly 50 people arrested in the operation's first days, while ICE Deputy Assistant Director Patricia Hyde said the agency had compiled a target list of 1,400 people statewide. Maine Gov. Janet Mills, Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline, and Portland Mayor Mark Dion publicly objected to the deployment.

ICE detained 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, transferring them to a Texas family detention center

On January 20, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, in the driveway of their home in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, and transferred them to the Dilley family detention center in Texas. A federal judge ordered their release on January 31, 2026, finding the case stemmed from an "ill-conceived" pursuit of deportation quotas, and the family returned to Minnesota on February 1. Days later the Department of Homeland Security moved to end the family's pending asylum claims, which the family's attorneys said was an attempt to fast-track their removal and which DHS called standard procedure.

Brooklyn Park police chief revealed ICE agents drew guns on an off-duty officer and knocked her phone from her hand

Brooklyn Park (Minn.) Police Chief Mark Bruley said at a January 20, 2026 news conference that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pulled over one of his off-duty officers, boxed in her car, demanded her paperwork despite her being a U.S. citizen, and had their guns drawn; when she tried to record the stop, an agent knocked the phone from her hand. Bruley and other Minnesota police leaders alleged that officers and residents have been stopped by federal agents "solely because of the color of their skin," while DHS said it could find no record of the stop and could not verify the claim without a name.

Jan 19

DHS denies Minneapolis immigration detainees, including a U.S. citizen, access to lawyers

During Operation Metro Surge, federal agents held people swept up in Minneapolis-area immigration raids — including at least one U.S. citizen — inside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building and systematically denied them access to attorneys. Lawyers reported being turned away for days with shifting, legally invalid excuses, while detainees were allowed an outgoing call only after being booked and transferred to out-of-state facilities. DHS denied any violation, but the pattern was corroborated by four named attorneys, two U.S. senators, and a class-action suit that produced a March 2026 court order requiring prompt attorney access before any transfer.

ICE agent drew gun, entered St. Paul restaurant chasing unidentified person, traumatizing staff and customers

On January 19, 2026, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent stepped out of his vehicle with his handgun drawn and entered Eastside Thai, a restaurant in St. Paul, Minnesota, after a person ran past the front door while the agent searched for an unspecified "kid." Co-owner Kou Lee said the agent accused the owners of "hiding the kid," and co-owner Elle Lee said the agent was shouting as he entered, then exited and re-entered with the weapon still unholstered before leaving; both owners said multiple customers and staff were left traumatized by the encounter.

Jan 18

ICE breaks into St. Paul home at gunpoint and detains Hmong American U.S. citizen ChongLy Thao in his underwear; county probes it as kidnapping

On January 18, 2026, masked federal immigration agents broke down the door of ChongLy "Scott" Thao, a 56-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen of Hmong descent, in St. Paul, pointed guns at his family, and led him into subzero cold wearing only his underwear, Crocs, and a blanket. Agents handcuffed Thao in front of his young grandson and drove him around questioning him before fingerprinting confirmed he is a longtime citizen with no record, then returned him home without explanation. Ramsey County's attorney and sheriff opened an investigation into the federal agents' conduct as a possible kidnapping.

Top DOJ prosecutor in LA urged the public to feed false information to immigrant-rights hotlines

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California posted on X on January 18, 2026 that the public has a "First Amendment right" to call immigrant-rights hotlines and "provide inaccurate information," then shared a screenshot identifying specific rapid-response hotlines run by CHIRLA, ÓRALE, and Immigrant Defenders Law Center. The post came in response to Rep. Jimmy Gomez alerting constituents to federal immigration enforcement in Los Angeles's Fashion District, and one of the named organizations told reporters it was already experiencing an increase in "crank calls."

Jan 17

Federal agents pepper-sprayed Minneapolis protesters outside Whipple building one day after court order barred it

On January 17, 2026, federal agents deployed chemical irritants against peaceful demonstrators outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis — conduct that U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez had specifically enjoined less than 24 hours earlier. The January 16 injunction, arising from an ACLU lawsuit over Operation Metro Surge, barred federal agents from pepper-spraying, arresting, or retaliating against peaceful protesters. Rather than comply, the Trump administration appealed and sought an Eighth Circuit stay, which the appellate court granted on January 21.

St. Paul officials disclosed ICE detained a legally authorized snowplow driver, saying he was targeted over his national origin

On January 17, 2026, St. Paul Public Works Director Sean Kershaw publicly disclosed that ICE had detained a department snowplow driver despite the man's federal work authorization, valid commercial driver's license, and a clean background check the city itself had run, and transferred him to a detention facility in El Paso, Texas. Kershaw said the detention was based "purely on his country of origin" and called it "a detention that never should have happened." The exact date ICE detained the man was not established in reporting, and the man has a serious medical condition requiring specific medication and diet.

ICE agents stopped and arrested Darwin Garcia Medrano and his 16-year-old brother at a gas station in Brentwood, New York

On January 17, 2026, ICE agents stopped Darwin Garcia Medrano and his 16-year-old brother at a gas station in Brentwood, New York, arresting both without a judicial warrant. Darwin, who had a pending Special Immigrant Juvenile status application, was detained for five days. His arrest is one of eight named in the April 2026 class-action lawsuit Benitez v. DHS, which alleges ICE and CBP agents have conducted a systematic pattern of warrantless stops and arrests of Latino residents across New York based on race and ethnicity.

ICE arrested Darwin Garcia Medrano without a warrant while he pumped gas in Brentwood, New York, detaining him for five days

On January 17, 2026, ICE agents stopped and arrested Darwin Garcia Medrano, a 19-year-old Latino resident of Brentwood, New York who holds Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, without a warrant while he pumped gas, along with his 16-year-old brother and a friend, according to a class action complaint filed April 8, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Garcia Medrano spent five days in ICE detention before being released without explanation. The complaint, filed by the Legal Aid Society, NYCLU, Make the Road New York, and Covington and Burling, alleges ICE and CBP systematically target Latino New Yorkers for suspicionless stops and warrantless arrests in violation of the Fourth Amendment and federal immigration law.

Jan 16

DOJ court filing revealed DOGE shared Social Security data of 300 million Americans via an unapproved server

A Justice Department court filing dated January 16, 2026 disclosed that Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team members at the Social Security Administration had copied and shared a database of more than 300 million Americans' personal records through Cloudflare, a third-party server not approved to store SSA data and outside the agency's security protocols; SSA said it still cannot determine what was shared or whether it remains on the server. The same filing disclosed that SSA referred two DOGE employees to the Office of Special Counsel for potential Hatch Act violations after a political advocacy group contacted them seeking Social Security data to match against state voter rolls as part of an effort to overturn election results in certain states.

Trump pardoned three defendants in a Puerto Rico bank-regulator bribery scheme, including banker Herrera Velutini and ex-Gov. Vázquez

On January 16, 2026, President Trump pardoned three co-defendants in a Puerto Rico bank-regulator bribery scheme: Venezuelan-Italian banker Julio Herrera Velutini, former Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced, and former FBI agent Mark Rossini. Prosecutors had alleged that Herrera Velutini arranged roughly $300,000 in support for Vázquez's 2020 reelection campaign in exchange for firing a banking regulator investigating his bank. The pardons wiped out the cases, including Vázquez's guilty plea to reduced campaign-finance charges.

U.S. Border Patrol detained Gresham, Oregon family, including 7-year-old, in Portland hospital parking lot; held past Flores limit

U.S. Border Patrol agents detained Darianny Liseth González de Crespo, her husband Yohendry de Jesús Crespo, and their 7-year-old daughter Diana in the parking lot of Adventist Health Portland on January 16, 2026, while the Gresham, Oregon family sought emergency care for the child's persistent nosebleed. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed on the record that Border Patrol agents made the detention; the family was driven to Washington state and flown to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, where they were held together for 21 days -- one day past the 20-day limit on detaining children set by the 1997 Flores Agreement.

ICE re-arrested Garrison Gibson at Minneapolis check-in, a day after judge ruled his battering-ram arrest unlawful

On January 16, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents re-arrested Garrison Gibson, a 37-year-old Liberian national living in Minneapolis under an order of supervision, during a scheduled check-in at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building -- one day after U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan ordered his release, ruling that ICE's January 11 battering-ram arrest of Gibson violated the Fourth Amendment and that ICE had ignored its own regulations on revoking supervised release. ICE held Gibson roughly three hours before releasing him again that afternoon, fitted with an ankle monitor and returned to supervision, again without providing the notice or interview the regulations require before revoking an order of supervision.

DOJ opens criminal investigation into Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey over their anti-ICE statements

On January 16, 2026, the U.S. Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over an alleged conspiracy to impede federal immigration agents during Operation Metro Surge, the roughly 3,000-agent ICE and Border Patrol deployment to the Twin Cities. Sources told CBS News the inquiry rests on 18 U.S.C. Section 372 and stems from the officials' public criticism of the operation, which had intensified after an ICE agent killed Minnesota resident Renee Good on January 7. Subpoenas to Walz, Frey, Attorney General Keith Ellison, the St. Paul mayor's office, and two counties followed the next week.

Lea County Sheriff's deputy tased traffic-stop subject after he was on the ground; charged with battery

On January 16, 2026, Lea County Sheriff's Deputy Dustyn Bennett stopped Israel Arenivas on New Mexico Highway 132 while investigating a report of a stolen motorcycle. Body camera footage obtained by KOB 4 shows Bennett grabbed Arenivas, threatened to tase him after he pulled free and remained standing, and then deployed a Taser twice -- once while Arenivas was standing and again after he was already on the ground. Bennett now faces a misdemeanor battery charge over the encounter.

Jan 15

ICE deported gay Moroccan asylum-seeker to Cameroon, circumventing judge's order barring removal to Morocco

On January 15, 2026, ICE deported Farah, a 21-year-old gay Moroccan asylum-seeker, from ICE custody in Alexandria, Louisiana to Cameroon, despite an immigration judge's August 2025 ruling that she could not be removed to Morocco because it would endanger her life. Farah, who fled Morocco after her own and her partner's families attacked her over her sexual orientation, was deported three days before a scheduled release hearing; unable to safely remain in Cameroon, where homosexuality is also illegal, she was then sent onward to Morocco — the country the order barred. DHS said it was "applying the law as written."

ICE agents detained a Brooklyn deacon outside his home without explaining the arrest or reading him his rights, court filings say

On the morning of January 15, 2026, ICE agents detained Deacon Sebastian Renoj Ordoñez and several neighbors outside his Bensonhurst, Brooklyn apartment building as they left for work; according to federal court filings, officers did not explain the arrest or read him his rights. Ordoñez, a church leader for 18 years with no criminal record and U.S.-citizen children and grandchildren, was transferred within 48 hours to a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey. DHS said he had previously been deported under a false identity in 2000, while a federal judge ordered a pause on any further transfer or deportation and directed that he receive a bond hearing within 10 days.

ICE breaks into St. Paul home in armed warrantless raid, detains six including a 12-year-old flown to Texas

On January 15, 2026, federal immigration agents broke through the door of a home on Nevada Avenue East in St. Paul, Minnesota, entered with assault rifles, and detained six members of a Venezuelan family — including a 12-year-old boy who was transported to an immigration center in San Antonio, Texas. Agents claimed a search warrant but never presented one; a document left on the doorstep the next day was an unfiled Ramsey County (state) court paper with no case number. On January 19, U.S. District Judge John Tunheim granted the family's habeas petition after DHS failed to produce a judicial warrant by his deadline, ordering the detainees returned to Minnesota and released within 72 hours.

EPA ended decades-long practice of monetizing air-pollution health benefits in Clean Air Act rulemaking analysis

On January 15, 2026, the EPA under Administrator Lee Zeldin finalized a rule revising New Source Performance Standards for stationary combustion and gas turbines that, for the first time, said the agency would no longer assign a dollar value to the health benefits of reduced fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone pollution in its regulatory cost-benefit analysis, while continuing to fully count compliance costs to industry. The EPA cited general modeling uncertainty but did not cite new peer-reviewed science justifying a break from the quantification methods it and prior Republican administrations had used for decades. Senate Democrats led by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse opened an investigation into the change in February 2026, and the agency applied the same non-monetization approach in at least one later 2026 rulemaking.

Court filing revealed Trump had appointed ballroom's own architect and three loyalists to the commission required to approve it

A court filing submitted January 15, 2026 in litigation over Trump's White House ballroom project revealed that President Trump had appointed four new members to the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), the federal board that must review and approve the ballroom expansion. The appointees include Mary Anne Carter, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts and a close friend of White House chief of staff Susie Wiles; conservative art critic Roger Kimball; White House National Garden of American Heroes official Matthew Taylor; and architect James McCrery, who was separately hired to lead the ballroom's own construction. Trump had fired the board's entire prior six-member membership in October 2025, leaving the CFA unable to meet.

National Park Service awarded ballroom contractor Clark Construction a no-bid $17.4M Lafayette Park fountain contract

In January 2026, the National Park Service awarded Clark Construction Group — the contractor also building President Trump's East Wing White House ballroom — a sole-source, no-bid contract to repair two Lafayette Park fountains, invoking an urgency exemption normally reserved for emergencies. The award grew from a 2022 government estimate of $3.3 million to $17.4 million, with contracting specialists identifying irregularities including double-counted inflation costs.

Public Citizen found agencies canceled or froze 159 corporate enforcement actions in Trump's first year, many tied to inaugural donors

A Public Citizen report published January 15, 2026 found that during the first year of President Trump's second term, federal agencies — including the Justice Department, SEC, FTC, and CFPB — canceled or froze 159 enforcement actions against 166 corporations that had been under federal investigation or prosecution. Of the companies that received favorable treatment, 31 had donated to Trump's inauguration or White House ballroom fund, a pattern the group had flagged in advance in an April 2025 analysis warning the donations "may serve as down payments" for dropped cases. The report documents the systemic collapse of corporate enforcement rather than asserting a proven quid pro quo in any individual case.

FTC issued Civil Investigative Demands to Endocrine Society and AAP for records on pediatric gender-affirming care guidelines

On January 15, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission issued Civil Investigative Demands to the Endocrine Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics, demanding years of internal records on their pediatric gender dysphoria clinical guidelines under the theory the organizations may have engaged in "false advertising or unfair practices." The medical societies sued in federal court, arguing the demands were First Amendment retaliation targeting their scientific positions rather than genuine consumer protection enforcement. On May 8, 2026, Chief Judge James Boasberg granted a preliminary injunction blocking FTC enforcement, finding "extensive evidence of animus" and "wafer-thin justifications" for the investigation.

Jan 14

Alabama prison officials transferred 'Alabama Solution' whistleblowers to extreme solitary confinement

In mid-January 2026, the Alabama Department of Corrections abruptly transferred incarcerated activists Raoul Poole, Robert Earl Council ("Kinetik Justice"), and Melvin Ray — subjects of the Oscar-nominated documentary "The Alabama Solution" — from their prisons to an isolated five-cell solitary confinement unit at Kilby Correctional Facility near Montgomery, Alabama. The transfer followed the men's December 2025 announcement of a nonviolent work strike, and their attorneys and family said prison officials gave no reason and cut the men off from contact with other prisoners, staff, and initially their families.

ICE routes Diaz autopsy to military hospital, bypassing ME who ruled prior Camp East Montana death a homicide

Victor Manuel Diaz, a 36-year-old Nicaraguan detained in the Minneapolis area under Operation Metro Surge, died on January 14, 2026 at Camp East Montana, the ICE tent facility on the Army's Fort Bliss base in El Paso, Texas — eight days after his arrest and roughly 1,200 miles from where he was taken. ICE called the death a "presumed suicide," but his family rejected that account, and the agency routed his autopsy to a military hospital that withholds its findings from the public, bypassing the El Paso County medical examiner who had ruled an earlier detainee's death at the same camp a homicide. Diaz was the third person to die at Camp East Montana in a 44-day span.

ICE detained a Willmar, Minnesota restaurant's owners and a dishwasher in a collateral vehicle-stop arrest hours after agents ate lunch there

On January 14, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers surveilled El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant in Willmar, Minnesota, and positively identified a target inside after seeing his vehicle parked outside. Officers conducted a vehicle stop later that day and detained the target along with two other people found in the car -- the restaurant's two owners and a dishwasher -- one of whom already had a final removal order from an immigration judge. The restaurant closed afterward as residents described a climate of fear and a nearby business owner said ICE operations had cost his shop roughly 75% of its trade.

State Department suspended immigrant-visa processing for 75 countries citing "public charge" concerns

On January 14, 2026, the State Department announced it would suspend immigrant-visa processing for citizens of 75 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, and Somalia, effective January 21, citing a policy of vetting applicants for the likelihood they would rely on public assistance once admitted. The suspension, which builds on a November 2025 directive tightening "public charge" vetting, does not apply to nonimmigrant tourist or business visas.

DHS Secretary Noem terminated Temporary Protected Status for Somalia, stripping deportation protection from about 2,500 Somalis

On January 14, 2026, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Somalia, effective March 17, 2026, stating that "country conditions in Somalia have improved" and that continued protection was "contrary to our national interests." The termination affects approximately 2,500 Somali nationals — 1,082 people enrolled in TPS as of December 8, 2025, plus 1,383 pending applicants — making them eligible for deportation. The announcement came amid an ongoing ICE enforcement surge in Minneapolis, home to the nation's largest Somali-American community, and after President Trump had made repeated derogatory public statements about Somali immigrants.

Federal agents deployed tear gas under a Minneapolis family's vehicle, trapping six children inside

On January 14, 2026, federal agents responding to protests against Operation Metro Surge deployed tear gas that rolled under a family's SUV in north Minneapolis, trapping Destiny and Shawn Jackson and their six children — ages six months to eleven — inside as the vehicle's auto-locking doors initially prevented escape. Once extracted, Destiny Jackson performed CPR on the couple's six-month-old, who had stopped breathing; the infant was revived, and the family was hospitalized and decontaminated. DHS initially posted, then deleted, a statement blaming the family for bringing children to a "violent riot," before an agency spokesperson said the family had not intentionally been at the protest and were not the target of the agents' actions.

CBS News report revealed DOJ immigration court locked out independent observers at Minneapolis's Whipple building

CBS News Minnesota reported on January 14, 2026 that immigration court officials at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis had locked courtroom doors, denied or severely restricted independent observers' access, and stripped names and complete case numbers from case records — a pattern the advocacy group The Advocates for Human Rights said has continued since early 2025. DOJ's own published policy states immigration courts are open to the public except when a judge grants a motion to close a hearing or limit attendance; no such motion or other government justification for the restrictions was reported.

FBI searched Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson's Alexandria, Virginia home, seized her devices in Pentagon leak probe

On January 14, 2026, FBI agents executed a search warrant at the Alexandria, Virginia home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson and seized her phone, two laptops, a recorder, a portable hard drive, and a Garmin watch, as part of a Pentagon-referred Justice Department leak investigation into a government contractor accused of taking home classified reports. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the search was conducted at the Defense Department's request; Natanson and the Post were not targets of the underlying probe, but the seizure cut off her access to more than 1,000 confidential sources and her ongoing reporting on the administration's downsizing of the federal workforce.

Slotkin revealed Pirro's office sought interviews with Democratic lawmakers over anti-illegal-orders video

Sen. Elissa Slotkin revealed on January 14, 2026 that Jeanine Pirro, the Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, had asked to interview her the previous week about a November 2025 video in which she and five other Democratic members of Congress reminded U.S. troops of their duty to refuse illegal orders. Reps. Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, and Chrissy Houlahan confirmed to reporters that they received similar interview requests from Pirro's office. The requests followed a November 2025 FBI counterterrorism interview request over the same video and preceded a February 2026 attempt by Pirro's office to indict the same six lawmakers before a grand jury.

Education Department opened 18 Title IX investigations into schools and colleges across 10 states over transgender-athlete policies

On January 14, 2026 — the day after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on state laws barring transgender athletes from women's sports — the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights opened Title IX investigations into 18 K-12 school districts, colleges, and one state education department across ten states: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington. The investigations targeted policies letting students compete in school sports according to their gender identity rather than sex. Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said OCR was "aggressively pursuing" the entities and would "leave no stone unturned."

ICE detained U.S. citizen Nasra Ahmed for two days in St. Paul; agent allegedly shoved her and used a racial slur

On January 14, 2026, ICE agents in St. Paul, Minnesota detained Nasra Ahmed, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen with no criminal record, while pursuing two men she did not know; Ahmed said agents shoved her to the ground and one used a racial slur before she was held two days at Sherburne County jail and released without charges. She described the detention publicly at a Minnesota State Capitol press briefing on January 21, and a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson responded the same day by alleging, without evidence, that she had assaulted federal agents. Federal prosecutors subsequently charged Ahmed over the same encounter, and in June 2026 a federal judge dismissed the case with prejudice, finding the government had violated a court order and undermined the presumption of innocence.

Hennepin County charges ICE agent in January Minneapolis shooting of Venezuelan immigrant

On May 18, 2026, Hennepin County prosecutors charged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Christian Castro with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime in the January 14, 2026 shooting of Venezuelan immigrant Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis through the front door of a home in north Minneapolis. County Attorney Mary Moriarty said security-camera and physical evidence show Castro was never under threat — he was not struck by a shovel, broom, or other object — and then filed a false account of the encounter. The U.S. Department of Justice had previously dropped the federal assault charges that the Department of Homeland Security brought against Sosa-Celis and his cousin Alfredo Aljorna in February 2026 after the same footage contradicted the ICE agents' sworn statements; ICE placed two agents on administrative leave at that time.

Jan 13

ICE detained Circle Pines, Minnesota restaurant worker at work, flew him to Texas detention within about 12 hours

On January 13, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained a worker at Pancho's Taqueria and Mexican Cafe in Circle Pines, Minnesota, during the federal Operation Metro Surge immigration-enforcement deployment to the Twin Cities. The worker -- identified by restaurant owners only as "Kevin" to protect his safety -- was taken to a federal building in Minneapolis and flown to an ICE detention facility in El Paso, Texas roughly 12 hours later, before his family or an attorney located him. Restaurant owner Frank Chase said Kevin held valid work authorization; ICE and CBP did not respond to reporters' requests for comment on the detention.

Federal agents dragged U.S. citizen Aliya Rahman from her car and detained her without charge in Minneapolis

On January 13, 2026, masked federal agents smashed the window of U.S. citizen Aliya Rahman's car, cut her seatbelt, and dragged her out at a Minneapolis intersection while she was driving to an appointment at the city's Traumatic Brain Injury Center. Rahman, who is autistic and has a prior brain injury, told agents she was disabled; she was taken to the Whipple detention facility, denied medical care until she lost consciousness, and was never charged with a crime. The Department of Homeland Security called her an "agitator" who ignored commands to move her vehicle, one of seven people arrested at the scene during Operation Metro Surge.

CNN report reveals Pentagon directed dozens of active-duty military lawyers to prosecute civilians in Minneapolis

On January 13, 2026, CNN reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had directed the military services to identify 40 judge advocate general officers, from which 25 would be selected to serve as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys prosecuting civilians in Minneapolis amid an immigration-enforcement crackdown. The detailing of active-duty uniformed lawyers to Justice Department prosecutions followed similar moves in Washington, D.C., and Memphis, and drew challenges under the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the use of the military for domestic law enforcement. Former JAG officers argued the practice assigned uniformed military attorneys to prosecute ordinary civilian crimes unrelated to the armed forces.

Justice Department was investigating Renee Good's widow while declining to investigate the ICE agent who killed her

By January 13, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice was pursuing a criminal investigation into Becca Good, the widow of Renee Good — fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross during Operation Metro Surge — for allegedly impeding a federal officer, while Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said there was "currently no basis" for a civil-rights investigation into Ross. The dual decision, which drew on a statute from Attorney General Pam Bondi's December domestic-terrorism memo, prompted at least a dozen career federal prosecutors to resign across the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's office and the DOJ Civil Rights Division's criminal section. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said "the only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her."

Jan 12

Burgum established U.S. Wildland Fire Service by secretarial order, overriding Congress's refusal to fund it

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed Secretary's Order 3448 on January 12, 2026, formally establishing the U.S. Wildland Fire Service by consolidating wildfire management programs from four Interior Department agencies without congressional authorization. Congress had explicitly declined to fund the agency, zeroing out the administration's $6.5 billion request and directing that FY2026 Interior appropriations continue under the longstanding practice of separate agency programs. The new agency also mandated a full suppression wildfire policy requiring all fires under its management to be extinguished as quickly as possible, reviving a decades-old approach that wildfire scientists say worsens long-term fire risk.

ICE agents arrested and held Willmar teenager Suban Noor incommunicado for four days during Operation PARRIS sweep

On January 12, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 19-year-old Suban Noor, a Willmar Senior High School student and Walmart employee, on a downtown Willmar street as she stopped to pick up food for her family. An eyewitness described agents cornering her car, handcuffing her, and pulling her barefoot into an ICE vehicle while she cried out; her family had no contact with her and did not know where she was held until ICE's own detainee locator showed her release on January 16.

ICE arrested NYC Council employee Rafael Rubio at a routine asylum interview and detained him 158 days despite his valid TPS

On January 12, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Rafael Rubio, a Venezuelan data analyst employed by the New York City Council, when he appeared for a routine asylum interview at a USCIS office in Bethpage, New York, despite his holding Temporary Protected Status valid through October 2026. He was held at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey for 158 days, and the Department of Homeland Security branded him a "criminal illegal alien" in a January 13 press release. City Council Speaker Julie Menin disputed the government's account and called the detention wrongful.

New Mexico In Depth investigation revealed ICE detained U-visa applicant Damián Soto for months; Soto says an officer pressured him to self-deport

A January 12, 2026 New Mexico In Depth investigation revealed that ICE arrested Damian Soto, a 31-year-old San Bernardino, California man with a pending, preliminarily-approved U visa, at his home in June 2025 and detained him for months, transferring him through Los Angeles and El Paso facilities to CoreCivic's Cibola County Correctional Center in Grants, New Mexico, where, according to Soto, a detention officer urged him to sign voluntary-departure paperwork. Soto's family found the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, which filed a federal habeas corpus petition the government did not oppose; Soto was released without bail or an ankle monitor, though his immigration court case continues.

Jan 11

ICE deported 5-year-old U.S. citizen Génesis Gutiérrez Castellanos to Honduras without a hearing or access to counsel

On January 11, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported five-year-old Génesis Ester Gutiérrez Castellanos -- a U.S. citizen born in Austin, Texas -- to Honduras alongside her mother, Karen Guadalupe Gutiérrez Castellanos, who was removed under a 2019 administrative deportation order issued before Génesis was born. ICE took the pair into custody in Austin on January 5 after local police, responding to a domestic-disturbance call, found an active ICE warrant against Gutiérrez and notified the agency, then held them nearly a week in a San Antonio-area hotel without a hearing or access to a lawyer before deporting them.

St. Lucia signed non-binding third-country deportee MOU, faced disclosure-timing backlash

St. Lucia Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre announced during a New Year's address on January 11, 2026 that his Cabinet had approved a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with the United States on third-country deportees. Pierre faced domestic criticism for the timing of the disclosure, with commentators noting the deal appeared to have been finalized weeks before he announced it, and the agreement's text has never been publicly released.

ICE pepper-sprayed and detained two citizen legal observers in Minneapolis; one says HSI tried to recruit him as an informant

On the night of January 11-12, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in south Minneapolis pepper-sprayed the vehicle of two U.S. citizens conducting legal-observer work, Brandon Siguenza and Patricia O'Keefe, then smashed its windows and pulled them out despite their hands being raised -- an incident independently corroborated by neighbor-recorded video, according to a Snopes investigation -- arresting them for an "obstruction" charge that was never formally filed. The pair were held roughly eight hours at the Whipple Federal Building, where Siguenza says a Homeland Security Investigations agent offered him money and help bringing relatives into the country in exchange for the names of protest organizers and undocumented neighbors, which he refused; DHS disputed the account, calling any claim it offered money for information "FALSE" and alleging Siguenza and O'Keefe had themselves committed a felony by "stalking and obstructing ICE law enforcement." Upon release, agents directed Siguenza into a nearby area where tear gas was deployed and he was struck by a projectile.

Border Patrol agents choked and dragged Honduran cook from car, knocked him unconscious during St. Paul gas station arrest

On January 11, 2026, U.S. Border Patrol agents smashed the car window of Orbin Mauricio Henriquez Serrano, a Honduran restaurant cook, at a Speedway gas station in St. Paul, Minnesota, then dragged him from the vehicle, choked him, and knelt on his back while handcuffing him until he lost consciousness. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino, who was directing enforcement activity in the area, watched the arrest. Henriquez Serrano was detained, denied medical care and a lawyer for days, and deported to Honduras before he could meet with the attorney his family had retained.

ICE agents battered down Minneapolis man's front door and arrested him without a warrant; judge ruled the raid unconstitutional

On January 11, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents used a battering ram to break down the front door of Garrison Gibson's home in north Minneapolis and arrested him without a judicial warrant and without his consent, while his wife, 9-year-old daughter, and her cousin were inside. Gibson, a Liberian national who had been complying with routine ICE check-ins, was held in custody until U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan ruled on January 15, 2026 that agents had "forcibly entered Garrison G.'s home without his consent and without a judicial warrant," violating the Fourth Amendment, and ordered his immediate release.

DOJ opened criminal probe of Federal Reserve Chair Powell with no evidence, using renovation costs as pretext for Trump's rate-policy feud

Around January 11, 2026, the Justice Department served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, opening a criminal investigation of Chair Jerome Powell focused on $2.5 billion in headquarters renovation cost overruns — a probe that followed months of Trump publicly attacking Powell for refusing to lower interest rates faster. At a March 3 court hearing, the lead prosecutor told U.S. District Judge James Boasberg "we do not know at this time" what evidence of fraud or criminal misconduct existed; the judge quashed the subpoenas on March 13, finding the government had produced "essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime" and calling the investigation's justifications "pretextual."

Jan 10

U.S. Border Patrol detained Spokane asylum-seeker and his 10-year-old daughter, held them a month at Texas facility

U.S. Border Patrol agents detained Guatemalan asylum-seeker Arnoldo Tiul Caal and his 10-year-old daughter Karla Tiul Baltazar in Spokane, Washington, on January 10, 2026, a day after first stopping and questioning him, despite his ongoing asylum case and clean record. The pair, who had lived in Spokane since 2019, were held roughly a month at the Dilley, Texas immigration processing center -- where Karla ran a fever and vomited -- before the Department of Homeland Security released them on February 6 without contesting a due-process habeas petition alleging DHS had violated its own regulations.

Jan 9

ICE detained Parady La, who died in Philadelphia federal custody after staff gave Narcan for his known drug withdrawal

On January 9, 2026, Parady La, a 46-year-old Cambodian American Upper Darby, Pennsylvania resident, died at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained him and held him at the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Federal Detention Center Philadelphia. ICE said La was being treated for drug withdrawal when he was found unresponsive in his cell and given several doses of Narcan before being hospitalized; his family and the ACLU of Pennsylvania have questioned why an opioid-overdose antidote, not standard withdrawal care, was administered. The ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act request on February 5, 2026 seeking his detention, medical, and video records.

DHS launched Operation PARRIS, and ICE detained up to 150 Minnesota refugees without due process

On January 9, 2026, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security launched "Operation PARRIS," directing USCIS to reexamine the immigration status of 5,600 Minnesota refugees who have not yet received green cards, as part of the administration's broader Minnesota fraud investigation. In the weeks that followed, ICE agents in plain clothes and masks arrived at refugees' homes and workplaces across Minnesota with drawn weapons, told families it was "just paperwork," and detained roughly 100 to 150 people, transporting most within about 24 hours to the Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling and then to detention facilities in Texas without access to an attorney or a stated legal basis for their detention.

DHS agents blinded two protesters with crowd-control projectiles at a Santa Ana immigration protest

On the evening of January 9, 2026, federal Department of Homeland Security officers in riot gear fired crowd-control projectiles into a crowd of demonstrators outside a federal immigration building in Santa Ana, California, at a protest held in response to the ICE killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis. The projectiles blinded two protesters, 21-year-old Kaden Rummler and 31-year-old Britain Rodriguez, each in one eye; Rummler required six hours of surgery and was left with skull fractures and metal fragments near his carotid artery. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin characterized the demonstrators as "violent rioters" who threw "rocks, bottles and fireworks," a claim video evidence did not support, and did not address either man's injuries or identify the type of projectile fired.

USDA suspended $129 million in Minnesota, Minneapolis award payments over fraud allegations

On January 9, 2026, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the suspension of more than $129 million in active and future federal award payments to Minnesota and Minneapolis, covering nonprofit funding tied to the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme, the state's Housing Stabilization Services program, and daycare-center operating funds. In a letter to Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Rollins wrote that their "Administrations refuse to provide basic information or take common sense measures to stop fraud" and made continued and future payments contingent on the state supplying spending justification within 30 days. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison responded on the record: "I will not allow you to take from Minnesotans in need. I'll see you in court."

Pentagon AI chief Emil Michael sold his xAI stake for up to $25 million days after a major Pentagon-xAI deal

Emil Michael, the Pentagon's Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, sold his stake in Elon Musk's xAI on January 9, 2026, held through an entity called KQ Partners, for between $5 million and $25 million -- a gain of 400% to 4,800% on a position he had disclosed at $500,000 to $1 million the year before, according to Office of Government Ethics filings. Michael had initially disclosed the xAI investment in March 2025, before joining the Pentagon; the OGE issued him a divestiture certificate on December 18, 2025 recognizing a conflict of interest, and the Pentagon announced a major agreement with xAI just days before his sale became official. The Department of War said Michael and other defense officials "are in full compliance with ethics laws and regulations," citing its "rigorous, multi-layered ethics framework." The sale was first reported in April 2026 and was among three Michael stock sales the Guardian detailed further in a September 2026 investigation.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent kneed a man in the face repeatedly while other agents held him down during a Minneapolis arrest

On January 9, 2026, a U.S. Border Patrol agent driving the wrong way on a south Minneapolis street struck an oncoming car, then pulled the driver out and, with other agents holding him facedown, kneed him in the face at least five times as bystanders filmed and objected. DHS said the man is a "criminal alien from Ecuador," while a fundraiser organized on his behalf described him as a U.S. resident who had been observing ICE activity; he was later hospitalized for breathing difficulty before being taken into federal custody.

Jan 8

DHS fired career IT employee Brandon Wright over private political remarks caught in a covert dating-app sting

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security fired Brandon Wright, an eight-year career IT employee, on January 8, 2026, over private remarks criticizing incoming DHS Secretary Kristi Noem that political provocateur James O'Keefe secretly recorded during a date and published as part of his "Dating the Deep State" video series. DHS's own termination decision said continued employment would signal to the workforce that undermining the Secretary's agenda was permissible; Wright is suing DHS in federal court alleging First Amendment and due-process violations.

USCIS canceled naturalization interviews and oath ceremonies nationwide, including for applicants outside its travel-ban list

The Seattle Times reported on January 8, 2026, that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had, since early December 2025, canceled naturalization interviews and oath ceremonies for lawful permanent residents nationwide, including many applicants from countries outside the Trump administration's travel-ban list. At one Seattle nonprofit, 55 clients had appointments canceled as of early January 2026 -- 49 of them nationals of non-travel-ban countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Ecuador, Mexico and Samoa -- and received only a form notice citing "unforeseen circumstances." USCIS attributed the cancellations to a "commonsense approach to balancing out workloads," without naming a legal basis, individualized reason, or rescheduling timeline.

ICE agents beat Mexican national in St. Paul, fracturing his skull in 8 places, then unlawfully detained him

On January 8, 2026, ICE agents pulled Alberto Castañeda Mondragón, a 31-year-old Mexican citizen, from a vehicle in a St. Paul, Minnesota shopping center parking lot, threw him to the ground, and repeatedly struck him in the head with a steel baton, per his own account and hospital records; he was hospitalized with brain hemorrhaging and eight skull fractures, injuries a treating doctor said were inconsistent with ICE's account that he fell and hit a concrete wall while trying to escape. A federal judge ruled on January 23, 2026 that Castañeda Mondragón's detention was unlawful because ICE had not obtained a warrant until after his arrest, and ordered his immediate release, but the government had not confirmed his release five days later, prompting the court to threaten an order to show cause.

U.S. Border Patrol agents shot and wounded two Venezuelan nationals during Portland vehicle stop

On January 8, 2026, U.S. Border Patrol agents shot and wounded Luis David Nino-Moncada, 33, and Yorlenys Zambrano-Contreras, 32, two Venezuelan nationals, during a vehicle stop outside a medical clinic in Southeast Portland, Oregon. The Department of Homeland Security said the driver "weaponized" his vehicle and an agent fired "a defensive shot"; none of the six Border Patrol agents present wore body cameras and no video was immediately available. Federal prosecutors charged Nino-Moncada with assaulting an officer and damaging federal property and charged Zambrano-Contreras separately with illegal entry, while defense counsel called DHS's accompanying gang-affiliation claim unsupported.

Jan 7

FMCSA withheld $160 million in highway funds from California over delayed revocation of 17,000 commercial licenses

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced on January 7, 2026 that it was withholding $160 million in federal highway funds from California after the state delayed, until March, the revocation of roughly 17,000 commercial driver's licenses a federal audit found were unlawfully issued to non-domiciled and visa-expired holders. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy tied the penalty to Governor Gavin Newsom "putting the needs of illegal immigrants over the safety of the American people," while FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs said the agency would not accept a plan leaving noncompliant drivers behind the wheel of commercial trucks. California's DMV disputed that the withholding served public safety, saying it had cooperated with FMCSA on the review.

ICE agent Jonathan Ross fatally shoots U.S. citizen Renee Good in Minneapolis

On January 7, 2026, ICE deportation officer Jonathan Ross fatally shot Renee Nicole Macklin Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, on a south Minneapolis street during Operation Metro Surge after she stopped to object to the federal presence. Multiple bystander and bodyworn videos, and a New York Times multi-angle analysis, show her SUV turning away as Ross fired three shots. The administration branded Good a "domestic terrorist" and called the killing self-defense, while local officials said the footage contradicted that account; federal authorities later declined to investigate.

ICE and Orange County Jail unlawfully detained Venezuelan student without charges for 18 days

On January 7, 2026, Florida authorities arrested Javier Gimenez Rivero, a Venezuelan high school student in Orlando with a pending asylum claim and valid federal work authorization, and Orange County Jail held him for 18 days with no criminal charges, warrant, or hearing under an ICE immigration hold. Orange County Corrections confirmed it extended his detention past the jail's own 48-hour limit by "rebooking" him and other ICE-hold detainees under new booking numbers each time the clock lapsed. U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton Jr. found the hold carried no independent lawful authority and ordered Rivero's immediate release.

Jan 6

ICE detained 10-year-old Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano and her mother on the way to school and held them a month at Dilley, Texas

On January 6, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents surrounded a family car at a Columbia Heights, Minnesota bus stop and detained 10-year-old fourth-grader Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano and her mother, Rosa Elena Caisaguano Cajilema, flying both to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas the same day. The girl telephoned her father during the arrest to say agents would drop her at school; he waited outside Highland Elementary for hours, and the Department of Homeland Security later said officers detained the child because her mother "failed to find a trusted adult to care for" her. School officials and the family's attorney said the father was available at the school and that the family's timely asylum appeal was still pending, leaving no final order of removal.

HHS froze $10 billion in child-care funding naming only five Democratic-led states

On January 6, 2026, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services froze roughly $10 billion in Child Care and Development Fund, TANF, and Social Services Block Grant money to California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York, citing unspecified fraud concerns and demanding the states turn over extensive records within two weeks. HHS provided no evidence for the fraud claim, and a department spokesperson said the freeze responded to "Democrat-led states and Governors" having been "complicit in allowing massive amounts of fraud" — language the five states' attorneys general cited in a lawsuit alleging the freeze was politically motivated. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian granted the states a temporary restraining order on January 9, 2026, blocking the freeze while the case proceeds.

DOJ sued Arizona and Connecticut to compel release of unredacted, sensitive voter roll data

On January 6, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division sued Arizona and Connecticut in federal court, seeking to compel both states to produce their complete, unredacted voter registration lists, including voters' full birthdates and full or partial Social Security and driver's-license numbers. The suits brought DOJ's nationwide campaign to 23 states and the District of Columbia; Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes had already rejected three DOJ requests for the data and told a department attorney to "pound sand." Attorney General Pamela Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the lawsuits were needed to enforce federal election-integrity law.

Trump White House published website recasting Jan. 6 Capitol riot as 'peaceful march,' blamed Capitol Police for violence

On January 6, 2026 — the fifth anniversary of the Capitol attack — the Trump White House published an official webpage at whitehouse.gov/j6/ describing the 2021 riot as a "peaceful march" and asserting that U.S. Capitol Police "aggressively" deployed tear gas, flash-bangs, and rubber munitions and inexplicably opened doors and removed barricades that "facilitated entry." White House Communications Director Steven Cheung promoted the page on social media, including a post calling it the "REAL Jan. 6 story." Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Thom Tillis publicly disputed the characterization, with Collins — who was on the Capitol floor that day — saying she found the Capitol Police "heroic."

Deputy Defense Secretary Feinberg amended his ethics agreement to keep receiving Cerberus services indefinitely

On January 6, 2026, Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg signed a letter amending his February 2025 ethics agreement to extend, indefinitely, his arrangement to keep receiving tax, accounting, and health-care services from Cerberus Capital Management, the private-equity firm he founded and led until his 2025 appointment; DOD's ethics office transmitted the amendment to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics the next day, finding him still in compliance. The amendment went unnoticed publicly until ProPublica's March 8, 2026 disclosure-records investigation revealed it and connected it to the Pentagon's Golden Dome missile-defense program, which Feinberg oversees and which has awarded contracts to at least four Cerberus-owned companies.

Police fired 27 shots at unarmed Navy veteran John Jenuwine; he bled out while officers watched

Washtenaw County Sheriff's deputies, pursuing an erratic white van, conducted two PIT maneuvers and fired 27 shots at an unarmed driver who did not match the dispatch description. John Andrew Jenuwine, 34, died of blood loss. Officers violated department policy by using deadly force without verbal engagement; the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide. Two deputies received 2024 commendations despite the killing.

Jan 5

U.S. District Court dismissed DeSoto Parish's 1967 school desegregation order at DOJ, Louisiana AG's request, without a desegregation finding

On January 5, 2026, U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. granted a joint motion by the U.S. Department of Justice and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill's office to dismiss a 1967 federal desegregation order governing the roughly 5,000-student DeSoto Parish School Board in northwest Louisiana. It was the second Louisiana desegregation decree the Trump administration and Murrill's office have had dismissed through "joint stipulated dismissals" that require no finding that a district actually ended segregation, following an earlier dismissal of a 1966 Plaquemines Parish order. Murrill said the ruling gives DeSoto Parish "its school system back"; no independent finding that segregation had been eliminated in the district was reported.

Hegseth censured Sen. Mark Kelly and moved to cut his military retirement pay over 'illegal orders' video

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a formal censure letter against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), a retired Navy captain, on January 5, 2026, accusing him of "seditious statements" and initiating administrative proceedings to reduce Kelly's military retirement rank and pension. The action punished Kelly for a November 2025 video in which he and five other Democratic lawmakers with military or intelligence backgrounds reminded U.S. servicemembers they may lawfully refuse illegal orders. Kelly sued Hegseth, the Pentagon, the Navy, and Navy Secretary John Phelan on January 12, 2026, arguing the censure and rank-reduction proceedings violate his First Amendment rights and the Constitution's Speech and Debate Clause.

ICE agents arrested handcuffed Hempstead, NY man whose head struck brick wall during arrest; agency and officials dispute cause

On January 5, 2026, ICE agents arrested Isai Santos Caceres, 35, outside a supermarket in Hempstead, New York, and bystander video shows his head striking a brick wall while he was handcuffed. ICE said Caceres fled, resisted arrest, and "fell into the side of the building," while Nassau County Legislator Viviana Russel and the civic group Islip Forward said the footage shows agents using his head as a "battering ram" against the wall. Islip Forward said Caceres was later transferred to ICE detention in Maryland.

ICE agents forcibly detained man who says he is a naturalized U.S. citizen in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, leaving him hospitalized

On January 5, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stopped Emmanuel Sackie, who says he is a Liberian-born naturalized U.S. citizen, in a Family Dollar parking lot in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, after questioning his fiancee about a vehicle agents believed was registered to someone else. When Sackie's driver's license did not satisfy agents' demand for further proof of citizenship, the encounter turned into a physical struggle captured on video; agents handcuffed him and took him to an undisclosed location before he was hospitalized with bruising. ICE had not responded to a request for comment as of publication.

Echols County, Georgia sheriff's office secretary arrested, charged with stalking after misusing Flock database to track two people she knew

Anna Altobello, 33, a secretary at the Echols County, Georgia Sheriff's Office, was arrested Monday, January 5, 2026 and booked into the Lowndes County Jail after a Georgia Bureau of Investigation probe found she had repeatedly searched the department's Flock Safety license-plate-reader system for two people she knew personally, outside any law-enforcement purpose. Sheriff Randy Courson had requested the GBI investigation on December 18, 2025, after receiving information about the misuse. Altobello was charged with eight counts of misuse of license plate data, stalking, stalking-family violence, and violation of oath of office, with additional charges expected as the investigation continues.

Jan 3

Cuban ICE detainee dies under restraint at Camp East Montana; death ruled a homicide

On January 3, 2026, Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban man, died at ICE's Camp East Montana detention camp on the Army's Fort Bliss base in El Paso, Texas. The El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide, finding the cause to be asphyxia due to neck and torso compression while he was being physically restrained by law enforcement. ICE first said he died after "experiencing medical distress," then attributed the death to a suicide attempt and an ensuing struggle with staff; it was the third detainee death at the facility, and no one has been charged.

Trump ordered military raid to capture Venezuela's Maduro in Caracas without congressional authorization or advance notice

President Trump ordered a U.S. military and CIA raid, "Operation Absolute Resolve," that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores at their Caracas compound in the early hours of January 3, 2026, without seeking congressional authorization or notifying congressional leadership in advance. More than 150 aircraft and Delta Force commandos took part in the operation, which killed an unspecified number of Venezuelan security personnel; Maduro was extracted to the USS Iwo Jima and flown to New York to face U.S. drug-trafficking charges. Trump and administration officials characterized the raid as a law-enforcement action under the president's Article II authority rather than an act of war, a framing several senators in both parties disputed.

ICE agents stopped and arrested Hesler Asaf Garcia Lanza while he was walking to the LIRR in Hempstead, New York

On January 3, 2026, ICE agents in Hempstead, New York, stopped Hesler Asaf Garcia Lanza while he was walking to the Long Island Rail Road. ICE revoked his deferred action status and work permit before arresting him, despite his pending Special Immigrant Juvenile status application. On March 3, 2026, Judge Michael Brown of the Eastern District of New York granted Garcia Lanza's habeas corpus petition, vacated ICE's revocation of his deferred action, and ordered his work permit returned, finding ICE had engaged in a pretextual abuse of power. His arrest is one of eight named in the April 2026 class-action lawsuit Benitez v. DHS.

ICE agents detained Hempstead man with valid immigration status for 2 days after warrantless arrest near LIRR

On January 3, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Hesler Asaf Garcia Lanza, a 24-year-old Hempstead resident, without a judicial warrant while he was walking to the LIRR Hempstead station. Garcia Lanza held Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and deferred action; he was held for two days before being released.

Jan 2

DOJ demanded Minnesota's same-day voter registration and 'vouching' records over HAVA compliance concerns

On January 2, 2026, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon sent Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon a letter demanding records on the state's same-day voter registration and "vouching" system, in which a registered voter can attest to a new voter's residency, citing the 1960 Civil Rights Act and claiming the practice "seems facially inconsistent" with the Help America Vote Act. Minnesota's Office of the Secretary of State refused the demand on January 16, 2026, saying DOJ had identified no legal basis for the request and no evidence the state's practices violate federal law, and offered training materials on the process instead.