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January 7, 2026

3 entries on this date.

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.