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January 8, 2026

4 entries on this date.

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.