The heads of the agencies carrying out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda are testifying in Congress, parrying questions over how they are prosecuting immigration enforcement inside American cities.
Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Rodney Scott, who leads Customs and Border Protection, and Joseph Edlow, who is the director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, were called to appear Tuesday before the House Committee on Homeland Security amid falling public support for immigration enforcement.
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Their agencies are flush with cash from Trump's big tax-and-spending law, but Democrats are threatening to shut down DHS Friday night if Republicans don't agree on new limits aimed at forcing agents to follow the law and the Constitution following killings in the streets and expanding detentions.
Trump’s immigration campaign has been heavily scrutinized in recent weeks after Homeland Security officers killed Alex Pretti and Renee Good. The agencies have also faced criticism for a wave of policies that critics say trample on the rights of both immigrants facing arrest and Americans protesting the enforcement actions.
ICE has undergone a massive hiring boom, deploying immigration officers across the country. Lyons is likely to face questioning over a memo he signed last year telling ICE officers that they didn’t need a judge’s warrant to forcibly enter a house to arrest a deportee, a memo that went against years of ICE practice and Fourth Amendment protections against illegal searches.
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Lutnick acknowledges meetings with Epstein that contradict previous claims
Under questioning from Democrats, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick once again downplayed his relationship with Epstein during a Senate subcommittee hearing. He described their contact as a handful of emails and a pair of meetings that were years apart.
“I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with him,” Lutnick told lawmakers.
But the recent release of case files on Epstein contradicted Lutnick’s claims on a podcast last year that he had decided to “never be in the room” with Epstein again after a 2005 tour of Epstein’s home that disturbed Lutnick and his wife.
Lutnick said Tuesday that he and his family actually had lunch with Epstein on his private island in 2012 and he had another hour-long engagement at Epstein’s home in 2011. Lutnick is the highest-profile U.S. official to face bipartisan calls for his resignation amid revelations of his ties to Epstein.
Democrats’ positive views of the future fell signif
icantly
Americans’ attitudes toward the future tend to shift when a new political party enters the White House. For instance, Democrats became more positive about the future after Biden won the presidency, while Republicans’ outlook soured.
Toward the end of Biden’s term and the start of Trump’s second term, Democrats’ optimism fell from 65% to 57%. Republicans grew more hopeful, but not enough to offset Democrats’ drop.
“The regime change in the White House almost certainly was a big driving factor in what’s happened,” said Dan Witters, the research director of the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index. “And a lot of that was just because the people who identified as Democrats really took it in the chops.”
Lyons won’t force officers to take off masks
Democrats repeatedly brought up the issue of immigration enforcement officers wearing masks as they carry out their jobs.
Rep. Tim Kennedy, a Democrat from New York, pointedly asked Lyons if he would commit to making his officers take off their masks and requiring them to wear “standard uniforms with identifiable badges.”
Lyons answered with one word: “No.”
Kennedy called that a “sad response.”
“People who are proud of what they do aren’t hiding their identity,” Kennedy said.
Lyons has said repeatedly that he supports officers who feel that they need to wear a mask to protect their identities and their families.
Democratic rep says ICE is acting like a ‘fascist regime’
Todd Lyons got into a heated exchange with Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who was comparing masked ICE agents to the actions of those in Nazi Germany and the former Soviet Union.
The ICE chief interjected that the congressman was asking “the wrong type of questioning,” but Goldman cut him off.
“If you don’t want to be called a fascist regime or secret police, then stop acting like one,” Goldman said.
“This is not the America I know and love,” he said.
Goldman went on to call explanations as to why federal immigration agents were wearing masks during operations due to fears of doxing “outright bogus.”
CIA joins Pentagon in procurement reform
The CIA is changing the way it buys technology from the private sector.
The new procurement rules announced by CIA Director John Ratcliffe on Monday are designed to hasten the evaluation and authorization of new private contractors. The CIA often works with private tech companies on specialized software and equipment for the agency’s classified work, with the relationships governed by rigorous procurement and security regulations.
Speeding up the process of vetting and implementing private sector partnerships will help the CIA keep up as technology transforms the intelligence field. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has announced a similar effort for the Pentagon.
“CIA’s rapidly evolving mission demands a radical shift towards a culture of speed, agility, and innovation,” Ratcliffe said in a statement announcing the changes.
US revokes visas of Pacific islands politicians over corruption charges
The Trump administration has revoked the U.S. visas of two Pacific island politicians over charges they engaged in significant corruption while in office.
The State Department announced Tuesday that it had rescinded visas for the president of Palau’s Senate, Hokkons Baules, and Anderson Jibas, the former mayor of a Marshall Islands community that includes the well-known Bikini atoll where U.S. nuclear testing took place decades ago. The revocations also include their immediate family members.
The department said that Baules had accepted bribes in exchange for advocating on behalf of Chinese government, business and criminal interests. It said Jibas had stolen or otherwise misused U.S. taxpayer funds intended to compensate survivors and descendants of the nuclear testing in the 1940s and 1950s.
Palau and the Marshall Islands are independent Pacific nations, though they hold close ties to the U.S.
New Jersey’s Malinowski concedes to progressive activist Mejia in U.S. House primary
The special election is being held to fill the seat vacated when Mikie Sherrill stepped down to become governor.
Analilia Mejia overtook Malinowski by a narrow margin on election night. The Associated Press has not yet called the race.
“I look forward to supporting her in the April general election,” former congressman Tom Malinowski said in a statement.
All three counties in the district report some mail-in ballots yet to be processed. Also, mail-in ballots postmarked by election day can arrive as late as Wednesday and still be counted.
She had the endorsement of noted progressives, including Sanders, an independent from Vermont, and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Trump administration offers no pathway for Babson student to return to United States
The Trump administration admitted that it mistakenly deported the Babson College student to Honduras. But U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said it won’t return Any Lucia Lopez Belloza because immigration officers followed both the law and the Constitution in enforcing her removal order.
Foley said in court filing Friday that to obtain a student visa as the judge suggested, Belloza must show she was allowed into the country, which she can’t due to the removal order. And she said only consular officers — not Secretary of State Marco Rubio — have the authority to an issue a student visa.
The 19-year-old freshman was detained and deported as she prepared to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving. Her lawyer Todd Pomerleau said the government’s response “spills a lot of ink on the difficulty of a student visa, but it fails to address the numerous simple solutions available to itself to rectify its ‘mistaken’ deportation.”
Judge blocks, for now, California’s ban on federal agents wearing masks
A federal judge has blocked part of a California law that would ban federal immigration agents from covering their faces, but ruled that the agents are required to wear clear identification showing their agency and badge number.
Judge Christina Snyder said she issued the initial ruling Monday because the state’s mask ban as enacted doesn’t also apply to state law enforcement authorities, discriminating against the federal government. She said future legislation would pass muster if it applies to all law enforcement agencies.
“The Court finds that federal officers can perform their federal functions without wearing masks,” she wrote. The ruling will go into effect Feb. 19.
California became the first state to ban most law enforcement officers from wearing facial coverings. The Trump administration’s challenge argues that the law threatens the safety of officers facing harassment, doxing and violence, and violates the Constitution because the state is directly regulating the federal government.
Homeland Security officials warn against shutdown
They’re saying the country would be less safe if federal funds expire at the end of the week, and the agency enters a shutdown.
Republicans listed the tens of thousands of employees who would go without paychecks — from the Transportation Security Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency and others, including ICE and Border Patrol.
“It will have a great impact,” said Lyons, the acting ICE director. He said a shutdown would particularly harm the department’s task forces on transnational crimes and terrorism.
Democrats are pushing for restraints on ICE operations as part of negotiations over funding.
Head of ICE declines to discuss Good, Pretti
During a pointed exchange, Lyons declined to apologize to the families of Good and Pretti, or comment on the Trump administration’s claims that the two Americans killed during protests over the immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis were involved in domestic terrorism.
Lyons said he welcomed the opportunity to speak to the families, but would leave the comments to others in the administration.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., pressed him to resign. Lyons declined.
Maine’s GOP senator announces reelection bid amid criticism over ICE surge
Republican Sen. Susan Collins announced her reelection bid Tuesday, betting that she can hold onto her Maine seat despite a renewed Democratic effort to oust her amid immigration enforcement in the state.
The 73-year-old has won five terms by casting herself as a reflection of Maine’s independent spirit, occasionally clashing with Trump while largely supporting his agenda.
Now Collins faces outrage over immigration enforcement tactics that could become a political liability for Republican candidates across the country. In Maine, hundreds of arrests included people who have no criminal records.
Collins has taken credit for stopping the enforcement surge in Maine by speaking directly with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Democrats accused her of not going far enough. Gov. Janet Mills and oyster farmer Graham Platner are leading candidates to unseat Collins.
GOP Rep. says Bovino ‘escalated’ situation around immigration protests
Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas said he “commended” the decision to replace Gregory Bovino as Trump’s point person on large-scale immigration crackdowns with border czar Tom Homan, “a consummate professional.”
McCaul went on to ask Lyons if he felt Homan’s presence was bringing the situation “under control.”
Lyons turned his response toward referencing people who have protested the agents’ actions, noting a “de-escalation in the fact that the protests ... have subsided, and ICE has been allowed to do their targeted, intelligence driven enforcement operation.”
House and Senate Republican leaders to meet on Homeland Security funding
Speaker Mike Johnson says he’ll be meeting with Senate Majority Leader John Thune in the afternoon to discuss the GOP’s options regarding a Homeland Security funding bill.
Congress has funded DHS through Feb. 13th. Democrats are demanding changes to ICE as part of a spending bill. Johnson said he’s optimistic about avoiding a shutdown of the agency.
“I’m very hopeful. I mean, we still have some time on the clock. When there’s a will there’s a way.”
He also was highly critical of Democrats, and said it’s the workers at agencies such as FEMA, Secret Service, TSA and the Coast Guard who would be most affected by a funding lapse.
“The reason they are in the Homeland Security bill is because those are the agencies charged with keeping Americans safe,” Johnson said. “Why would Democrats play political games with that?”
Lyons, Scott say they haven’t been asked to ‘guard’ voting precincts
With Trump’s push to nationalize elections, Thompson asked the officials to answer directly if they are involved in any efforts to show up and guard voting precincts, with the midterms set for later this year.
Lyon and Scott each replied, “No, sir.”
Head of USCIS focuses on fraud and policy changes
Joseph Edlow honed in on fraud in his opening remarks, saying his Citizenship and Immigration Services agency has made more than 33,000 fraud referrals to law enforcement over last year.
“Fraud isn’t just a paperwork issue, it’s a national security and public safety concern,” Edlow said.
He also advocated for an end to multiple deportation protections, including temporary protected status. The Trump administration has aggressively sought to remove TPS, exposing hundreds of thousands of more people to removal as part of the administration’s wider, mass deportation effort.
ICE chief says ‘we’re only getting started’
Todd Lyons, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, says officers will not be dissuaded from their mission — even in the face of intimidation from the public.
“The family of ICE personnel have been made to feel unsafe in their homes,” he testified.
He said even his own family has faced harassment. But he warned that those trying to intimidate ICE officers “will fail.”
“We are only getting started,” he said.
ICE head touts arrest, removal numbers
The ICE director listed statistics to show how well his agency has been carrying out the president’s immigration agenda. Lyons said ICE had conducted 379,000 arrests, and removed over 475,000 people from the country in 2025.
“The president tasked us with mass deportation, and we are fulfilling that mandate,” Lyons said.
He also said the money provided by Congress is enabling the agency to increase how many people it can detain at any one time and beef up the number of daily removal flights.
Vance says ‘strategic partnership’ will ensure relations ‘stick’ with Azerbaijan
JD Vance and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev held up the signed document to applause from the audience of government officials, and delivered brief statements but took no questions from journalists in the room.
Vance said the U.S. relationship with Azerbaijan is an “underappreciated but very, very important partnership and friendship for the United States.” He said the signatures make clear the partnership is “one that will stick, is one that would continue to produce great fruits for both of our peoples.”
Aliyev said the partnership opens new opportunities for cooperation with the United States.
“For us it’s a great honor to be a strategic partner to the most powerful country in the world,” he said.
Border chief condemns ‘attacks’ on federal agents
Rodney Scott, who leads Customs and Border Protection, stressed in his opening statement that border agents work “tirelessly” to keep Americans safe, touting improvements to the U.S.-Mexico border wall and land entry points.
Scott said the billions of dollars in funding from Trump’s tax cuts bill have led to improved immigration enforcement, citing the drop in border crossings and rise in narcotics seized.
“This is what having a secure border looks like,” he said.
But Scott also took issue with what he called “an unprecedented level of aggressive interference and intimidation” against federal officers in the course of doing their jobs. He said these “attacks” on federal officers have been “coordinated and well funded.”
Carney confident that bridge brouhaha will be resolved
Canada’s leader said Tuesday that he had a “positive conversation” with Trump after the U.S. president threatened to block the opening of a vital bridge connecting Ontario and Michigan.
“This is going to be resolved,” Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters, noting that he told Trump of the bridge’s shared ownership between the Canadian government and the state of Michigan, and that U.S. steel and U.S. workers were used to build it.
Trump threatened to block the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, a project meant to ease congestion over the existing Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor tunnel. According to Carney, Trump told him he’ll ask the U.S. ambassador to Canada, former Michigan Rep. Pete Hoekstra, to “play a role in smoothing the conversation in and around the bridge.”
Top Democrat calls Homeland Security ‘reckless’
Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi said “every American should be outraged” at Homeland Security’s actions, and that both the agency and its secretary Kristi Noem “must be held accountable.”
Thompson then displaying Good and Pretti’s photos and held a moment of silence.
Demanding answers in the aftermath of the Minneapolis shootings, Thompson said the department has blocked lawmakers from visiting detention facilities and needs to be more responsive to questions.
Transparency Index raises concerns about US anti-corruption efforts
The annual survey released Tuesday serves as a barometer of perceived corruption worldwide. Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2025 gave top place to Denmark, with 89 points out of 100, followed by Finland and Singapore. At the bottom were South Sudan and Somalia with nine points apiece, followed by Venezuela.
The U.S. moved down one point from 2024 for its worst showing yet under the methodology Transparency started using for its global ranking in 2012, putting it in 29th place in the first year of Trump’s second term.
“The use of public office to target and restrict independent voices such as NGOs and journalists, the normalization of conflicted and transactional politics, the politicization of prosecutorial decision making, and actions that undermine judicial independence, among many others, all send a dangerous signal that corrupt practices are acceptable,” the report said.
Transparency International also argued that the Trump administration’s freezing of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act “sends a dangerous signal that bribery and other corrupt practices are acceptable.”
Chairman reminds crowded hearing room against making offensive comments
Opening the hearing, Rep. Andrew Garbarino, chairman of the committee, called the moment an “inflection point” but warned those in attendance against making any comments offensive to Trump or Vice President JD Vance.
The New York Republican called the increase in rhetoric and lack of cohesion between state and local law jurisdictions — along with the deaths of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers — “unacceptable and preventable.”
VP’s X account refers to ‘Armenian genocide’ before deleting it
JD Vance’s team posted — and then deleted — a message on social media that referred to the “Armenian genocide,” using language about the early 20th century atrocities that the Trump administration has sought to avoid.
The vice president’s office said that message was posted in error by staff who were not part of Vance’s delegation. The vice president on Tuesday visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial.
Joe Biden in 2021 formally recognized that the systematic killings and deportations of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by Ottoman Empire forces was “genocide.” American presidents have avoided the term for decades over concerns of alienating Turkey.
Asked by reporters why he visited the memorial in Armenia’s capital of Yerevan, Vance responded, “Obviously, it’s a very terrible thing that happened, little over 100 years ago, and something that’s just very, very important to them culturally.”
Top Navy admiral sees a smaller Caribbean presence in the future
The Navy’s top officer told The Associated Press that he envisions a much smaller and more tailored presence of ships in the Caribbean if the mission there keeps going. The Navy has had 11 ships, including the world’s largest aircraft carrier and several amphibious assault ships with thousands of Marines, in the region for months.
Speaking “generically,” Adm. Daryl Caudle said recently that he envisions a future focus more on interdictions and keeping an eye on merchant shipping and “that doesn’t really require a carrier strike group to do that.”
Caudle says he believes the mission could be done with some smaller littoral combat ships, Navy helicopters and close coordination with the Coast Guard.
“I don’t want a lot of destroyers there driving around just to actually operate the radar to get awareness on motor vessels and other tankers coming out of port,” he added.
Trump’s immigration agenda roils opening days of Winter Olympics
Vice President JD Vance hailed the Olympic competition as “one of the few things that unites the entire country.” That unity didn’t last long.
The Milan Cortina Games are already roiled by the tumultuous political debate in the U.S. as American athletes face persistent questions about their comfort with Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement and other controversial policies.
The spotlight on the U.S. that comes with global sports will only intensify as the U.S., Canada and Mexico host this year’s World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles.
Some are hoping sports will help people process their disagreements and ultimately come together.
“There’s this really magical thing that sport can do,” said Ashleigh Huffman, who was the chief of sports diplomacy at the State Department during the Biden and first Trump administrations. “It can lower the temperature of the room.”
Buddhist monks’ ‘Walk for Peace’ reaches Washington, DC
A group of Buddhist monks whose 15-week trek from Texas captivated Americans reached Washington, D.C., on foot Tuesday, walking single file across a bridge over the Potomac River.
The monks in their saffron robes became social media fixtures as they walked with their rescue dog Aloka to advocate for peace — a simple message that has resonated as a welcome respite from conflict and political divisions across the U.S. Thousands gathered along Southern roadsides in unusually chilly weather to engage with their quiet procession, which began in late October.
Large crowds are expected to greet them at Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday and the Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday.
“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader, who has taught about mindfulness at stops along the way.
Tufts graduate student wins her case in immigration court, her lawyers say
“Today, I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that despite the justice system’s flaws, my case may give hope to those who have also been wronged by the U.S. government,” Rümeysa Öztürk said in a statement.
A judge said the Turkish graduate student raised serious concerns about her First Amendment and due process rights, as well as her health. The court found on Jan. 29 that the Department of Homeland Security hasn’t proved Öztürk should be deported, and so terminated her removal proceedings, her attorneys told the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday.
The PhD student studying children and social media was arrested last March after co-authoring an op-ed criticizing her university’s response to the war in Gaza. She’s been out of a Louisiana immigrant detention center since May.
DHS can keep appealing, her lawyers noted. The agency didn’t immediately return an email message seeking comment.