Tag: DHS

Judge Continues Kilmar Abrego Garcia Lawsuit with Request for More Details Ahead of Possible Ruling Forcing ICE Detention in Maryland

Tom Pappert
Kilmar Abrego Garcia

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, during the Monday court appearance for the lawsuit brought against the federal government by Kilmar Abrego Garcia, called for an additional hearing on Thursday, when she instructed the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide additional information about the possible fate of the alleged human smuggler if he enters the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

Currently held by the DOJ in pretrial confinement after being returned to Tennessee on June 6, the Thursday court date for the immigration case will occur less than one week before U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw will hear arguments over the possible reversal of an earlier ruling by Magistrate Barbara Holmes, which denied prosecutors a detention hearing for Abrego Garcia.

Read the full story

DOJ Asks Court to Set Trial Date for Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Face Human Smuggling Charges ‘As Soon as Possible’

Tom Pappert
Kilmar Abrego Garcia

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has requested the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee to set a trial date for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the citizen of El Salvador who was deported in March, then returned to the United States last month to face federal human smuggling charges in Nashville. 

Acting U.S. Attorney Robert E. McGuire submitted the DOJ motion requesting Chief District Judge Waverly Crenshaw set a trial date on Wednesday, when he noted that Abrego Garcia is legally entitled to receive a jury trial within 70 days of his initial court appearance on June 6, as he has not waived his right to a speedy trial. 

Read the full story

Tennessee Democrat Labels ICE Agents ‘Gestapo’ with Legislation Prohibiting Face Masks for Federal Officials

Tom Pappert
ICE agents

State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) on Monday filed legislation that would establish a new criminal offense for law enforcement officers, including federal agents at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to wear face masks when dealing with the public. 

Titled the Stop American Gestapo Act (SAGA), the Democrat’s House Bill (HB) 1442 would make it a Class C misdemeanor in Tennessee for law enforcement officers, including federal agents, to “wear a mask, face covering, or personal disguise while interacting with the public in the performance of the law enforcement officer’s official duties.”

Read the full story

ICE Identifies Nashville Murder Suspect as Illegal Immigrant from Honduras with Previous Convictions

Tom Pappert
Josue Hernandez-Movie

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Monday identified a murder suspect arrested in Nashville as an illegal immigrant from Honduras who entered the country without inspection by immigration officials more than a decade ago.

An ICE press release revealed Josue Hernandez-Moxje, 23, to be a citizen of Honduras. The agency confirmed he “entered the United States without inspection around 2013 or 2014,” and was arrested in Louisiana after being charged with committing the April the murders Jaime Valdez-Garcia and Amir Wilkerson in Nashville.

Read the full story

Federal Magistrate Orders Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Remain in DOJ Custody in Tennessee Until July 16

Tom Pappert
KAG Order

U.S. District Court Magistrate Barbara Holmes for the Middle District of Tennessee on Monday agreed to the request by Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s defense attorneys to delay her consideration of his potential release until July 16, when District Court Chief Judge Waverly Crenshaw will have reviewed her decision to deny the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) a detention hearing for the citizen of El Salvador.

Because Abrego Garcia is subject to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer, the prosecutors, Holmes, and Abrego Garcia’s attorneys previously acknowledged her order to release the alleged human smuggler on his own recognizance would functionally facilitate his transfer from DOJ custody, where he is currently held by the U.S. Marshals, to the custody of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where the citizen of El Salvador will be held by ICE.

Read the full story

Illegal Immigrant Arrested for Alleged Statutory Rape of Pregnant 13-Year-Old He Reportedly Transported to Tennessee from Guatemala

Tom Pappert

Esteban Taperia, who on Monday was subject to a detainer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was arrested last week after he reportedly brought a 13-year-old girl from Guatemala to a Nashville hospital, where he allegedly admitted to fathering the child, and said he intended to raise the infant.

The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office data confirms Taperia, 21, and has since been charged with eight counts of felony statutory rape, and that the jail was requested to hold Taperia for a transfer to ICE custody.

Read the full story

DHS to Deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador After Criminal Trial, Says Illegal Immigrant ‘Should Not be on U.S. Soil for Long’

Tom Pappert
Assistant Secretary Dept. of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin, Kilmar Abrego Garcia

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intends to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador following the conclusion of his federal trial in the Middle District of Tennessee, said assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

McLaughlin made the remarks during a Friday appearance on Newsmax’s “Wake Up America” in the wake of a federal prosecutor indicating on Thursday that the federal government planned to deport Abrego Garcia to a third country if he is released from U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) custody, and White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson later indicated the statement were misreported.

Read the full story

Kilmar Abrego Garcia Remains with U.S. Marshals as Judge Weighs Possible Transfer to ICE, Deportation to Third Country

Tom Pappert
Kilmar Abrego Garcia

The U.S. Marshals Service told The Tennessee Star on Thursday that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the citizen of El Salvador deported in March and returned last month to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, remains within their custody pending a final decision from U.S. Magistrate Barbara Holmes.

Following his Wednesday court appearance, when Holmes instructed Abrego Garcia’s attorneys to submit additional arguments ahead of his potential release, at which time he would likely be detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a U.S. Marshals spokesman told The Star, “He is currently in U.S. Marshals Service custody.”

Read the full story

DHS Says ‘Dangerous’ Kilmar Abrego Garcia ‘Will Never Go Free on American Soil’ amid Pending Release from DOJ Custody

Tom Pappert
Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, told The Tennessee Star that Kilmar Abrego Garcia “will never go free on American soil” on Wednesday, shortly after U.S. Magistrate Barbara Holmes ordered additional filings to determine whether the citizen of El Salvador to be released from U.S. Department of Justice should be released from custody pending trial.

Holmes’ decision came after she, his defense attorneys, and prosecutors acknowledged the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued an immigration detainer for Abrego Garcia, making it likely the citizen of El Salvador will be apprehended by ICE following his release from DOJ custody on Friday.

Read the full story

Federal Court Seeks Arguments Ahead of Possible Release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from DOJ Custody, Transfer to ICE

Tom Pappert
Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Kilmar Abrego Garcia on Wednesday was transferred from the custody of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in Nashville to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after U.S. Magistrate Barbara Holmes released him on his own recognizance following her Sunday order which denied the DOJ request for a detention hearing. 

Because Abrego Garcia is subject to an active ICE detainer, Acting U.S. Attorney Robert McGuire said in a Tuesday request to stay Holmes’ decision that transferring Abrego Garcia to ICE custody will likely result in his second deportation from American soil.

Read the full story

Attacks Against ICE Agents Up by 500 Percent

The Center Square
ICE Agent

Attacks against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are now up by 500%, the Department of Homeland Security says, up from 431% earlier in the month.

As attacks increase, assailants continue to be arrested, including members of the terrorist organization Tren de Aragua, a Mexican national who dragged an ICE officer 50 yards by car, and a Salvadoran national charged with attempted murder of a U.S. attorney.

Read the full story

DHS Data Shows 500 Percent Increase in Assaults as Nashville Mayor Denies Publicly Listing Names Amounts to Doxxing

Tom Pappert
HSI

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last week said that immigration agents now face a triple-digit percent increase in assaults while enforcing federal laws. A top agency official blamed the rhetoric used by Democratic politicians for the increase. 

Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin released the data on Thursday, revealing a 500 percent increase in assaults on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during enforcement operations.

Read the full story

Trump Admin Gives One More Big Incentive for Illegal Migrants to Self-Deport

Daily Caller News Foundation
illegal immigrants

The Trump administration offered one more major incentive for illegal migrants who choose to leave the U.S. of their own volition.

Illegal immigrants who choose to self-deport through the CBP Home app will not only be offered a free flight back to their home country and a $1,000 stipend, but also forgiveness of any fines incurred for failing to follow through on a previous deportation order, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The announcement comes as the Trump administration works to remove as many illegal migrants as possible in a cost-effective manner.

Read the full story

Metro Nashville Council Resolution Recognizing ‘Immigrant Heritage Month’ Condemns Arrests of Illegal Aliens

Kaitlin Housler
ICE arrest

A resolution to be debated by the Metro Nashville Council this week to recognize “Immigrant Heritage Month” also condemns last month’s joint operation between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Tennessee Highway Patrol conducted in the city, which saw the arrests of 196 criminal illegal aliens.

The resolution, RS2025-1291, was filed on May 27 and is sponsored by Council Members Terry Vo, Jeff Preptit, Jennifer Gamble, Joy Styles, Antoinette Lee, Kyonzte Toombs, Brandon Taylor, Delishia Porterfield, Zulfat Suara, and Tasha Ellis.

Read the full story

Shelby County Mayor Complains ‘Due Process Rights Being Flouted’ in Response to DHS Addition to List of Sanctuary Jurisdictions

Tom Pappert
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris on Friday said in a statement that “due process rights are being flouted” by the Trump administration in response to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) classified the county as a sanctuary jurisdiction where law enforcement actively ignores federal immigration officials. 

In response to the DHS classification, Harris said in a statement to local media that Shelby County rejects “cliched labels that try to divide us up and define us,” and disputed that the county is a sanctuary jurisdiction.

Read the full story

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell ‘Puzzled’ by DHS Sanctuary City Designation, ‘Not Particularly Concerned’ over Congressional Probe

Tom Pappert
Freddie O'Connell

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said during a Friday press conference that he was “puzzled” by the decision by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to designate Nashville a sanctuary city, claiming that the Metro government worked to comply with a Tennessee law banning such cities in the Volunteer State. 

The mayor also told reporters he is “not particularly concerned” over the congressional probe unveiled by U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) on Friday, which seeks information from the mayor and Metro Nashville over his actions in response to recent federal immigration enforcement in Tennessee, including O’Connell’s executive order mandating Metro employees report interactions with federal immigration officials, and the new “Belonging Fund” for illegal immigrants which received seed funding from nonprofits awarded Biden-era stimulus money by Nashville.

Read the full story

Nashville and Shelby County Identified by DHS as ‘Sanctuary Jurisdictions’ for Protecting Illegal Aliens

Kaitlin Housler
Arrest

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified Nashville and Shelby County as Tennessee’s only “sanctuary jurisdictions” actively obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws.

On Thursday, DHS published a list identifying all sanctuary jurisdictions in the U.S. that are “deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws endangering American communities” as mandated by President Donald Trump’s executive order titled, “Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens.”

Read the full story

Metro Nashville Government ‘Knows It’s in Trouble’ With Response to ICE Operations, Reporter Believes

Kaitlin Housler
MPL and Pappert

Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said he believes the Metro Nashville government, specifically Mayor Freddie O’Connell, realizes it is facing serious legal consequences as a result of its efforts to thwart federal immigration enforcement operations.

O’Connell, following an immigration enforcement operation conducted in Nashville earlier this month that resulted in the arrests of 196 criminal illegal aliens, has worked to shield illegal aliens from law enforcement by launching a “Belonging Fund” to “support immigrants in Nashville during moments of crisis” and by amending his Executive Order 30 to mandate that Metro Nashville employees report contacts with federal immigration officials to him and the Office of New Americans.

Read the full story

Fired DOJ Lawyer Complained Judge Would Dislike Trump Admin Legal Strategy on Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Tom Pappert
Judge Paula Xinis

New communications revealed on Friday show that Erez Reuveni, the former attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) who was fired for failing to strongly represent the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the lawsuit over its decision to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia, expressed concern about upsetting the judge overseeing the case when informed of the Trump administration’s legal strategy.

The New York Times reported on Friday that Reuveni privately disagreed with the DHS legal strategy in the Abrego Garcia case, as the DHS and Trump administration sought for the citizen of El Salvador to remain incarcerated in his homeland, where DHS deemed the man accused of being a gang member, domestic abuser, and human trafficker belonged.

Read the full story

Arrest of Illegal Immigrants for ‘Corpse Rape, Shooting Spree’ Shows Need for Tennessee’s Anti-Sanctuary City Law, Says State Sen. Brent Taylor

Tom Pappert
Enoc Martinez

State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) on Friday said the recent arrests of illegal immigrants for “corpse rape” and “shooting spree” charges illustrates why Tennessee lawmakers passed legislation earlier this year which makes it felony offense for public officials to establish sanctuary cities.

Taylor made the statement while sharing a May 1 press release by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which announced the arrests of illegal immigrants Felix Rojas in New York and Enoc Martinez in Shelby County, Tennessee.

Read the full story

Homeland Security Says Tennessee Lawmaker Aiding ‘Vicious Cartels, Human Traffickers, and Violent Criminals’

Tom Pappert
Aftyn Behn

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday said that State Representative Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) was providing aid to criminals earlier this month, when the Nashville Democrat claimed to follow Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) vehicles during their joint immigration enforcement operation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

“This Administration is not playing games with the lives and safety of our ICE officers,” wrote DHS in a post to the social media platform X. “People doxxing our officers and impeding ICE operations are siding with vicious cartels, human traffickers, and violent criminals.”

Read the full story

Illegal Migrants Can Now Book Their Own Deportation Flights

Daily Caller News Foundation
ICE Flights

The Trump administration on Monday conducted a first-of-its-kind voluntary deportation flight, transporting dozens of migrants who sought to self-deport rather than face forced removal.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assisted with transporting 68 participants back to their home counties of Honduras and Colombia under Project Homecoming, according to a press release from the administration. The illegal migrants were offered generous incentives for participating: a free flight, a $1,000 stipend and a chance to, someday in future, return to the U.S. legally.

Read the full story

Supreme Court Allows Trump to Proceed with Plans to Remove Temporary Legal Status for Venezuelans

The Daily Signal
Illegal immigrants

The Supreme Court will allow, for now, the Trump administration to proceed with plans to strip temporary legal protected status from thousands of illegal aliens from Venezuela living in the U.S.

The court’s decision allows the Trump administration to move forward with plans to cancel Temporary Protected Status for illegal aliens who entered the U.S. under the Biden administration’s Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans parole program.

Read the full story

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell Says ‘No Response’ to Push for Congressional Probes from Rep. Andy Ogles

Tom Pappert
Mayor Freddie O'Connell

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said on Friday that he has “no response” to the recent formal request by U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) for Congress to open probes into the actions taken by the mayor in response to the recent immigration enforcement operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP).

In response to the immigration enforcement operation, which resulted in nearly 200 arrests of illegal immigrants, O’Connell signed an executive order that required Metro Nashville employees to inform his office, and the Nashville Office of New Americans, of any communication by a federal government official that relates to immigration enforcement.

Read the full story

Congressman Andy Ogles Releases Letter Seeking Congressional Probe on Alleged ICE Obstruction by Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell

Tom Pappert
Andy Ogles

U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) on Friday released his letter to the House Judiciary and Homeland Security committees that requested congressional probes into Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell for the actions he took in response to the recent immigration enforcement operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP).

Ogles sent the letter on Wednesday to Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07), who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, and to Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH-04), the chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Read the full story

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell Should Face Congressional Probe for Aiding Illegal Immigrants, Says Rep. Andy Ogles

Tom Pappert
Ogles and OConnell

Metro Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell should face prosecution or a congressional probe over his recent decision to create the “Belonging Fund,” which the mayor called a joint project by Nashville and the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT).

Announced on May 5 by O’Connell’s office, the “Belonging Fund” is designed to provide “financial resources to nonprofit emergency organizations offering emergency assistance” to illegal immigrants who “face sudden and destabilizing challenges,” in the wake of the joint immigration enforcement operation by Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

Read the full story

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell Suggests ICE Immigration Enforcement Unnecessary After DHS Says City ‘Would Rather Protect Illegal Aliens’

Tom Pappert
Freddie O'Connell

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell on Tuesday suggested that the joint immigration enforcement operation between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) in Nashville was unnecessary, reportedly asserting the metro government is capable of reducing crime in a method that does not “separate families, hurt our economy,” or “distress an entire community” in the city.

He made the remarks shortly after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) criticized the mayor for his new “Belonging Fund,” which he called a partnership between Nashville and the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

Read the full story

ICE Arrests MS-13 Gang Member in Maryland City Where Kilmar Abrego Garcia Claimed to be Transporting 9 People in 2022

Tom Pappert
Joel Armando Mejia-Benitez

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Friday announced the arrest of a citizen of El Salvador and confirmed gang member on Silver Spring, Maryland, the same state where Kilmar Abrego Garcia lived prior to his deportation in March, and the Maryland city where Abrego Garcia claimed to be transporting nine individuals during a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee.

According to ICE, Joel Armanda Mejia-Benitez is a “validated” member of the Central American gang, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), and was arrested last Monday in Silver Spring, after he was ordered to leave the country more than a decade ago.

Read the full story

Nonprofit Claiming ICE Operations ‘Terrorizing’ Nashville Previously Tapped by Biden Admin to Release Illegal Immigrants in Tennessee

Tom Pappert
ICE arrest

The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), a Nashville-based nonprofit that has condemned the recent immigration enforcement operation in the area, was previously asked by federal agencies under the Biden administration to facilitate the release of thousands of illegal immigrants into the Volunteer State.

As news emerged that the joint operation by Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain illegal immigrants living in the Nashville area had resulted in nearly 100 arrests, TIRRC Executive Director Lisa Sherman Luna reportedly accused the state and federal law enforcement agencies of “terrorizing our communities” by “kidnapping our people off the street based on nothing but the color of their skin.” 

Read the full story

Metro Nashville Council Condemns ICE Raids, Contemplates Early Warning System for Illegal Immigrants

Tom Pappert
Wally Dietz

Member of the Metro Nashville Council on Wednesday condemned the joint immigration enforcement operation by Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which have reportedly resulted in more than 80 arrests, and suggested the city should develop protocols to offer illegal immigrants advanced warning of future operations.

The condemnation occurred in a Wednesday meeting of the Metro Public Health and Safety Committee, when Nashville Director of Law Wally Dietz explained that Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) had no advanced knowledge of the traffic stops and arrests made starting on May 3 until the following day.

Read the full story

Republicans in Tennessee State House Say Wave of ICE Arrests to ‘Demagnetize Tennessee’ from ‘Burdens’ Created by Biden Border Policies

Tom Pappert
ICE arrest

The Tennessee House Republican Caucus on Tuesday said the recent wave of arrests by federal officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which occurred during a joint law enforcement operation on Sunday and Monday, come after state lawmakers have passed legislation aimed at making the Volunteer State a less attractive destination for illegal immigrants.

ICE confirmed the joint operation with Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) had resulted in more than 150 traffic stops as of Monday, and it has since been reported that the stops led to 84 arrests of individuals in the country illegally, with those arrested including a member of the Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua, a convicted child sex offender, and a number of gang members.

Read the full story

Battle Lines Drawn in Nashville Over Immigration Enforcement

State News Foundation | Brian Wilson
ICE arrest

Battle lines are being drawn over immigration enforcement in Nashville. It’s shaping up as a fight once again pitting liberals who control the island of blue that is Davidson County versus the sea of red that is Tennessee.

In one corner, Nashville’s liberal Mayor, Freddie O’Connell and members of the democrat-majority City Council expressing outrage that federal immigration laws were being enforced in their city. In the other corner, the Trump Department of Homeland Security, Republican Governor Bill Lee and key players in the republican supermajority General Assembly who were clearly peeved at the tone and tenor of the Mayor’s hastily called Monday press conference.

Read the full story

DOJ Reportedly Gave ‘Limited Immunity’ to Human Smuggler Who Owned Van Driven by Kilmar Abrego Garcia for Details on 2022 Trip

Tom Pappert
Kilmar Abrego Garcia

News emerged on Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), who The Tennessee Star reported last week is now investigating Kilmar Abrego Garcia, offered “limited immunity” to the owner of the vehicle driven by the Salvadoran national on his November 2022 trip from Texas to Maryland that was briefly interrupted by a Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) traffic stop in Tennessee.

After confirming the previous reporting by The Star, the ABC News report revealed that Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes, who the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed was the owner of the 2001 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Abrego Garcia in 2022, recently spoke to a DOJ lawyer regarding the stop after being offered the immunity.

Read the full story

Kilmar Abrego Garcia Had $1,400 in Cash Envelope During 2022 Tennessee Traffic Stop

Tom Pappert
Kilmar Abrego Garcia

The Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) officers captured in the body-worn camera footage of the November 30, 2022 traffic stop of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, released by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security (TDOSHS) to The Tennessee Star last week, said that the Salvadoran national had a pocket containing $1,400 as he transported passengers from Texas to Maryland. Confirming troopers suspected Abrego Garcia was trafficking people from Texas to Maryland, with an unexplained stop in St. Louis, Missouri, as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed last month, The Star reported last week that within the TDOSHS body camera footage, one trooper remarked, “He’s hauling these people for money.” The trooper added, “He’s getting paid to haul these people, probably to Maryland, I would say. If I had to guess.” BREAKING: Body cam footage obtained by Tennessee Star shows Tennessee Trooper saying Kilmar Abrego Garcia "hauling these people for money" pic.twitter.com/4FHWOIjSz5 — Tennessee Star (@TheTNStar) May 2, 2025 This analysis between troopers came shortly before one of the troopers divulged the cash found on Abrego Garcia’s person. “He’s got $1,400 cash in his pocket in an envelope,” said the trooper. “Probably payments.” Notably, the DHS has confirmed the 2001 Chevrolet Suburban driven…

Read the full story

Tennessee State Agency Did Not Explain Redacted Audio in Kilmar Abrego Garcia Body Cam Release

Tom Pappert
Kilmar Abrego Garcia

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security (TDOSHS) on Thursday sent The Tennessee Star two video files and four pages of documents from the November 30, 2022, stop by Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) of El Salvadoran citizen Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has confirmed was suspected of human trafficking by troopers after being pulled over for speeding and failing to maintain his lane.

Despite The Star seeking video recorded by dashboard and body-worn cameras from all of the THP troopers involved in the traffic stop, TDOSHS included only the footage recorded by the trooper responsible for the stop. This is despite at least one of the other troopers’ body-worn cameras being visible in the video released by TDOSHS on Thursday.

Read the full story

Tennessee Highway Patrol Officer Says Kilmar Abrego Garcia ‘Hauling These People for Money’ in Body Camera Footage

Tom Pappert
Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Body camera footage obtained by The Tennessee Star on Thursday as the result of an Open Records Request filed with the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security (TDOSHS) reveals Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) officers discuss their suspicion that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was “hauling these people for money” during the November 30, 2022 traffic stop of the vehicle he was driving in Cookeville, Tennessee. 

It also shows the moment THP released Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran citizen deported by the Trump administration in March, at the instruction of the “Biden-era FBI.”

Read the full story

Vehicle Driven by Kilmar Abrego Garcia in TN 2022 Traffic Stop Registered in Texas, Where Human Smuggler Who Owned it Lived in 2019

Tom Pappert
Garcia traffic stop

A response to two Open Records Requests filed by The Tennessee Star with the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security (TDOSHS), the agency that oversees the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), revealed that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was driving a vehicle registered in Texas when he was stopped in Cookeville, Tennessee on November 30, 2022 and suspected of human trafficking.

Though the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed the vehicle driven by Abrego Garcia was registered to Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes, a convicted human smuggler who was arrested in 2019 on a trip from Houston, Texas, to the east coast, much of the information about the vehicle was redacted in the Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) report generated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol for The Star.

Read the full story

Feds Arrest over 100 Illegal Migrants After Raiding Gang-Infested Nightclub

Daily Caller News Foundation
Colorado Springs Arrest

More than 100 illegal migrants were arrested during a Sunday morning raid of a Colorado nightclub infested with gang activity, according to federal officials.

In one of the latest moves to combat illegal migrant criminal activity, an underground nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was raided in a joint operation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Trump administration announced. In addition to the arrest of over 100 illegal migrants, drugs and weapons were also seized.

Read the full story

Kilmar Abrego Garcia Drove Vehicle Registered to Convicted Human Trafficker During 2022 Traffic Stop in Tennessee, Court Records Confirm

Tom Pappert
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Dodge Caravan

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was transporting eight passengers from Houston, Texas to Temple Hills, Maryland using a vehicle owned by an illegal immigrant who was convicted of human trafficking and deported from the United States to his country of origin, El Salvador.

Less than one week after The Tennessee Star reported that Abrego Garcia was stopped by the Tennessee Highway Patrol in late 2022, and released at the instruction of the “Biden-era FBI” despite being suspected of human trafficking, transporting nine passengers, and operating the vehicle without a valid license, Just the News reported that Abrego Garcia was driving a vehicle registered to Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes.

Read the full story

Biden’s DHS Reportedly Declined to ‘Respond to the Scene’ of 2022 Kilmar Abrego Garcia Traffic Stop in Tennessee

Tom Pappert
Kilmar Abrego Garcia

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), then led by former Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas under the Biden administration, reportedly declined to “respond to the scene” in late 2022, when law enforcement stopped a vehicle driven by Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran national deported last month by the Trump administration.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) told The Tennessee Star on Thursday that officers with the agency detained Abrego Garcia for nearly two hours, during which time he presented an expired, Maryland driver’s license that permits illegal immigrants to drive within the state, and was discovered to be transporting eight passengers. 

Read the full story

2022 TN Traffic Stop of Kilmar Abrego Garcia Was Day Three of Trip That Originated in Houston, Took Detour to St. Louis, Crossed Trafficking Hubs and Areas with MS-13

Tom Pappert
Garcia traffic stop

The Department of Homeland Security said on Saturday that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran national deported last month under the Trump administration, told the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) that he was traveling from Houston, Texas to Temple Hills, Maryland, with a stop in St. Louis, Missouri during a late 2022 traffic stop in the Volunteer State.

Claiming he was transporting eight passengers for construction work, and operating a vehicle registered to his boss, DHS on Saturday revealed Abrego Garcia told THP that he began driving “three days” prior to the stretch of I-40 in Putnam County, Tennessee, where DHS reported THP stopped the vehicle for speeding and failing to maintain a lane.

Read the full story

Immigration Expert Urges Congress to Pass Special Interest Aliens Bill

Kaitlin Housler
illegal immigrants

Todd Bensman, a senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, supports a bill sponsored by U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14), which would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to report how many special interest aliens are illegally crossing the border each month and their countries of origin.

A special interest alien, according to DHS, is “a non-U.S. person who, based on an analysis of travel patterns, potentially poses a national security risk to the United States or its interests.”

Read the full story

Trump Admin Relaunches Office for Victims of Immigrant Crime That Biden Shuttered

Daily Caller News Foundation
ICE arrest

The Trump administration is relaunching a key office that serves victims of immigrant crime, highlighting its commitment to combating border-related issues and its consequences.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is relaunching the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office, according to a press release shared exclusively with the Daily Caller News Foundation. VOICE, which was shuttered just months after President Joe Biden entered office in 2021, offers key support services to victims of immigrant crime and their family members.

Read the full story