Category: NCTC Speeches, Testimonies and Interviews

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

The New York Times story falsely paints a narrative that ICE targeted coffee workers—the truth is criminal illegal aliens were the targets 

WASHINGTON – The New York Times story falsely painted a narrative that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targeted illegal alien coffee workers in Hawaii. The truth is ICE targeted criminal illegal aliens and conducted unaccompanied minor welfare checks to ensure children are not being abused, trafficked or otherwise exploited. 

“Our brave ICE agents conducted operations in Hawaii to protect communities from violent criminals who shouldn’t be in our country. The targets of the operation in Hawaii included criminal illegal aliens charged with kidnapping, assault, distribution of deadly drugs, domestic abuse, and theft,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Why does the New York Times continue to peddle false sob stories of criminal illegal aliens but ignore their victims? Completely leaving out the facts and rap sheets of criminals arrested shows the New York Times’s complete bias. This story was nothing but an attempt to mislead the public.”  

Below are some of the criminal illegal aliens arrested in Hawaii that the New York Times failed to report:  

Image

On January 23, 2025, HSI Honolulu administratively arrested Rescue Suda, a citizen of the Marshall Islands. The Circuit Court of Hawaii County, Hawaii previously convicted Suda of Felony Assault. Suda was also arrested for kidnapping and terroristic threatening.

Image

On February 25, 2025, HSI Honolulu arrested Navor Salas-Cruz, 52, a citizen of Mexico. Salas-Cruz was identified as being present in the United States after a prior order of removal. Salas-Cruz has multiple immigration encounters starting in 1996 including 2 prior removals and has a lengthy state criminal history ranging from assault, DWI, forgery, driving without a license, criminal contempt of court, family abuse. Federal charges include 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and 18 U.S.C § 922(g)(l) for one count of reentry of removed alien and one count of felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. 

Image

On January 25, 2025, HSI Honolulu arrested RJ Marsolo, a citizen of the Federated States of Micronesia.  The State of Hawaii, Circuit Court of the First Circuit, previously convicted Marsolo of assault in the first degree and assault in the third degree and sentenced him to a total of 10 years imprisonment.  

Image

On January 25, 2025, HSI Honolulu arrested Herman Faamausili, A citizen of Samoa.  The United States District Court, District of Hawaii, previously convicted Faamausili of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine and sentenced him to 70 months imprisonment.  The immigration judge ordered Faamausili’s previous removal from the United States on September 15, 2021.  

Image

On January 26, 2025, HSI Honolulu arrested Heine a citizen of the Federated States of Micronesia. The Superior Court of Guam convicted JAI of theft by receiving, sentencing him to 5 years in prison, and assault, sentencing him to 1 year in prison.  The immigration judge previously ordered JAI’s removal from the United States on April 16, 2020.

###

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

TdA Threats to Law Enforcement Grow while Illegal Aliens Remain in Custody  

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today released a statement after the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a request Monday for the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to end a temporary injunction of deportations under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA).   

The prolonged detention of TdA members in ICE facilities poses serious risks for ICE officers, facility staff, and other detainees, and DHS requests that the SCOTUS moves quickly to allow ICE to remove these terrorist gang members from our country.  

“23 TdA members barricaded themselves in the Bluebonnet Detention Facility, threatened to take hostages, and endangered officers. Keeping these foreign terrorists in ICE facilities poses a serious threat to ICE officers, staff, and other detainees,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “The media repeated these TdA gang members’ false sob stories, but the truth is these are members of a foreign terrorist organization that rape, maim, and murder for sport.”  

According to ICE Dallas Acting Field Office Director Joshua Johnson, on April 26, 23 TdA members at Bluebonnet Detention Facility barricaded the doors of their housing unit with bed cots. The detainees also covered surveillance cameras and blocked the housing unit windows.  

They also threatened to take hostages and injure facility staff and ICE officers in addition to attempting to flood the housing unit by clogging toilets. When they were ordered to take down the barricades, the TdA detainees did not comply with orders and remained barricaded for several hours.  

Johnson also stated the following regarding the risk of prison recruitment and the expansion of TdA:  

Image

 

Read the full court filing here.

###

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

In an effort to enhance user experience and highlight the most timely and actionable information for cyber defenders, CISA announced a shift in how we share cybersecurity alerts and advisories. We recognize this has caused some confusion in the cyber community. As such, we have paused immediate changes while we re-assess the best approach to sharing with our stakeholders. 

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

U.S. District Court blocks injunction request by activist legal groups seeking to prevent DHS from working with the IRS to enforce immigration laws 

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secured an initial legal victory and released the following statement on Monday night’s decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denying an injunction that would have prevented DHS and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from partnering to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) access information to better enforce criminal immigration laws.   

Statement Attributable to Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin:  

“Under President Trump’s leadership, the government is finally doing what it should have all along—sharing information across the federal government to solve problems. Biden not only allowed millions of illegal aliens to flood into our country, but he lost them through incompetence and improper processing.  

“Information sharing across agencies is essential to identify who is in our country, including violent criminals, determine what public safety and terror threats may exist so we can neutralize them, scrub these individuals from voter rolls, and identify what public benefits these aliens are using at taxpayer expense. With the IRS information specifically, DHS plans to focus on enforcing long-neglected criminal laws that apply to illegal aliens but which the Biden Administration ignored. 

“Today’s ruling is a victory for the American people and for common sense.” 

The Judge states in the decision, “At its core, this case presents a narrow legal issue: Does the Memorandum of Understanding between the IRS and DHS violate the Internal Revenue Code? It does not.” 

An excerpt from Judge Friedrich’s decision is below.  

Image

###

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it awarded over $86 million in financial assistance to Tennessee, Texas, and California to support relief and recovery efforts following a series of natural disasters.

“Our job is to get federal disaster management back on track after years of mismanagement. Disaster relief has been so inadequate there are still open applications that were submitted after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Under President Trump’s leadership, Secretary Noem is fixing that. These grants are a direct product of the Secretary’s efforts to ensure that states are getting the grants they need in a timely, efficient manner to lead disaster relief efforts from the local level up.” – DHS Spokesperson

The awards are as follows:

• Tennessee: $36.9M for permanent repairs from severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding which resulted in an F-3 tornado that destroyed the Grace Baptist Church and Academy of Hamilton County buildings. The church and academy provide primary and secondary educational services to approximately 600 students in Chattanooga, TN.
• CA: $14.2M to CA Cross Creek Flood Control District for emergency protective measures following severe winter storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides, and mudslides.
• TX: $35M to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) for management costs as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

These awards come as the Department is undertaking a thorough review of grant funding to ensure that all taxpayer dollars are properly allocated to focus on disaster relief and recovery efforts.

###

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem today announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Afghanistan. The TPS designation for the country expires on May 20, 2025, and the termination will be effective on July 12, 2025.

At least 60 days before a TPS designation expires, the Secretary, after consultation with appropriate U.S. government agencies, is required to review the conditions in a country designated for TPS to determine whether the conditions supporting the designation continue to be met, and if so, how long to extend the designation.

“This administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent,” said Secretary Kristi Noem. “We’ve reviewed the conditions in Afghanistan with our interagency partners, and they do not meet the requirements for a TPS designation. Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country. Additionally, the termination furthers the national interest as DHS records indicate that there are recipients who have been under investigation for fraud and threatening our public safety and national security. Reviewing TPS designations is a key part of restoring integrity in our immigration system.”

After consultation with interagency partners, Secretary Noem determined that conditions in Afghanistan no longer meet the statutory requirements. The Secretary’s decision was based on a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services review of the country conditions and in consultation with the Department of State. The Secretary determined that, overall, there are notable improvements in the security and economic situation such that requiring the return of Afghan nationals to Afghanistan does not pose a threat to their personal safety due to ongoing-armed conflict or extraordinary and temporary conditions. She further determined that permitting Afghan nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to the national interest of the United States.

Additional information is available in the Federal Register Notice.

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

ACLU falsely accused DHS of deporting a U.S. Citizen despite the child’s mother choosing to bring the child with her when she was removed.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security announced that a lawsuit supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which was baseless lawfare against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department, has been dropped. This lawsuit claimed DHS deported a U.S. citizen. 

“This ACLU-backed lawsuit was based on the false claims that DHS deported a U.S. citizen,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “The truth is, and has always been, that the mother—who was in the country illegally—chose to bring her 2-year-old with her to Honduras when she was removed. The narrative that DHS is deporting American children is false and irresponsible.”

Image

The parent, Jenny Carolina Lopez-Villela, made the decision to take her child to Honduras. ICE asks parents if they want to be removed with their children or if they would like to place a child with someone the parent designates. In this case, the parent stated they wanted to be removed with their child.

Jenny Carolina Lopez-Villela illegally entered this country three times in September 2019, March of 2021, and August 2021. She and her older daughter were deemed inadmissible to the United States the first time she entered the country and both her and her daughter were given final orders of removal in March 2020. When she was taken into ICE custody in April 2025, she chose to bring her younger daughter, who is an American Citizen, with her to Honduras and presented a valid United States passport.

DHS takes its responsibility to protect children seriously and will continue to work with federal law enforcement to ensure that children are safe and protected. Parents, who are here illegally, can take control of their departure. The CBP Home app gives parents illegally in the country a chance to take full control of their departure and self-deport, with the potential ability to return the legal, right way and come back to live the American dream. It is free and available for all mobile devices.

###

Source: US Department of Homeland Security

Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS will not allow U.S. taxpayer dollars to be squandered on illegal aliens 

LOS ANGELES – Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles Field Office issued a Title 8 subpoena to the State of California’s Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI). This program provides benefits to aliens who are ineligible for Social Security benefits because of their immigration status. 

The subpoena requests all records from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services – who administers the state program – to determine if ineligible illegal aliens received Supplemental Security Income (SSI) from the Social Security Administration, between January 2021 to present.

HSI Los Angeles is subpoenaing the following records:

• Applicant’s Name and Date of Birth
• Copies of Applications
• Immigration Status
• Proof of Ineligibility for SSI from the Social Security Administration
• Affidavits in Support of the Application

“Radical left politicians in California prioritize illegal aliens over our own citizens, including by giving illegal aliens access to cash benefits,” said Secretary Kristi Noem. “The Trump Administration is working together to identify abuse and exploitation of public benefits and make sure those in this country illegally are not receiving federal benefits or other financial incentives to stay illegally. If you are an illegal immigrant, you should leave now. The gravy train is over. While this subpoena focuses only on Los Angeles County – it is just the beginning.”

On April 15, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the Memorandum Preventing Illegal Aliens from Obtaining Social Security Act Benefits to stop incentivizing illegal immigration and protect taxpayer dollars. The Memorandum directs the Secretary of Homeland Security – in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor and Health and Human Services, the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, and the Attorney General – to ensure ineligible illegal aliens do not receive funds from Social Security programs and prioritize civil or criminal enforcement against states or localities for potential violations of Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA).

Under the previous administration, more than 2 million ineligible illegal aliens received a Social Security Number in fiscal year 2024 alone. Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Homeland Security will work with its federal partners to deliver on his promise to put Americans, and their tax dollars, first.

###