‘I'm not here for this': Kristi Noem fumes at House hearing over Kilmar Abrego Garcia's deportation - The Economic Times Video
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem clashed with a Democrat during a heated exchange over the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia at a Homeland Security Committee hearing. As lawmakers reviewed the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Homeland Security Budget, Noem forcefully defended her immigration policies, marking a flashpoint in the broader debate over U.S. immigration and national security strategy.
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Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
Trump's Patience With Putin Leaves Senate Sanctions Push on Hold
President Donald Trump's suggestion that he may let Russia and Ukraine keep fighting has left US lawmakers in an awkward spot over their plan to force a ceasefire with 'bone-crushing' sanctions against Moscow. The Senate bill has more than 80 co-sponsors, an all-but-unheard-of level of bipartisan support. Yet although that kind of veto-proof backing is enough for the Senate to press ahead without White House backing, supporters show no sign they're ready to challenge the president. Trump's comments on Thursday — he said he hadn't even looked at the bill, but will do what he wants 'at the right time' — put the brakes on what had seemed to be an accelerating push to advance the proposal as soon as this month. Republican co-author Lindsey Graham, who said earlier in the week that he aimed to have the Senate plan in place by the Group of Seven leaders' summit to be held in Kananaskis, Alberta, -17, seemed to ease off the gas in a tweet after Trump's comments. 'I have coordinated closely with the White House on this endeavor from day one,' he wrote. Trump, however, has shown little interest in backing Graham's plan, and the White House has insisted that any decision on sanctions will be the president's alone. Instead, he's signaled he may walk away from efforts to force a settlement amid growing frustration with his inability to deliver the quick peace deal he promised on the campaign trail. Graham's Democrat co-author Richard Blumenthal said the pair are still working on changes to the bill to make it more acceptable to the White House. European leaders, meanwhile, are pushing ahead with plans to impose more restrictions on Russian financial institutions and the shadow fleet of tankers Moscow uses to export its oil. Those limits have squeezed Russia's economy — but not President Vladimir Putin's resolve to continue fighting. Russia's war in Ukraine, conceived as a days- or weeks-long 'special military operation,' is well into its fourth year. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made the case for turning up the heat on Putin during an Oval Office meeting with Trump on Thursday, but came away sounding cautious. 'I asked the president to go along with us to put more pressure on this government, on Putin, to come to an end with this terrible war,' Merz told Fox News. 'I was a little bit more optimistic a couple of weeks ago, when the first diplomatic initiatives were more or less successful.' Since then, talks have moved slowly amid a yawning gulf between Russian and Ukrainian demands, and fighting has raged. A daring Ukrainian strike on June 1, using drones smuggled into Russia to hit its strategic bombers at bases thousands of miles from the front lines, provided a stunning show of Kyiv's capabilities. While some in the US administration were privately impressed with the attack, there were also signs of unhappiness that it would only harden Putin's resolve to fight on, according to allied officials who asked not to be identified discussing matters that aren't public. Trump said he'd asked Putin not to retaliate. But the Russian leader rejected that appeal, and mounted deadly new missile and drone strikes on Kyiv and other cities Friday. The attacks continued overnight, including the largest barrage of the war so far against Kharkiv in Ukraine's northeast. At least three people were killed and 21 injured as the city, which had a prewar population of about 1.4 million people, was struck with dozens of drones, aerial glide bombs and at least two missiles, many aimed at apartment buildings and private homes. Pressed by reporters, Trump didn't completely rule out new sanctions, even suggesting that he might impose them on Ukraine as well as Russia. 'They're waiting for me to decide on what to do, and I'll know maybe very soon,' Trump said. 'It's a harsh bill, yeah, very harsh.' Earlier in the week, Trump shared a social media post suggesting the Senate move ahead with the bill to give him leverage against Putin, even if the plan might not make it into law. Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, remained hopeful about the plan after a visit to Washington. 'The Graham package contains very painful sanctions. If this is voted through, they will start working very quickly,' he told Ukraine's 1 1 network on Friday. Asked about the prospect Trump might impose restrictions on Kyiv, he said, 'there were no signals on that.' The draconian nature of the penalties in the Senate bill — aimed at cutting off Russia's large and lucrative exports of oil, gas and other products with threats of 500% tariffs on buyers, including big US trading partners like China and India — would make them costly for the US if Putin didn't immediately back down. Global energy prices would spike, just as trade flows seized up. 'It's a risky but courageous proposition,' said Ben Harris, director of economic studies at Brookings Institution. Ukrainian officials estimate cutting oil exports would starve Russia of $60 billion a year, the amount it's currently spending on the war. The bill gives Trump a fail-safe, requiring the administration to certify that Russia isn't serious about peace talks or has violated a ceasefire before imposing the maximum penalties. The measure also codifies many of the sanctions already imposed on Russia, from financial and trade restrictions to bans on top officials. That would complicate any attempt by the administration to seek the potential economic deals with Moscow that Trump has touted without an end to the war. Last month, testifying before the Senate, Secretary of State Marco Rubio made Trump's position clear. The president thinks Russia will likely walk away from Ukraine peace talks if the US threatens more sanctions, he said. With assistance from Alex Wickham, Alberto Nardelli and Olesia Safronova. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Mint
5 hours ago
- Mint
Stun Grenades, Armored Trucks in ICE Raids Spur Tensions
(Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration is intensifying efforts to round up migrants and it's using increasingly aggressive tactics. In scenes from Los Angeles to Massachusetts, agents outfitted with bullet-resistant vests and often displaying military-style rifles are shown in social media videos and photos being escorted along city streets by armored vehicles. A clip from Rhode Island shows an agent standing in a truck's open hatch, manning a rifle. Teams of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deployed heavily armed and helmeted officers to make arrests Friday around LA. In the downtown Fashion District, according to video posted to X, agents holding riot shields moved through the area on an armored vehicle, while others fired multiple flash-bang grenades as protesters gathered along their path. It's at least the second time in the last week that such tools were deployed to disperse protesters. LA Mayor Karen Bass and other elected officials denounced the raids and the use of force. 'These tactics sow terror in our communities disrupt basic principals of safety in our city,' Bass, a Democrat, said in a statement. The Service Employees International Union said its California president, David Huerta, was injured and arrested during one of the operations. The union said Huerta is a US citizen. ICE didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Nationwide the ICE-led operations, often joined by other federal agents and local law enforcement, have coincided with an increase in arrests of people for running afoul of immigration laws. ICE reported more than 1,600 daily apprehensions, eclipsing 2,200 a day over two days earlier this week. That's more than double the 630 average of recent weeks and a roughly 450% increase over typical numbers during former President Joe Biden's last year in office. The latest figures are still short of the administration's goal, but the White House is moving forward with efforts to remove legal obstacles to deportations while ramping up prison capacity and enforcement capability. In the meantime, it's deploying social-media videos with quick edits and throbbing techno beats, made-for-TV moments to get attention. 'This is not normal,' said David Shirk, a political science professor and expert on US-Mexico border issues at the University of San Diego. 'It is a response to what has been a long-standing problem that is greatly exaggerated and intended to convey a sense of shock and awe.' Critics have long decried the increasing militarization of US police forces, which took off after equipment used in the Iraq war was handed over to state and local forces. In the case of ICE's immigration raids, Shirk and others say the tactics aren't only over the top, they risk further inflaming already tense situations, making it more dangerous for the targets, bystanders and the agents themselves. They say the raids are disproportionate to the threat and seem designed to maximize optics for US President Donald Trump and his supporters, while demonizing migrants who lack legal status but are otherwise law abiding. ICE officials are unapologetic about the shows of force, saying agents must take maximum precautions to protect themselves from dangerous gang members and other criminals. And if the high-profile raids encourage other migrants without documentation to leave, all the better. In social media posts, ICE routinely urges people to avoid arrest by self-deporting. In San Diego last week, an operation targeting workers at the popular Italian restaurant Buona Forchetta included agents dressed in camouflage, helmeted and masked, and some carrying rifles. It drew as many as 250 spontaneous protesters who shouted abuse at the agents. Eventually officials deployed stun grenades to disperse the crowd. The agency declined to specify the exact number of arrests or detail any criminal records of those taken into custody. 'The officers took appropriate action and followed their training to use the minimum amount of force necessary,' Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Homeland Security department, said in a statement. 'In large part due to protests like this, our ICE officers are facing a 413% increase in assaults while carrying out arrests.' Operations across Massachusetts over the past month resulted in the arrests of nearly 1,500 people for immigration violations, more than half of whom the government said had criminal records in the US or abroad. Heavily armed and masked officers were involved in many of the apprehensions. In raids in Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard last month, about 40 people were arrested and moved out of the area on a Coast Guard patrol boat. In February, agents in Phoenix used an armored vehicle equipped with a battering ram when they arrested a 61-year-old man. At the time, the agency described the arrest as part of a routine operation and said the man had been deported several times and had multiple criminal convictions. 'The more police dress up in military gear and arm themselves with military equipment, the more likely they are to see themselves as at war with people, and that is not what we want,' said Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, deputy project manager for policing at the American Civil Liberties Union. An expanded show of force by policing agencies can 'lead to unnecessary violence that leads to unnecessary harm,' she added. Todd Lyons, the acting head of ICE, this week defended agents' actions, including wearing masks, saying it was for their protection as the public grows increasingly hostile toward their work. 'I am sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but I'm not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line, and their family's lives on the line, because people don't like what immigration enforcement is,' Lyons said during a press conference. He cited incidents of people identifying agents and then harassing them and their family members online, sometimes posting children's photos and other private information. The agency has made tens of thousands of arrests and deported tens of thousands of foreigners since Trump took office. But top administration aren't happy with the pace. In a tense meeting last month with dozens of top ICE officials Stephen Miller, a top aide to Trump and an architect of the the administration's hardline policies, said arrests should average a minimum of 3,000 a day. Many of those senior agents and officers left the meeting worried they would lose their jobs if the quota isn't met, according to a person familiar with the private discussion. The growing frequency of operations — and the gear agents are toting — can be unsettling to community members who aren't accustomed to such broad enforcement operations, according to Jerry Robinette, a former ICE agent who led the agency's Homeland Security Investigations office in San Antonio until he retired in 2012. 'They are in areas where people aren't used to seeing them and some folks are taken aback by what they are seeing, taken aback by the show of force,' said Robinette, adding that it's hard to second guess the show of force in San Diego without more details. 'Without knowing what the underlying crime that they were concerned about, its really hard to say this was an overkill.' Robinette and others said raids involving heavily armed and helmeted agents aren't unheard of in HSI operations. He said a more robust presence is often used in cases involving serious criminal organizations, including drug trafficking networks. In Warwick, Rhode Island, last month, a heavily armed contingent of officers was deployed to arrest a Guatemalan man who had evaded arrest during an April traffic stop. In that incident, according to federal court records, the suspect flailed about and wiggled away from arresting officers, leading one to twist her ankle and ultimately fracture her leg. The suspect was charged with assault, resisting and impeding a law enforcement officer after his May arrest. He is being held in federal custody, court records show. In San Diego, there's been no clarity on who was targeted by the ICE raid at the Italian restaurant. The tactics raised alarms from local officials. 'Militarized immigration raids in our neighborhoods erode trust, destabilize families and undermine the constitutional right to due process,' County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer said in a statement posted to X. City Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera posted a photo of the restaurant raid to Instagram and wrote the word 'terrorists' over the image. Others have described ICE agents as a 'gestapo.' Lyons, in an interview with Fox News, said such descriptions of his officers were 'just plain disgusting.' Elo-Rivera said he stands by his comments, and described the show of force as unnecessary and intended to instill fear. 'It would scare anyone who saw them,' Elo-Rivera said. 'Nobody is safer as a result of the Trump administration attempting to enforce immigration laws.' (Adds details of Los Angeles raids from third paragraph.) More stories like this are available on
Indian Express
7 hours ago
- Indian Express
Trump, Musk and a split foretold
It has been less than six months (of a 48-month tenure) since Donald J Trump assumed the office of the President of the United States for a second time. In that time, he has upended the US's relationship with its Western allies and engaged in a start-stop tariff regime based on questionable assumptions. He has also injected elements of uncertainty into the US's ties with countries, including India, that have been growing and deepening steadily for nearly three decades. The public spat between President Trump and Elon Musk — beyond the barbs and the almost reality TV style of the 'breakup' — must be seen in this context. Drama and uncertainty mark both US domestic politics and how the superpower engages with the world. The world's richest man played a significant part in the Trump campaign and the administration. Musk contributed about $250 million to Trump's election fund and, after the election, led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The differences over the Trump administration's 'One Big Beautiful Bill', emerging a day after Musk left DOGE, quickly spiralled into an all-out social-media war between the two billionaires, replete with name-calling. While Musk claimed that he won Trump the election and echoed conspiracy theories about his connections with deceased financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the President raised questions about government contracts for the Tesla and SpaceX founder's companies. Given their egos, perhaps it was a split foretold. That said, the Trump-Musk spat sends out the message that it is not necessarily institutions and interests that determine the course of politics and policy in Washington. Till recently, the 'bromance' between the two men made Musk's companies all but de facto national champions and the tech entrepreneur was seen across capitals as an extension of the White House. SpaceX, for example, has deep ties to NASA and its vessels ferry US astronauts to the International Space Station. The uncertainty around the future of that collaboration will make things more complicated for Delhi as it tries to deepen cooperation in space with the US. Deals with Tesla and Starlink, while made by private players, may take on a different colour. The Trump administration's domestic policies have already had reverberations in India, especially its attitude to visas for foreign students and workers. The immature insistence that the White House mediated the ceasefire after Operation Sindoor went against the grain of 30 years of the bilateral relationship — through Republican and Democrat administrations — of de-hyphenating India and Pakistan. As India tries to manage the US relationship over the next three years, it must keep in mind that it is working with a partner that is much more temperamental — today's Trump loyalist might be tomorrow's persona non grata.
