‘Spying on Americans…': Kristi Noem pulls plug on TSA spy program that targeted 'political enemies'
TSA's secretive 'Quiet Skies' program, meant to monitor airline passengers for signs of suspicious behavior, has officially been shut down. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the termination, calling the program ineffective, costly, and politically weaponised. Noem said the initiative failed to stop a single terror attack and was used to target political opponents under the guise of national security.
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India.com
12 hours ago
- India.com
Explained: Why Did Protests Erupt In Los Angeles? Who Sent The National Guard? What Triggered The Chaos?
Los Angeles (United States): The streets of Los Angeles turned tense over the past three days. Immigration raids sparked protests. Self-driving cars were set on fire. Tear gas filled the air. The National Guard arrived in riot gear. Why did it all start? Who sent in the troops? And what exactly happened? Here's a full breakdown of the events and timeline. The first signs of unrest appeared in the afternoon on June 6. Around 3:00 PM Pacific Time, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents carried out raids in Los Angeles. One major operation took place in the Fashion District, where ICE agents arrived at an apparel manufacturing unit. Protesters gathered quickly and tried to block two white vans that were believed to be transporting detained immigrants. Homeland Security officers arrived in riot gear and cleared the way. Later that day, other ICE raids happened in parking lots of Home Depot stores across the city. Protesters accused federal agents of targeting Latino neighbourhoods. By evening, hundreds of demonstrators rallied outside the Los Angeles Federal Building. Homeland Security officers fired pepper balls into the crowd. LAPD officers dispersed the group shortly after. More than 100 people were arrested, including David Huerta, head of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California. Officials said he blocked a federal vehicle and impeded law enforcement. On June 7 morning, demonstrations grew. In Paramount, about 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, protesters gathered near a Home Depot after hearing rumors of another ICE raid. Clashes broke out. Protesters kicked and threw items at law enforcement vehicles. Officers responded with tear gas. Later that afternoon, tensions rose. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department ordered crowds to leave. They warned of arrests and use of force. Tear gas was fired again. In Compton, protests continued after dark. Officers used rubber bullets and flash-bangs. Protesters threw rocks, fireworks and glass bottles. Back in downtown L.A., demonstrators gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center. The LAPD declared an unlawful assembly and set up barriers. Around 6:00 PM, President Donald Trump signed a memo ordering 2,000 National Guard members to deploy in Los Angeles. The goal was to protect federal agents involved in immigration enforcement. He acted allegedly without approval from California Governor Gavin Newsom or Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. By early Sunday morning on June 8, about 20 National Guard troops had arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center. By 10:30 AM, nearly 300 troops were stationed across three sites in Los Angeles. Over a dozen Homeland Security officers in riot gear joined them at the detention centre. By 1:00 PM, Guard members, ICE officers and Homeland Security agents formed a defensive line. They pushed protesters back using tear gas, pepper balls and other crowd-control weapons. Crowds spilled onto the southbound 101 Freeway, blocking traffic. The California Highway Patrol later cleared the road. On Alameda Street, protesters set fire to at least four self-driving Waymo cars. Thick black smoke rose above the buildings. The electric cars exploded as they burned. Trash bins were lit on fire. Windows were smashed. The LAPD Headquarters, U.S. Courthouse and the old Los Angeles Times building were vandalized. The police fired rubber bullets and declared another unlawful assembly by evening. Flash-bangs echoed through the streets. At 6:00 PM, most protesters had dispersed. A few remained near Alameda Street. Who Said What LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said the department was overwhelmed. He added that the police were not told in advance about the federal raids. Under California's sanctuary law SB 54, the local police cannot assist federal immigration agents. Governor Gavin Newsom called the deployment of the Guard 'illegal and immoral'. He said President Trump had 'federalised the National Guard' without permission. Newsom vowed to sue. Mayor Karen Bass said the administration was provoking chaos, not ensuring safety. President Trump responded on Truth Social, telling LAPD to arrest protesters wearing face masks. He wrote on TruthSocial, 'Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted that Marines at Camp Pendleton were on high alert. He warned they would be mobilised if needed. When asked about when he would send in the Marines, Trump said, 'The bar is what I think it is.' Congresswoman Maxine Waters called the situation outrageous. She accused Trump of targeting sanctuary cities. She said he was trying to create conditions for martial law. Former Vice President Kamala Harris also spoke out. She called the National Guard deployment 'a dangerous escalation' and accused the administration of spreading panic. How This Compares to Past Events While the protests were violent, they did not reach the scale of the Rodney King riots or George Floyd protests of 2020. But the unilateral use of the National Guard marked a historic moment. The last time federal troops were sent without a governor's approval was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to Alabama during a civil rights march.
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Business Standard
15 hours ago
- Business Standard
Trump's new travel ban takes effect amid immigration enforcement tensions
President Donald Trump's new ban on travel to the US by citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries took effect Monday amid rising tension over the president's escalating campaign of immigration enforcement. The new proclamation, which Trump signed last week, applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the US and don't hold a valid visa. The new ban does not revoke visas previously issued to people from countries on the list, according to guidance issued Friday to all US diplomatic missions. However, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban, his or her application will be rejected starting Monday. Travellers with previously issued visas should still be able to enter the US even after the ban takes effect. During Trump's first term, a hastily written executive order ordering the denial of entry to citizens of mainly Muslim countries created chaos at numerous airports and other ports of entry, prompting successful legal challenges and major revisions to the policy. In the hours after the new ban took effect, no disruptions were immediately discernible at Los Angeles International Airport. And passengers appeared to move steadily through an international arrival area at Miami International Airport, where Magda Moreno and her husband flew home Monday from Cuba. Everything was normal," said Moreno, a Cuban American who had travelled to the Caribbean island nation to visit family. "They only asked me where I was coming from and how many days I was in Cuba. Asked about the new travel restrictions for Cubans, Moreno, a US citizen, said: It is difficult not being able to bring the family and for them not being able to enter into the US. Haitian-American Elvanise Louis-Juste, who was at the airport earlier Sunday in Newark, New Jersey, awaiting a flight to her home state of Florida, said many Haitians wanting to come to the US are simply seeking to escape violence and unrest. I have family in Haiti, so it's pretty upsetting to see and hear, Louis-Juste, 23, said of the travel ban. I don't think it's a good thing. I think it's very upsetting. Many immigration experts say the new ban is more carefully crafted and appears designed to beat court challenges that hampered the first by focusing on the visa application process. Trump said this time that some countries had deficient screening for passports and other public documents or have historically refused to take back their own citizens. He relied extensively on an annual Homeland Security report of people who remain in the US after their visas expired. Measuring overstay rates has challenged experts for decades, but the government has made a limited attempt annually since 2016. Trump's proclamation cites overstay rates for eight of the 12 banned countries. Trump also tied the new ban to a terrorist attack in Boulder, Colorado, saying it underscored the dangers posed by some visitors who overstay visas. US officials say the man charged in the attack overstayed a tourist visa. He is from Egypt, a country that is not on Trump's restricted list. The ban was quickly denounced by groups that provide aid and resettlement help to refugees. This policy is not about national security it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States, said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, a nonprofit international relief organisation. The inclusion of Afghanistan angered some supporters who have worked to resettle its people. The ban does make exceptions for Afghans on Special Immigrant Visas, generally people who worked most closely with the US government during the two-decade-long war there. Afghanistan had been one of the largest sources of resettled refugees, with about 14,000 arrivals in a 12-month period through September 2024. Trump suspended refugee resettlement his first day in office. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Business Standard
18 hours ago
- Business Standard
Living illegally in US? Indians offered $1,000 to leave voluntarily
Indians in the United States without valid visas or documents now have an unusual opportunity: leave the country voluntarily and receive a $1,000 stipend — around ₹86,000 — from the US government. The US Embassy in India issued a fresh advisory on Saturday morning, warning foreign nationals who are residing unlawfully in the US to depart immediately. At the same time, it described the voluntary departure initiative as a 'historic opportunity'. US offers financial aid for self-deportation 'Depending on their circumstances, they might receive financial and other assistance from the US government to depart,' the notice said. Those interested have been directed to register through the CBP (Customs and Border Protection) Home App, launched under the Trump administration. The move is part of a broader push by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to encourage illegal residents to leave the country voluntarily, using a tech-based self-deportation system. 'DHS is now offering illegal aliens financial travel assistance and a stipend to return to their home country through the CBP Home App,' said Kristi Noem, US Secretary of Homeland Security. 'This is the safest option for our law enforcement, aliens and is a 70% savings for US taxpayers.' According to the Homeland Security website, those approved under this scheme will: Be eligible for help with travel arrangements and documentation Have their departure scheduled within 21 days of application approval Be deprioritised for detention and removal by ICE if enrolled Be allowed a longer time to depart if paying their own way Potentially improve their chances for future legal immigration Who qualifies for the $1,000 stipend? Two main categories are eligible, according to DHS: 1. Non-criminal foreign nationals who encountered CBP at a port or between ports of entry and are now in the US without valid status 2. Parolees whose legal stay has expired or is about to expire Applicants must be physically present in the US at the time of registering their intent to leave. The embassy also warned individuals who overstayed valid visas that they face arrest, fines, deportation, and even a permanent travel ban. 'They may be deported and could face a permanent ban on future travel to the United States,' the embassy said in a post on X. What undocumented Indians should know Immigration experts say those without legal status, especially those who entered illegally, have very few options to remain in the country. 'There are not many legal pathways for those on illegal status, especially the ones with criminal records,' Ajay Sharma, founder of Abhinav Immigration Services told Business Standard. 'Even those without criminal records who try to file in any permitted category must leave the country once to get new status validated, and the probability of being denied re-entry is still very high.' He added that other countries may also restrict visa access for those with a history of illegal stay in the US. Jonathan Grode, US practice director at immigration law firm Green and Spiegel, said the options vary depending on the person's circumstances. 'Options really depend on the person's individual status and if they have family or other means of staying in the US, such as asylum. Generally speaking, employment sponsorship is not an option,' Grode said. 'If you are a visa overstay, marriage to a US citizen can quell the issue – but no other filing really can. So even if you had an employer, it does not mean you can get status,' he said. 'The only other real avenue is asylum – but that is predicated on a specific fear of harm if you return to your home country.'
