US Coast Guard Doesn't Have Enough Money, Ships or Sailors
The controversial dismissal of the US Coast Guard commandant, Admiral Linda Fagan, means the nation's maritime guardians will soon have a new leader. He or she will face a host of challenges. Despite decades of punching well above their weight, the Coasties are in a difficult spot, with significant budget shortfalls and big missions ahead. What can the new commandant do to address the challenges?
I am an enormous admirer of the US Coast Guard, which became part of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003. Unlike many Navy officers, I've had a lot of interaction with our maritime partners, especially in the 2000s when I was commander of the US Southern Command, in charge of nearly all military operations south of the US. I pushed for the position of operations officer at that major combatant command to be raised to a 2-star admiral. I strongly supported the Coastie admiral in charge of drug interdiction at Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S), which reported to me. I commanded and relied on Coast Guard cutters and aircraft to fulfill missions every day from my headquarters in southern Florida.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Attorneys for Kilmar Abrego Garcia argue he isn't a flight risk and should be released
Attorneys for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man arrested by the government and sent to an El Salvador prison in error and then returned to the United States last week, argue in a court filing Wednesday that he man should be freed from jail pending trial. 'Mr. Abrego Garcia asks the Court for what he has been denied the past several months — due process,' attorneys for Abrego Garcia wrote in a memorandum opposing prosecutor's efforts to keep him detained. Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States on Friday to face federal charges that he was involved in a scheme to transport people in the United States who are not legally able to be in the country. He was in federal custody Wednesday night. Abrego Garcia's attorneys argued in Wednesday's memo that he is not a flight risk, as prosecutors have argued. His attorneys say legal standards to keep him detained have not been met. "The government isn't even entitled to a detention hearing in this case — much less detention. Mr. Abrego Garcia should be released," his attorneys wrote. An arraignment and detention hearing is scheduled for Friday in Tennessee. Abrego Garcia, 29, was arrested in Maryland on March 12, and the Department of Homeland Security claimed he was a member of the gang MS-13, which he denied. The government then deported him Abrego Garcia to El Salvador where he was imprisoned in the Center for Terrorism Confinement — despite an immigration judge's previous order that he not be sent to El Salvador. A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return to the United States, which administration officials resisted. The Trump administration then asked El Salvador to return Abrego Garcia to the United States last week to face human smuggling charges filed in Tennessee. The case became a high-profile battle over whether the Trump administration was bound to return Abrego Garcia under the federal judge's order. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said at the White House in April that he would not return Abrego Garcia. The matter went to the Supreme Court, which disputed the language of "effectuate" in the judge's order but ruled that the Trump administration was required to 'facilitate' the return of Abrego Garcia. The two-count federal indictment unsealed in Tennessee charges Abrego Garcia with one count each of conspiracy to unlawfully transport illegal aliens for financial gain and unlawful transportation of illegal aliens for financial gain. The indictment alleges that from about 2016 to 2025, he and others conspired to bring migrants illegally to the United States from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador and elsewhere, through Mexico and across the Texas-Mexico border. Abrego Garcia and a co-conspirator 'ordinarily picked up the undocumented aliens in Houston, Texas area' after they had crossed the border, the indictment alleges. The pair then would transport 'the undocumented aliens from Texas to other parts of the United States to further the aliens' unlawful presence in the United States,' the indictment says. Chris Newman, an attorney who represents Abrego Garcia's family, said last week that the Trump administration for months engaged in 'a campaign of disinformation, defamation against Kilmar and his family." This article was originally published on
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
ICE officers assaulted during raid that nabbed 70 illegal immigrants at meat plant: DHS
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and their federal partners were assaulted by an illegal immigrant while executing a warrant Wednesday at a meat-producing plant in Omaha, Nebraska. During the raid, ICE detained more than 70 illegal immigrants, some of whom had local warrants for their arrests, prior DUI convictions or had previously been deported, the agency said. "Yesterday, an illegal alien from Honduras brandished a weapon and assaulted federal agents and officers who were doing their job: protecting American citizens, the public and businesses who are being victimized through identity fraud," ICE acting Director Todd Lyons said Wednesday. California Sheriff Says Newsom 'Encouraged' La Riots As Ice Arrests Violent Illegal Aliens "Let's be clear — this wasn't just someone 'out of status.' This was a violent criminal who attacked law enforcement while they were serving the public, which is why the term 'criminal alien' is a distraction. "If you're here illegally, you've already broken the law. When you break the law by coming here illegally and then threaten and assault federal officers on top of that — you're a threat, plain and simple." Read On The Fox News App Many of the 70 people detained Wednesday may now face additional federal charges, including fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents; assaulting a federal officer; resisting arrest; illegal reentry; and/or misuse of Social Security numbers, ICE said. "Our ICE agents and officers — along with our federal partners — put their lives on the line every day to protect the American public. They don't ask for praise. They ask for the support," ICE Homeland Security Investigations Kansas City Special Agent in Charge Mark Zito said in a statement. "The reckless rhetoric being thrown around doesn't just insult their sacrifice, it actively puts communities at risk, undermines law enforcement, and emboldens those who are actively looking to do harm. These men and women swore an oath to uphold the law and should not have to fear the very people they are sworn to protect." Dozens Of Anti-ice Rioters Arrested In La As Trump Sends In National Guard To Quell Violence ICE did not specify how officers were assaulted, but protesters who gathered outside the food plant Tuesday during the raid jumped on the front bumper of an official vehicle, while others threw rocks at ICE vehicles as a white bus carrying workers pulled away from the operation. Chad Hartmann, president of Glenn Valley Foods, told The Associated Press he was surprised by the raid, saying the plant uses E-Verify to confirm the immigration status of workers before hiring them. Ice Arrests 'Worst Of The Worst' Illegal Aliens In Los Angeles While Protesters Advocate For Criminals: Dhs "My biggest issue is: Why us?" Hartmann told the AP. "We do everything by the book." Hartmann added that ICE officers at the raid apparently told him the E-Verify system is broken. "I mean, what am I supposed to do with that?" Hartmann told the AP. "This is your system, run by the government. And you're raiding me because your system is broken?" Douglas County Commissioner Roger Garcia said Wednesday in a Facebook post that officials are "telling friends and allies to standby momentarily as we continue to gather and verify information and coordinate proper guidance for families affected." "There are response groups that have been activated and also safe spaces for families to go, alongside legal representation that is being coordinated," Garcia said. "We are still trying to find out more information on how many were detained today, how many sites (Lala and Glenn Valley verified thus far, JBS may have been mistakenly listed we are looking into it), and where those detained are being taken." The operation was a multi-agency effort that included ICE Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations Omaha; DHS Security Office of Inspector General; Department of Justice; FBI; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Marshals Service; IRS Criminal Investigation; Nebraska State Patrol; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; and the Nebraska Department of Vehicles Fraud Unit. The Associated Press contributed to this article source: ICE officers assaulted during raid that nabbed 70 illegal immigrants at meat plant: DHS
New York Post
6 hours ago
- New York Post
ICE busts during LA riots includes child molesters, killers and Molotov cocktail menace as DHS rips protesters ‘fighting to protect' criminals
The Trump administration on Wednesday paraded a rogues' gallery of criminal migrants that are being backed by violent anti-ICE rioters in Los Angeles — including child molesters, murders and drug dealers. One of the worst illegal immigrant offenders, Emiliano Garduno-Galvez, was busted during Saturday's unrest and charged with attempted murder for allegedly hurling a Molotov cocktail at LA County sheriff's deputies. Garduno-Galvez had already been deported from the US once, and arrested twice last year. But he was on the loose because California's sanctuary laws meant ICE detention orders were ignored by local cops, according to the Department of Homeland Security. 6 On June 9, 2025, ICE agents in Los Angeles arrested Emiliano Garduno-Galvez an illegal alien from Mexico for attempted murder after he threw a Molotov cocktail at law enforcement during the Los Angeles riots. @PressSec / X 'These are the types of criminal illegal aliens that rioters are fighting to protect,' said DHS Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. 'The Los Angeles rioters will not stop us or slow us down.' At least 330 illegal immigrants have been arrested in the LA are raids so far, according to the White House In addition to Garduno-Galvez, ICE highlighted nine other criminals — including killers and child molesters — whom agents had picked up this week — in spite of the protests that have raged around downtown every day. Among the arrests was Gerardo Antonio-Palacios, a Mexican national with prior convictions for homicide and burglary. He was also previously deported. Mab Khleb, a 53-year-old from Cambodia, was convicted of drug activity, battery and lewd action with a child. 6 Protesters move through downtown during continuing protests following raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that began last Friday, on June 10, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images And Sang Louangprasert, a 66-year-old illegal immigrant from Laos, was arrested and also has a conviction for lewd acts with a child. Others arrested have previous convictions for drug dealing, assault, money laundering, human smuggling and burglary, with most hailing from Honduras or Mexico. They were just the latest round of illegal immigrants with alarming criminal backgrounds who have been pulled off the streets of LA and southern California by ICE raids. Other scary suspects who were previously arrested, included convicted mass shooter Cuong Chanh Phan — a 49-year-old who shot up a high school graduation party in 1994, leaving two teens dead, along with 55-year-old Rolando Veneracion-Enriquez, a Filipino who was convicted of attempted rape. 6 Police and California National Guard stand outside the Los Angeles federal building with full gear. / MEGA Armando Ordaz, 44, was also arrested and has a conviction for sexual battery, while 55-year-old Lionel Sanchez-Laguna was arrested with convictions to his name for willful cruelty to a child and other violent charges. Garduno-Galvez, the alleged bomb-thrower, was seen masked and hooded, prowling behind a tree near fellow protesters and casing out the approaching police line with a mysterious bottle at his feet, according to video released by ICE. At one point he menacingly flicked a lighter and stared at the flame to make sure it was working, the footage shows. 6 Homeland Security Arrests pictured from left to right: Emiliano Garduno-Galvezâ, Jose Jimenez-Alvarado, Sang Louangprasert, Antonio Benitez-Ugarte, Alberto Morales-Mejia, Raul Teran-Guillen,, Carlos Alberto Escobar-Flores, Mab Khleb. x/DHSgo He was quickly captured after the alleged bombing and charged with attempted murder. But not only has he been deported before, but LA officials previously ignored ICE detainers requesting he be handed over after he was arrested twice last year for a DUI and for grand theft, a DHS official told The Post. LA's anti-ICE protests entered their sixth day Wednesday and even began cropping up in other cities across the country — but the agency remained undeterred throughout the week and continued rounding up illegal immigrants, including several others with alarming criminal histories arrested on Monday and Tuesday alone. Even as the alarming background of the criminals ICE has removed from the California community has become clearer, the protests have carried on. 6 At least 330 illegal immigrants have been arrested in the LA are raids so far, according to the White House. Department of Homeland Security LA instated an 8 p.m. curfew Tuesday in an attempt to reign in the nighttime looting that's left shopping districts shattered, but that resulted in nearly 200 arrests after some crowds refused to obey and tried to evade police instead. One group that amassed downtown was eventually broken up by mounted cops, but wound up regrouping elsewhere where they shot off fireworks and blocked traffic. At least 14 people have been hit with federal crimes over the protests. 6 Anti-Ice Protests continue on June 10, 2025. Amy Katz/ZUMA Press / Among them was 27-year-old Californian Wrackkie Quiogue, who was also arrested allegedly carrying a Molotov cocktail during the protests and could face 10 years in prison for it, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. Others include 32-year-old Christian Andres Garcia and 43-year-old Rene Luna, who are charged with assaulting a federal officer and could face one year in prison. Protests were sparked Friday after ICE began raiding illegal immigrant work hubs like Home Depot parking lots across LA. As word of the arrests spread, activists began trying to head-off the federal agents and block their efforts. Groups eventually descended on a downtown detention center where detainees were being held before the protests erupted into riots in parts of the city, with looting taking hold by night. President Trump eventually dispatched thousands of National Guard troops to quell the chaos, and supplemented them with about 700 Marines on Monday.
