Latest news with #Noem
Boston Globe
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
DHS puts Boston and other sanctuary jurisdictions on notice: ‘comply with federal law'
In Massachusetts, 13 of the state's 14 counties are listed, with Hampden County the lone exception. Cities with high immigrant populations, such as Chelsea and Lawrence, and progressive cities, such as Northampton and Somerville, according to the list. Hanover and Lebanon in New Hampshire, and Burlington in Vermont were also on the list. Advertisement Each jurisdiction will be formally notified of its non-compliance and potential violations of federal criminal law, federal authorities said. 'We are exposing these sanctuary politicians who harbor criminal illegal aliens and defy federal law,' Noem's statement said. 'President Trump and I will always put the safety of the American people first.' The noncompliant jurisdictions will be ordered to immediately review and revise their policies 'to align with federal immigration laws' and will be required to 'renew their obligation to protect American citizens, not dangerous illegal aliens,' the statement said. On April 28, Trump issued an executive order giving Noem and US Attorney General Pam Bondi authority to identify the 'lawless jurisdictions' that 'refuse to cooperate' with federal immigration laws and hold them accountable. This story will be updated. Advertisement Tonya Alanez can be reached at
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Inside the scramble to keep FEMA alive ahead of hurricane season
Publicly, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said the Federal Emergency Management Agency needs to be reoriented or even done away with altogether. 'We are eliminating FEMA,' Noem said at a televised meeting of President Donald Trump's Cabinet in March. But with hurricane season about to start, Noem has been quietly pushing behind the scenes to keep key employees in place and to approve reimbursements to states previously hit by disaster, sources familiar with the situation told NBC News. Trump himself talked about possibly 'getting rid of' FEMA shortly after he was inaugurated for his second term, while he was touring North Carolina to see areas of the state damaged by Hurricane Helene. There has been no public indication that his administration, including Noem, is reconsidering that stance — indeed, the administration's original acting FEMA administrator, Cameron Hamilton, was removed from the job one day after he testified at a congressional hearing that he does not think 'it is in the best interests of the American people to eliminate' FEMA. Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, has told NBC News that the move was not a response to his testimony. There does, however, appear to be some internal recognition that, absent a plan ready for how the country would move forward without FEMA, important elements of the agency and its work have to remain in place for now. According to internal documents reviewed by NBC News, on May 19, Noem approved a request from newly installed acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson to retain 2,652 employees whose terms had been set to expire between April and December. The employees are part of FEMA's Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employees (CORE) group, for which people are always hired for specific periods of two to four years; their departures this year would have left FEMA without a large number of key employees during hurricane season. According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, FEMA had 8,802 total CORE employees as of fiscal year 2022. A FEMA employee told NBC News that the workforce seemed surprised and pleased that Noem decided to keep the CORE employees on during hurricane season after the administration had moved to cut them. The same week FEMA was moving to keep those key employees in place, the White House was suddenly approving disaster recovery reimbursement requests from 10 states, including some that had been stalled for months, accounting for 20% of all such approvals in Trump's second term, according to FEMA disaster approval data online. Three sources familiar with Noem's recent actions say she has taken an outsized role compared with previous secretaries in pushing the White House to support FEMA and reimburse states. State and local governments are entitled by statute to have 75% of their costs for disasters reimbursed by the federal government. Anything above that is determined by a fixed formula or, if the formula's requirements are not met, by the president. In the past, the White House generally approved what FEMA officials determined was appropriate based on those formulas, leaving the homeland security secretary to function largely as a rubber stamp, according to two sources familiar with the disaster approval process. But with the White House pushing to downsize FEMA's role and encourage more states to bail themselves out, at least as of last week, the White House had repeatedly pushed back against FEMA's recommendations, according to one of the sources familiar with Noem's recent actions. And Noem had gotten involved. Asked for comment on this article, McLaughlin, the DHS spokesperson, said in a statement: 'This is a sad attempt by the mainstream media to drive a false narrative that there is daylight between President Trump and Secretary Noem. To the media's chagrin, there's not. Secretary Noem has been implementing President Trump's vision for the future of FEMA to shift it away from a bloated, DC-centric bureaucracy that has let down the American people.' Because previous administrations typically approved reimbursements that FEMA determined should be made, states might not have the ability to shoulder the burden without having planned for it years in advance. 'For a state like North Carolina, it's significant. And in a state like Alabama or Mississippi, it would bankrupt the state,' said Michael Coen, who was chief of staff at FEMA during the Biden administration. 'They would have to take out a bond. They would have to look at how they increase tax revenue. For some of these states, it might be twice what their annual budget is for the year. So when the DHS secretary or White House is saying states are going to have to own the problem ... these states are going to need to have a different mindset for how they budget.' Though the CORE employees are being kept on, a large number of FEMA's senior executives have left this year, largely voluntarily, raising concerns internally and among outside observers and members of Congress about its ability to respond during hurricane season. Sixteen senior officials whose departures were announced in an internal email last week had a combined 228 years of experience at FEMA. Four additional senior executive departures were announced Wednesday in an email from the acting chief of staff at FEMA, who is herself set to step down. 'It's like having a relay team, and instead of having six members you've only got four, and yeah, you can do it, but those four runners are going to have to run more than they're trained for,' the FEMA employee said. CORRECTION (May 29, 2025, 10:04 p.m. ET): An earlier version of this article misspelled the last name of a former FEMA chief of staff. He is Michael Coen, not Cohen. This article was originally published on
NBC News
9 hours ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Inside the scramble to keep FEMA alive ahead of hurricane season
Publicly, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said the Federal Emergency Management Agency needs to be reoriented or even done away with altogether. 'We are eliminating FEMA,' Noem said at a televised meeting of President Donald Trump's Cabinet in March. But with hurricane season about to start, Noem has been quietly pushing behind the scenes to keep key employees in place and to approve reimbursements to states previously hit by disaster, sources familiar with the situation told NBC News. Trump himself talked about possibly 'getting rid of' FEMA shortly after he was inaugurated for his second term, while he was touring North Carolina to see areas of the state damaged by Hurricane Helene. There has been no public indication that his administration, including Noem, is reconsidering that stance — indeed, the administration's original acting FEMA administrator, Cameron Hamilton, was removed from the job one day after he testified at a congressional hearing that he does not think 'it is in the best interests of the American people to eliminate' FEMA. Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, has told NBC News that the move was not a response to his testimony. There does, however, appear to be some internal recognition that, absent a plan ready for how the country would move forward without FEMA, important elements of the agency and its work have to remain in place for now. According to internal documents reviewed by NBC News, on May 19, Noem approved a request from newly installed acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson to retain 2,652 employees whose terms had been set to expire between April and December. The employees are part of FEMA's Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employees (CORE) group, for which people are always hired for specific periods of two to four years; their departures this year would have left FEMA without a large number of key employees during hurricane season. According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, FEMA had 8,802 total CORE employees as of fiscal year 2022. A FEMA employee told NBC News that the workforce seemed surprised and pleased that Noem decided to keep the CORE employees on during hurricane season after the administration had moved to cut them. The same week FEMA was moving to keep those key employees in place, the White House was suddenly approving disaster recovery reimbursement requests from 10 states, including some that had been stalled for months, accounting for 20% of all such approvals in Trump's second term, according to FEMA disaster approval data online. Three sources familiar with Noem's recent actions say she has taken an outsized role compared with previous secretaries in pushing the White House to support FEMA and reimburse states. State and local governments are entitled by statute to have 75% of their costs for disasters reimbursed by the federal government. Anything above that is determined by a fixed formula or, if the formula's requirements are not met, by the president. In the past, the White House generally approved what FEMA officials determined was appropriate based on those formulas, leaving the homeland security secretary to function largely as a rubber stamp, according to two sources familiar with the disaster approval process. But with the White House pushing to downsize FEMA's role and encourage more states to bail themselves out, at least as of last week, the White House had repeatedly pushed back against FEMA's recommendations, according to one of the sources familiar with Noem's recent actions. And Noem had gotten involved. Asked for comment on this article, McLaughlin, the DHS spokesperson, said in a statement: 'This is a sad attempt by the mainstream media to drive a false narrative that there is daylight between President Trump and Secretary Noem. To the media's chagrin, there's not. Secretary Noem has been implementing President Trump's vision for the future of FEMA to shift it away from a bloated, DC-centric bureaucracy that has let down the American people.' Because previous administrations typically approved reimbursements that FEMA determined should be made, states might not have the ability to shoulder the burden without having planned for it years in advance. 'For a state like North Carolina, it's significant. And in a state like Alabama or Mississippi, it would bankrupt the state,' said Michael Cohen, who was chief of staff at FEMA during the Biden administration. 'They would have to take out a bond. They would have to look at how they increase tax revenue. For some of these states, it might be twice what their annual budget is for the year. So when the DHS secretary or White House is saying states are going to have to own the problem ... these states are going to need to have a different mindset for how they budget.' Though the CORE employees are being kept on, a large number of FEMA's senior executives have left this year, largely voluntarily, raising concerns internally and among outside observers and members of Congress about its ability to respond during hurricane season. Sixteen senior officials whose departures were announced in an internal email last week had a combined 228 years of experience at FEMA. Four additional senior executive departures were announced Wednesday in an email from the acting chief of staff at FEMA, who is herself set to step down. 'It's like having a relay team, and instead of having six members you've only got four, and yeah, you can do it, but those four runners are going to have to run more than they're trained for,' the FEMA employee said.
Axios
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Axios
ICE officials ousted amid demands for more immigrant arrests
Two top officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been ousted from leadership as the White House ramps up the pressure on the agency to arrest an unprecedented number of immigrants, five sources familiar with the situation tell Axios. Why it matters: The changes come a week after top Trump aide Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanded that ICE seek to arrest 3,000 people a day — triple what agents were arresting in the early days of the administration. Driving the news: The ousted officials are Kenneth Genalo, ICE's enforcement and removal director, and Robert Hammer, the Department of Homeland Security's investigations director who has handled particularly complex cases involving criminal immigrants. Genalo is retiring but will still serve as a special government employee, sources said. Hammer is being reassigned to a different leadership position. In the week since Miller and Noem called on ICE officials to step up arrests, ICE has failed to reach 3,000 daily arrests. Agents did bring in 1,600 the day before the leadership changes — a substantial rise but not close to Miller and Noem's goal, people familiar with the agency's internal data said. Several sources told Axios the leadership changes reflect higher-ups' frustration with the arrest numbers at a time when the White House is focused on President Trump 's goal of deporting a million unauthorized immigrants. But one source said the arrest statistics weren't considered in decision making and that conclusions were being drawn from last week's meeting with Miller. Flashback: It's not the first shakeup at ICE, which has been under increasing pressure over the White House's deportation ambitions. Earlier this year Noem reassigned ICE's director and deputy director. They were replaced with ICE veteran Todd Lyons and Madison Sheehan, who was previously a political staffer of Noem's. Some insiders believe Lyons' job might also be at risk now. ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed director since Barack Obama was in the White House. What they're saying: "I think there's great leadership at ICE. Todd Lyons, I've known him for years. He was probably the best field director we had," Trump border czar Tom Homan told Axios on Thursday. "There are 25 field office directors across the country and they all respect Todd. Todd's the right guy to be the director," Homan added. Homan declined to comment on the leadership changes, saying he was unaware of the reasons behind the reassignments. Homan, an acting director of ICE during Trump's first term, said it helps agents across the country to have a director who has risen through the agency's ranks.
Mint
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Mint
Relief in sight for Harvard as Trump Administration 'blinks' in showdown over foreign student enrollment: Report
The Trump administration on Thursday, May 29, indicated it may delay immediate action to revoke Harvard University's ability to enroll international students, opting instead to follow a longer administrative process, according to a new report. In the filing, as per a report in Reuters, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed it had sent Harvard a notice of intent to withdraw its certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), which allows the university to host non-US students. Harvard University, a global symbol of academic excellence, is now at the center of a high-stakes confrontation with the Trump administration over the US government's decision to bar the university from enrolling foreign students. Harvard has rejected the Trump administration's accusations of conservative bias, campus antisemitism, and alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party. The university, as per a report in Reuters, now has 30 days to formally respond to the notice. The notice was issued ahead of a scheduled hearing before US District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston, who was expected to consider Harvard's request to extend a temporary block on the revocation. Harvard warned that revoking SEVP certification would impact nearly 6,800 international students—roughly 27% of its student body—and be 'devastating' to both the institution and its academic mission. The move to revoke the certification was first announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on May 22. Noem accused Harvard of 'fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party.' In a letter to Harvard, Noem wrote: 'It is a privilege to enroll foreign students, and it is also a privilege to employ aliens on campus.' She further claimed the university failed to comply with requests for information regarding student visa holders and their activities. Harvard has also rejected claims it had coordinated with the Chinese government. In court documents, its legal team argued that the DHS was attempting to coerce the university into changing its governance, curriculum, and the ideological makeup of its faculty and students. President Donald Trump on Wednesday (May 28) called on Harvard University to limit its foreign student admissions to 15%, criticising the Ivy League school for showing "great disrespect" to the United States. 'Harvard has got to behave themselves. Harvard is treating our country with great disrespect and all they're doing is getting in deeper and deeper,' Trump said from the Oval Office. 'I think they should have a cap of maybe around 15%, not 31%. We have people who want to go to Harvard and other schools, they can't get in because we have foreign students there.' Trump, in his escalation of attacks on Harvard University, threatened to redirect billions in federal funding to trade schools on May 26, while accusing the Ivy League institution of harbouring antisemitism and shielding radicalised foreign students. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said he was 'considering taking Three Billion Dollars of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land.' A day earlier, Trump criticised Harvard's funding requests, saying: 'Harvard has $52,000,000, use it, and stop asking for the Federal Government to continue GRANTING money to you!' Trump also insisted the university provide a list of its current foreign students, as part of increased scrutiny on immigration and foreign influence in US higher education. The Trump administration has frozen over $2.6 billion in federal research funding to Harvard and is moving to cancel remaining federal contracts. The administration has also targeted Harvard's diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, accusing them of promoting left-wing bias, and suggested stripping the university's tax-exempt status.
