The memo was filed as a part of documents submitted in a federal court case tied to refugees who were arrested in Minnesota. In it, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow and ICE acting Director Todd Lyons direct their agencies to "detain and inspect" refugees who do not "voluntarily return to DHS custody for inspection and examination" to be a legal permanent resident at the one-year mark of being in the country.
Congressional leaders are pushing back against the Trump administration's account of the killing of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old U.S. citizen shot dead by federal officers during an immigration enforcement protest in Minneapolis Saturday. Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., accused the administration of a "cover up" Sunday and said the federal government is ignoring a court order that allows state investigators to access evidence in Pretti's killing.
After the shooting, DHS posted to social media that the individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, seen here. DHS posted a photo of a gun they say the man was brandishing when ICE shot him in self-defense. At 9:05 AM CT, as DHS law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault, an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, seen here. The officers attempted to pic.twitter.com/5Y50mYONGH Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 24, 2026
Sara Ellis, a US district judge, who had previously required immigration agents to wear badges and banned them from using riot-control techniques such as tear gas without warning, railed on Thursday against the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) continued aggressive tactics, many of which have been caught on camera, and which appear to violate her order. I live in Chicago if folks haven't noticed, she said on Thursday.
The Costa Rica offer came late on Thursday, after it was clear that the Salvadorian national would probably be released from a Tennessee jail the following day. Abrego declined to extend his stay in jail and was released on Friday to await trial in Maryland with his family. Later that day, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) notified his attorneys that he would be deported to Uganda and should report to immigration authorities on Monday.