Unsolicited seeds from China are being received by homeowners throughout the United States. At least 50 Fresno county homeowners have reported the odd packages to the local ag commissioner. More calls are coming in every day. Here's the messaging that officials want people to hear: Do not open the packages....
Homeland Security's New Role Is Cracking Down on 'Mayhem'
PORTLAND, Ore. — Protesters who have clashed with authorities in the Pacific Northwest are not just confronting local police. Some are also facing off against federal officers whose presence reflects President Donald Trump's decision to make cracking down on “violent mayhem” a federal priority. The Department of Homeland Security has deployed officers...
‘Investigative Techniques’ Included Sex with Victims in Federal Trafficking Case, Document Show
PHOENIX — The women were forced to live and work in filth and near darkness, the federal agent said, surviving on only the tips they received from performing massages and sexual favors. Lon Weigand, deputy special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Arizona, described them as “Asian females”...
Judge Rules Head of Immigration Agency Was Unlawfully Named
SAN DIEGO — A federal judge has ruled that Ken Cuccinelli was unlawfully appointed to lead the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency and, as a result, lacked authority to give asylum seekers less time to prepare for initial screening interviews. Cuccinelli, a former Virginia attorney general and an immigration hardliner, was...
Homeland Security Waives Contracting Laws for Border Wall
SAN DIEGO — The Trump administration said Tuesday that it will waive federal contracting laws to speed construction of a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Department of Homeland Security said waiving procurement regulations will allow 177 miles of wall to be built more quickly in California, Arizona, New Mexico...
Talks Resume as Trump's Mexico Tariff Deadline Looms
WASHINGTON — U.S. and Mexican officials headed into a second day of talks Thursday, working to avert import tariffs President Donald Trump in threatening to impose as he tries to strong-arm Mexico into stemming the flood of Central American migrants at America's southern border. Both sides claimed headway in lengthy...
Fake Documents Get Fresno Man 33 Months in Federal Pen
U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd sentenced a Fresno man to 33 months in prison Monday for producing false identification documents such as green cards and social security cards. According to court documents, in March and May 2018, Fernando Hernandez-Hernandez manufactured and sold the fakes to buyers. He made more...
Phone, Laptop Searches at U.S. Airports Rising Rapidly, Suit Says
WASHINGTON — U.S. government searches of travelers' cellphones and laptops at airports and border crossings nearly quadrupled since 2015 and are being conducted for reasons beyond customs and immigration enforcement, according to papers filed Tuesday in a federal lawsuit that claims going through electronic devices without a warrant is unconstitutional....
Trump Says Asylum Seekers Should Have to Pay a Fee to Apply
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is proposing charging asylum seekers a fee to process their applications as he continues to try to crack down on the surge of Central American migrants seeking to cross into the U.S. In a presidential memorandum signed Monday, Trump directed his attorney general and acting homeland security...
Trump Says Only 1 Person Is in Charge of Immigration: Him
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says there's only one person in charge of his immigration policy: Him. Asked by reporters Wednesday whether he had considered tapping his influential aide, Stephen Miller, to lead the Department of Homeland Security given Miller's focus on the issue, Trump was ready with praise —...