Government - federal, state, local | Homeland Security Newswire

U.S. Moves Decisively to Avoid Dependence on China’s Rare Earths
The Pentagon’s package of support for rare earths company MP Minerals, announced on 10 July, should free the US military and eventually much of US industry from dependence on Chinese supply chains for rare earth magnets.
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Fewer Than Half of ICE Arrests Under Trump Are Convicted Criminals
Despite Trump administration rhetoric accusing Democrats of protecting violent criminals and drug-dealing immigrants, the administration’s arrests have been catching a smaller share of criminals overall, and a smaller share of people convicted of violent and drug crimes, than the Biden administration did in the same time frame..
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DHS Revokes Temporary Protected Status for Two More Latin American Countries
After decades of extensions, DHS will not renew Temporary Protected Status for Honduran and Nicaraguan citizens residing in the U.S., per new agency announcements.
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Emergency Powers Are for Emergencies
The country thrived for many decades before the creation of most emergency powers. It can do so as well, going forward.
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A New Trump Plan Gives DHS and the White House Greater Influence in the Fight Against Organized Crime
The Trump administration has launched a major reorganization of the U.S. fight against drug traffickers and other transnational criminal groups. The overhaul would give new authority to DHS and deepen the influence of the White House.
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MIx Helps Innovators Tackle Challenges in National Security
Startups and government defense agencies have historically seemed like polar opposites. Startups thrive on speed and risk, while defense agencies are more cautious. Mission Innovation x creates education and research opportunities while facilitating connections between defense agencies and MIT innovators.
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RFK Announces New ACIP Members, Including Vaccine Critics
HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed all 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine advisory committee, replacing them with a group of eight new members, some of whom are vaccine skeptics.
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RFK Jr’s Shakeup of Vaccine Advisory Committee Raises Worries About Scientific Integrity of Health Recommendations
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed the immunization experts serving on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and replaced them with eight new members. The newly appointed members have expertise in psychiatry, neuroscience, epidemiology, biostatistics, and operations management. Many of them are vaccine skeptics who have actively spread vaccine-related misinformation, particularly relating to COVID-19 vaccines.
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A Guide to the Countries on Trump’s 2025 Travel Ban List
The White House’s latest travel ban imposes restrictions on citizens from nineteen countries. Many of those affected are contending with crises at home.
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Trump’s Use of the National Guard Against LA Protesters Defies All Precedents
Unlike his predecessors, Trump has not mobilized the national guard to protect civil rights against a hostile police force. Instead, he appears to be using this as leverage to undermine a political opponent he views as blocking his agenda. Circumventing gubernatorial powers over the national guard in this way has no precedent and heralds the next stage in an extended conflict between the president and the state of California.
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Twenty-One Things That Are True in Los Angeles
To understand the dangers inherent in deploying the California National Guard – over the strenuous objections of the California governor – and active-duty Marines to deal with anti-ICE protesters, we should remind ourselves of a few elementary truths, writes Benjamin Wittes. Among these truths: “Not all lawful exercises of authority are wise, prudent, or smart”; “Not all crimes require a federal response”; “Avoiding tragic and unnecessary confrontations is generally desirable”; and “It is thus unwise, imprudent, and stupid to take actions for performative reasons that one might reasonably anticipate would increase the risks of such confrontations.”
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From Kent State to Los Angeles, Using Armed Forces to Police Civilians Is a High-Risk Strategy
I am a historian, and my recent book — Kent State: An American Tragedy — examines a historic clash on 4 May 1970, between anti-war protesters and National Guard troops at Kent State University in Ohio. Troops opened fire on the demonstrators, killing four students and wounding nine others. Dispatching California National Guard troops against civilian protesters in Los Angeles chillingly echoes decisions and actions that led to the tragic Kent State shooting. Some active-duty units, as well as National Guard troops, are better prepared today than in 1970 to respond to riots and violent protests – but the vast majority of their training and their primary mission remains to fight, to kill, and to win wars.
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States, Sheriffs Puzzle Over Trump’s Error-Filled List of Immigration Sanctuaries
A list of 14 states, 298 counties and 200 cities deemed immigration sanctuaries by the Trump administration has disappeared from a government website but continues to hang over the heads of officials who face threats of losing federal funding. “The list is gone. Am I satisfied that it was rectified? Yes. Am I satisfied that it’s over? No,” said Sheriff Charles Blackwood of Orange County, North Carolina.
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“The Intern in Charge”: Meet the 22-Year-Old Trump’s Team Picked to Lead Terrorism Prevention
One year out of college and with no apparent national security expertise, Thomas Fugate is the Department of Homeland Security official tasked with overseeing the government’s main hub for combating violent extremism.
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Trump Administration Knew Vast Majority of Venezuelans Sent to Salvadoran Prison Had Not Been Convicted of U.S. Crimes
Homeland Security records reveal that the Trump administration knew that the vast majority of the 238 Venezuelan immigrants it sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador in mid-March had not been convicted of crimes in the United States. DHS still labeled them “terrorists” and deported them.
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Government - federal, state, local

U.S. Moves Decisively to Avoid Dependence on China’s Rare Earths

Fewer Than Half of ICE Arrests Under Trump Are Convicted Criminals

DHS Revokes Temporary Protected Status for Two More Latin American Countries

Emergency Powers Are for Emergencies

A New Trump Plan Gives DHS and the White House Greater Influence in the Fight Against Organized Crime

MIx Helps Innovators Tackle Challenges in National Security

RFK Announces New ACIP Members, Including Vaccine Critics

RFK Jr’s Shakeup of Vaccine Advisory Committee Raises Worries About Scientific Integrity of Health Recommendations

A Guide to the Countries on Trump’s 2025 Travel Ban List

Trump’s Use of the National Guard Against LA Protesters Defies All Precedents

Twenty-One Things That Are True in Los Angeles

From Kent State to Los Angeles, Using Armed Forces to Police Civilians Is a High-Risk Strategy

States, Sheriffs Puzzle Over Trump’s Error-Filled List of Immigration Sanctuaries

“The Intern in Charge”: Meet the 22-Year-Old Trump’s Team Picked to Lead Terrorism Prevention

Trump Administration Knew Vast Majority of Venezuelans Sent to Salvadoran Prison Had Not Been Convicted of U.S. Crimes

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