[FoxNews] A relatively brief, but lucrative ICE surge into West Virginia netted roughly 650 illegal immigrant arrests recently — a two-week, statewide operation officials say unfolded with little disruption and now stands as a counterpoint to the turmoil surrounding similar enforcement efforts in Minnesota.
From Jan. 5 through Jan. 19, federal agents fanned out across the Mountain State — at times working with local law enforcement — targeting illegal immigrants with criminal histories or prior deportation orders, DHS officials told Fox News Digital.
Officials involved contrast the West Virginia operation with recent tensions in Minnesota, where ICE-related enforcement actions have sparked sustained protests, surveillance of federal agents and confrontations with law enforcement.
"I think the most important thing to notice here is that West Virginia and similarly situated states… have made it very, very easy for criminal illegal aliens to be picked up and processed by ICE," West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
Some of the operations even reached the state’s bluer-tinged Eastern Panhandle, the fast-growing exurb of Washington, D.C., where officials say cooperation, not confrontation, defined the response.
There, Jefferson County Sheriff Thomas Hansen confirmed a two-week operation with ICE in his jurisdiction, which includes Charles Town, Harpers Ferry and Summit Point.
"The (JCSO) was impressed with the professionalism and work ethic of the agents and how well they interacted with the citizens and local law enforcement officers," Hansen said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.
McCuskey said the lack of disruption in West Virginia reflected a cooperative approach that he argued prevented the kind of disorder seen elsewhere.
"When you contrast that with places like Minnesota, where you have Keith Ellison — who's obviously embroiled in a massive fraud scandal involving Somali immigrants, et cetera, what you see is riots and violence," he said.
McCuskey suggested the West Virginia mission shows Minnesota’s leadership can no longer blame federal law for its approach, noting that all states still operate under the same immigration statutes that have remained intact since the Obama administration.
[SudanTribune] The Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL), which uses satellite imagery to monitor the nearly three-year war in Sudan, published a report on Friday disclosing the identification of at least 85 objects consistent with loitering munitions across two sites in Nyala.
The findings, released in a situation report on February 6, 2026, indicate a significant expansion of aerial weaponry in the key transport hub controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
As of February 4 2026, at least 40 of these “suicide drones” were visible at the Nyala airport, while another 51 were previously identified at a newly discovered launch site nearby.
These munitions are consistent with Shahed-style UAVs, specifically the Sunflower-200 or ZT-180 models, which have a reported strike range of 1,500 to 2,500 kilometres.
The new launch point is located approximately 2.5 kilometres east of the former UNAMID Sector South Headquarters, also known as Super Camp.
Additional details have emerged regarding the Nigeria-US counter-terrorism deal. According to TheCable, the United States has requested a drone refueling station in Nigeria to conduct long-range operations across the country without establishing a permanent base on Nigerian soil.… https://t.co/pmaGqWxB1Ypic.twitter.com/vFL7xB8jEz
Additional details have emerged regarding the Nigeria-US counter-terrorism deal. According to TheCable, the United States has requested a drone refueling station in Nigeria to conduct long-range operations across the country without establishing a permanent base on Nigerian soil.
A state in the northeast was reportedly selected to host this refueling base. This facility would facilitate direct air support for Nigerian ground troops during operations against ISWAP.
Regarding reports from AFRICOM that a "small team" of US forces was recently deployed to Nigeria, an official told TheCable that US troops have maintained a long-term presence in the country for training and intelligence purposes. Tongo Tongo ambush - 2017
The scope of this contingent’s duties has simply widened to meet current security needs.
[Breitbart] A new bill proposed by Congressman Tony Gonzales (TX-23) will add stronger protections to elite Border Patrol Tactical Groups deployed to enhance security at public events or assist with law enforcement responses to mass shootings or other mass casualty terror events. The Homeland Threat Response Act Gonzales proposes comes as hundreds of U.S. Department of Homeland Security personnel deploy in advance of Sunday’s Super Bowl.
The Homeland Threat Response Act proposes to add language to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the wake of the September 11 attacks. In the act, language authorizes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the United States Secret Service to deploy personnel and resources during critical incidents involving mass shootings or other violent events across the country.
The bill introduced by Gonzales will now include U.S. Customs and Border Protection into the existing language of the Homeland Security Act to end any bureaucratic or legal obstacles for Border Patrol tactical group such as the agency’s BORTAC and BORSTAR teams, that routinely assist state and local law enforcement in responses to critical threats and violent incidents, including mass shootings and acts of terrorism.
Breitbart Texas spoke to Gonzales, who says the Border Patrol’s BORTAC and BORSTAR teams are headquartered in his district and should not have to put themselves in harm’s way and not have the unquestionable legal authority to do so when it comes to keeping Americans safe. “Although BORTAC and BORSTAR are not specifically named in the current law that provides authority for the responses, the team is frequently requested to assist across the United States due to their specialized skills,” Gonzales emphasized.
Border Patrol’s BORTAC and BORSTAR teams are part of the agency’s Special Operations Group (SOG). The BORTAC team consists of Border Patrol agents who received extensive training in tactical responses. The Search Rescue and Trauma (BORSTAR) team members are agents certified as emergency medical technicians or certified paramedics.
Gonzales told Breitbart Texas that the teams need to focus on their mission when they deploy to assist other law enforcement agencies in responding to mass shootings or establishing security for large public events, as they will at this Sunday’s Super Bowl. “These agents don’t need to be caught up in administrative nonsense after they complete their mission; this bill makes sure that doesn’t happen,” Gonzales added.
Although many law enforcement agencies have tactically trained SWAT groups, like the Border Patrol Special Operations Group BORTAC and BORSTAR team, the unique tactical human tracking skills possessed by the groups make them highly sought after when suspects or fugitives are on the loose. The BORTAC team is also trained and equipped to conduct other high-risk operations, including counterterrorism and hostage rescue, and has historically been deployed across the United States and abroad.
As reported by Breitbart News, in June 2025, the BORTAC team played a significant role in the capture of a former police chief and convicted killer known as the “Devil in the Ozarks” after he escaped from an Arkansas prison after a nearly two-week-long manhunt.
A team mostly comprised of off-duty BORTAC team members was also responsible for entering a classroom at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, to neutralize a school shooter in 2022. During that mass casualty event, a gunman entered the school in the small Texas town, killing 19 students and 2 teachers before the Border Patrol BORTAC-led team engaged the gunman, killing him in the ensuing gunfire.
The team has famously participated in responses to the manhunt and capture of Michael Burham, who escaped in Warren County, Pennsylvania, after committing multiple murders, and Danilo Cavalcante, an illegal alien who escaped from a Pennsylvania prison following a murder conviction.
Other mass shooting responses include the August 2019 Walmart mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, and the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, in which Robert Card killed 18 people.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] The US National Security Agency (NSA) recorded a telephone conversation between a member of US President Donald Trump's inner circle and a foreign intelligence official. This was reported by The Guardian on February 7.
"The highly sensitive communiqué that caused a stir in Washington last week was shared with Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard," the newspaper noted.
Gabbard then handed over a paper copy of the materials to Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and the next day she ordered the NSA to stop distributing the information and ordered all data on the case to be sent directly to her office.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence denied allegations of a cover-up of the conversation, calling such an assessment politically motivated and false. The agency emphasized that all of Gabbard's actions were lawful and consistent with her authority.
On January 31, The New York Times (NYT) reported that EU leaders had secretly developed a plan to counter Trump. European politicians gathered for an emergency dinner in Brussels, the main topic of which was a discussion of Europe's strategy in a situation where relations with the United States are rapidly deteriorating.
According to the newspaper's sources, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for continued dialogue with Trump, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, on the contrary, stated that Europe should show determination and a willingness to fight back in order to gain the respect of the American leader.
[Jpost] Humanity "now has a common enemy," United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese told the Al Jazeera Forum via video link on Saturday night during her speech condemning Israel. Totally unbiased, and still NOT a lawyer
Albanese, appearing at the same conference as Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, spoke during the panel "The Palestinian Cause in a World Moving Toward Multipolarity."
During the panel, she condemned countries for maintaining relationships and arms trade with the Jewish state and alleged global inaction during the two-year Israel-Hamas War. Time to make an example?
Posted by: Grom the Affective ||
02/08/2026 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1796 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Yes. Past time it seems to me. Arrest her, charge her with whatever sticks, and imprison her. What are they going to do about it? Should be fun.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
02/08/2026 3:05 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Samson: *rumble rumble*
There IS no scenario in which Israel loses, but there IS one where the entire world does.
Take your pick.
Is it really worth it to exercise your Jew-hate and bring about the end of the entire world in a nuclear wasteland that will last for millions of years?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
