Headlines for January 29, 2025

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made her debut in the briefing room Tuesday admitting to reporters the Trump administration believes all undocumented immigrants are criminals and will be targeted for mass detention and deportation. Raids are taking place nationwide, with thousands arrested since Trump’s inauguration, including in Chicago and New York City, where Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joined ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, agents in operations that began Tuesday. ICE is reportedly planning a round of raids in Aurora, Colorado, this Thursday, and three more cities are expected to be targeted next week.

President Trump is signing the Laken Riley Act into law today, his first piece of legislation since returning to office. The bill expands mandatory detention and possible deportation of undocumented people who are accused, though not convicted, of nonviolent theft offenses such as shoplifting. This comes as ICE has been directed to meet a quota of between 1,200 to 1,500 arrests per day, as Trump plans to pack ICE detention centers, including those run by for-profit prison companies.

In related news, Oklahoma’s state Board of Education has unanimously approved a rule that will force parents to provide proof of their children’s citizenship and immigration status when they’re enrolled in school. The policy still needs to be approved by Oklahoma’s Legislature and governor.

Meanwhile, deportation flights from the U.S. to Colombia resumed Tuesday after a diplomatic spat over the abuse of asylum seekers who described being shackled. This is Carlos Gómez, a deportee who arrived in Bogotá Tuesday.

Carlos Gómez: “The food they served was bad. Sometimes they gave awful burritos, terrible food. And we were locked up and sleeping for 10 or 12 hours because we had nothing else to do. We didn’t even know if it was day or night. We were treated worse than prisoners.”