A woman from Contra Costa County has been indicted on federal charges after she allegedly attacked members of a flight crew, a federal agent and a San Francisco International Airport employee on a trip from India to the Bay Area, prosecutors said.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of California, 40-year-old Reshma Kamath of Bethel Island is accused of two counts of interfering with a flight crew, one count of assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal officer, and one count of interfering with security screening personnel. Kamath made her initial court appearance on Thursday.
Prosecutors said the charges stemmed from an incident in which Kamath was a passenger on board Air India Flight 173 from Delhi, India to San Francisco on June 28 and 29 of this year. During the nonstop 15-hour flight, Kamath allegedly assaulted and intimidated two members of the crew by verbally abusing, threatening and striking them.
Once the flight arrived in San Francisco, she allegedly attacked an airport employee with security duties. Prosecutors said Kamath also struck a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer and resisted arrest.
If convicted, Kamath faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of interfering with a flight crew, eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine for assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal officer and 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for interfering with security screening personnel.
Prosecutors said Kamath’s next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 7, 2026.
A driver fired shots at Customs and Border Patrol agents in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood on Saturday, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS said the border patrol agents were “conducting immigration enforcement operations” near 26th Street and Kedzie Avenue when a man driving a black Jeep fired shots.
DHS also said people nearby threw a paint can and bricks at the agents’ vehicles.
The Chicago Police Department was called to clear the scene. CBS News Chicago has reached out to Chicago police for further details.
No arrests have been made. DHS said the shooter remains at large.
Saturday marked two months since the start of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement effort dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz” began in the Chicago area.
Little Village and Pilsen have been among the hardest Chicago neighborhoods hit by the immigration enforcement operation. In October, there were chaotic scenes as people in the community faced off against federal agents and, in one incident, agents fired tear gas at crowds.
Last week, Little Village leaders called on Mayor Brandon Johnson to do more to enforce his executive order barring federal agents from using city-owned property for immigration enforcement operations, after a video surfaced allegedly showing vehicles with agents inside a parking lot of a Chicago public school.
In response, hundreds of students from Little Village Lawndale High School staged a walkout and protest march opposing the increased immigration enforcement.
DHS said there have been more than 3,000 arrests since the start of Operation Midway Blitz in September. Officials would not say when the operation is expected to end.
A video taken by a bystander, and seen by CBS News Chicago, captured two federal agents detaining a woman inside a North Center daycare Wednesday morning.
The video shows two masked federal agents in plainclothes and wearing vests labeled “POLICE” inside the Rayita del Sol Spanish Immersion school and daycare’s Roscoe Village location. A woman can be heard screaming through the glass doors as the agents physically wrestle her out the door, at one point picking her up. They slam her, face-first, into the outer door as they push her outside.
Once outside, she’s pushed against a dark grey sedan parked outside the building as agents try to handcuff her with her hands behind her back. One agent briefly goes back inside as she’s seen pointing and speaking to the other agent.
The video was quickly shared among local parents’ groups on WhatsApp and posted to social media.
CBS News spoke with the director of the Rayita del Sol Roscoe Village location, who confirmed the woman is a pre-K teacher who had just been detained at the time of the phone call, but she didn’t have any further information.
Ald. Matt Martin, who represents the 47th Ward where the school is located, said he has seen video from inside and outside the daycare center showing what he said was the teacher being violently detained while children were present.
“It is some of the most chilling video footage I have ever seen, certainly in my time in office,” Martin said.
Martin said the video shows that the teacher was followed into the building by what he said were ICE agents. He said the agents were not invited inside the building, and that they were armed with guns, walking around the facility with children and teachers present.
Martin said he is demanding the teacher’s immediate release, and is working on all legal avenues to ensure that happens as soon as possible.
“I saw dozens of parents and educators weeping,” he said. “You have an educator who is going inside to teach our children, and you have federal agents with guns going inside, without permission, to violently take her away.”
“Our communities don’t need this right now,” Martin added. “This is not the sort of help that we need from the federal government, and I just hope that we have leaders in Washington who are seeing what’s happening and are making it stop. I can’t put into words what it was like to walk in and see all those families and educators distraught.”
CBS News Chicago has reached out to the school and the Department of Homeland Security for more information and is waiting to hear back.
A federal appeals court in Chicago has ruled that Border Patrol Commander-At-Large Gregory Bovino does not have to attend daily meetings with a judge to discuss federal immigration agents’ use of force in Chicago, as the judge had ordered earlier this week.
A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis’ order for Bovino to attend daily hearings in her courtroom would place her “in the position of an inquisitor rather than that of a neutral adjudicator” of an ongoing lawsuit over immigration agents’ tactics.
They also said Ellis’ order “sets the court up as a supervisor of Chief Bovino’s activities, intruding into personnel management decisions of the Executive Branch. These two problems are related and lead us to conclude that the order infringes on the separation of powers.”
Ellis ordered the meetings after a hearing on Tuesday in federal court over claims that Bovino and other federal agents violated a temporary restraining order largely prohibiting the use of tear gas and other riot control measures on journalists, protesters, and clergy during Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago.
In response to numerous filings regarding alleged violations of that order, Ellis instructed Bovino to meet with her every weekday evening to go over the events of the day until a preliminary injunction hearing on Nov. 5. The appeals court temporarily blocked that order on Wednesday, a short time before the first scheduled meeting with Bovino. Friday’s ruling permanently blocks those meetings.
In appealing Ellis’ order,, lawyers for the government had argued the order “far exceeds the recognized bounds of discovery” and “significantly interferes” with Bovino’s function, which the government argues is “ensuring the Nation’s immigration laws are properly enforced.”
They also argued the meetings are “untethered to the plaintiffs’ underlying claims” and go beyond reasonable necessity to comply with the court orders already in place.
Meantime, was at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse for a second day of questioning as part of a five-hour deposition in connection to the lawsuit over federal agents’ tactics. Friday’s deposition focused on agents’ use of force, and body camera video footage the Department of Homeland Security must turn over as part of the lawsuit.
A federal appeals court granted a request from the U.S. Department of Justice for an administrative stay pausing an order that requires Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino to meet in person with Judge Sara Ellis each day.
Judge Ellis ordered the meetings after a hearing on Tuesday in federal court over alleged violations by Bovino and other federal agents of her temporary restraining order largely prohibiting the use of tear gas and other riot control measures on journalists, protesters and clergy during Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago.
In response to numerous filings regarding violations of that order, Ellis instructed Bovino to meet with her every weekday evening to go over the events of the day until a preliminary injunction hearing on Nov. 5.
In their filing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, lawyers for the government argue the order “far exceeds the recognized bounds of discovery” and “significantly interferes” with Bovino’s function, which the government argues is “ensuring the Nation’s immigration laws are properly enforced.”
They also argue the meetings are “untethered to the plaintiffs’ underlying claims” and go beyond reasonable necessity to comply with the court orders already in place.
The DOJ argues the government will suffer irreparable harm because Bovino will have to prepare for each meeting and then appear in court at times he’d otherwise be working in his law enforcement capacity.
The government is asking for an immediate administrative stay of the order, which would effectively freeze it until the appellate court can make a more permanent ruling on the government’s motion for a permanent stay.
Just before 4 p.m., the court granted the administrative stay. They are giving the plaintiffs until 5 p.m. Thursday to respond to the petition. It is unlikely Bovino will be required to appear in court for a meeting Thursday either.
However, this administrative stay does not indefinitely stay the order. The appellate court could find the request reasonable and reinstate the requirement for Bovino to meet with Judge Ellis daily.
Judge admonishes ICE leader in Chicago after agents descend on Halloween parade – CBS News
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The Border Patrol commander in charge of President Trump’s immigration crackdown in Chicago is being reined in by a federal judge. Nicole Sganga has the latest.
A federal judge in Chicago has ordered U.S. Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino to attend a hearing in her courtroom next week, after he was accused of violating a temporary restraining order limiting federal agents’ use of certain tactics to suppress protests or prevent media coverage of immigration enforcement operations in Illinois.
U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis ordered the Trump administration to produce Bovino for a hearing in her courtroom on Tuesday. She has repeatedly raised concerns about federal agents’ aggressive tactics while carrying out immigration enforcement operations in Chicago.
CBS News Chicago is reaching out to the Department of Homeland Security for a response to Ellis’ order for Bovino to appear in court.
Ellis had previously ordered Bovino to sit for a deposition with attorneys in the case, which would happen behind closed doors, but now must appear in person in open court in front of the judge.
On Thursday, a group of journalists, protesters, and clergy who had sued the Trump administration accused Bovino of violating a temporary restraining order Ellis had issued limiting such tactics. In their complaint, the plaintiffs cited video showing Bovino throwing at least one canister of tear gas during a confrontation between federal agents and protesters in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood.
The video, which was streamed live to Facebook, was taken near the Discount Mall at 26th and Whipple on the Southwest Side. Protesters and residents confronted CBP tactical agents as they tried to conduct immigration enforcement at that site.
In the video, Bovino can be seen in uniform, but no headgear, pulling out a canister of tear gas and tossing it into the crowd of protesters over the heads of other agents. As the camera begins to move away, he can be seen pulling another canister of tear gas off his belt.
The CBS Confirmed team has reviewed the video and verified that it shows Bovino at the site of the Little Village confrontation today.
In their filing, the plaintiffs include a screenshot from the same video, and say it shows Bovino throw “either one or two tear gas canisters over the heads of armed federal agents in front of him and in the direction of a crowd of individuals protesting, including an individual filming the encounter.”
The plaintiffs argue this violates “multiple paragraphs” of the court’s Oct. 9 order, which prohibits federal agents from arresting, threatening to arrest or using physical force against journalists unless there is probable cause to believe the individual has committed a crime. It also prohibits them from issuing crowd dispersal orders, without exigent circumstances, requiring people to leave a public place where they otherwise have a lawful right to be.
The order also prohibits federal agencies from using various types of riot control weapons, including tear gas and other kinds of noxious gas, as well as various kinds of “less-lethal” weapons and ammunition, unless there is an immediate safety threat.
On Thursday afternoon, Bovino talked with CBS News about Operation Midway Blitz, and defended his agency’s tactics, saying federal agents in Chicago have made nearly 2,700 arrests since Sept. 6 and used “exemplary” force amid what he called “absolute chaos in the streets.”
“We’ve arrested a lot of very bad individuals: Latin Kings members, bona fide terrorists, and things like that,” Bovino told CBS News.
Officers opened fire Thursday evening at a vehicle backing into a line of police outside the U.S. Coast Guard base in Alameda, site of a day-long protest against what was originally planned as an immigration enforcement surge in the San Francisco Bay Area.
A KPIX photographer at the scene captured video showing a U-Haul truck reversing toward the base entranceand law enforcement firing their weapons at the vehicle. Photographer Rick Villaroman said the U-Haul had been parked outside the base for the better part of the day until it inexplicably began to reverse quickly toward officers blocking off the gate.
“He just hit the gas and sped towards them,” Villaroman said. “And that’s when they opened fire. About 20 to 30 rounds.”
Driver takes off after shooting, then returns
The driver fled after the shooting, and it was unclear if anyone was hurt or detained in the incident. There was no immediate update from police in Oakland, where the entrance to the bridge crossing to Coast Guard Base Alameda is located, or from the California Highway Patrol, which had officers in riot gear facing protesters for hours Thursday.
Officers open fire on a U-Haul truck backing into a line of police outside the gate of Coast Guard Station Alameda on Oct. 23, 2025.
KPIX
The driver stopped backing up when the gunfire erupted and then drove away from the police line, stopping briefly before driving away and then returning to the scene shortly after.
“The driver of the U-Haul came back, parked it down this street here, and walked out and left,” Villaroman said.
Witnesses said the truck also struck two bystanders. There was no immediate confirmation of any injuries.
Villaroman said he inspected the abandoned vehicle and saw multiple bullet holes but no blood in the cabin.
The protesters who were still at the base largely cleared out after the shooting, he said.
Coast Guard base was to be Border Patrol staging area
The base was to have been the staging area for a planned immigration enforcement surge by Border Patrol agents in the San Francisco Bay Area. President Trump later said the planned surge in San Francisco had been called off, but it wasn’t clear whether other Bay Area cities could see a ramp-up of activity by federal agents.
Protesters began gathering outside the base entrance early Thursday morning ahead of the anticipated immigration enforcement crackdown in San Francisco, with some demonstrators attempting to block vehicles going through the gates. The gathering turned into a day-long standoff between CHP officers and protesters who were later joined by 100 to 200 more demonstrators who marched from a rally in Oakland’s Fruitvale District to the base, also known as Coast Guard Island, an artificial island in the Oakland Estuary between Oakland and Alameda.
U.S. officials told CBS News on Wednesday that the Trump administration had planned to expand its nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration to the Bay Area and that Border Patrol agents would stage at the base, located roughly 15 miles from San Francisco.
“DHS is targeting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens – including murderers, rapists, gang members, pedophiles, and terrorists – in cities such as Portland, Chicago, Memphis and San Francisco,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said. “As it does every day, DHS law enforcement will enforce the laws of our nation.”
Mr. Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that the enforcement action in San Francisco was canceled following a conversation with Mayor Daniel Lurie and calls from tech leaders, citing the city’s progress in addressing crime.
Despite the announcement, protesters remained outside the entrance to the base Thursday afternoon. Additional protests and rallies were held in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose.
Smoke grenades, flash bang devices deployed at protest
Protesters began to arrive at Coast Guard Island around 6 a.m., blocking the entrance to the island. Shortly after 7 a.m., a CBS News Bay Area crew spotted a Coast Guard vehicle drive past the crowd and then fire flash bangs and smoke grenades to disperse it.
Protesters gathering outside the entrance to Coast Guard Island in Alameda on Oct. 23, 2025, ahead of the expected arrival of Customs and Border Protection agents.
CBS
At least two people were seen being detained at the site.
One demonstrator appeared to have been hit by a piece of shrapnel or a projectile — a minister who was part of a group of interfaith leaders taking part.
The minister, identified as Jorge Bautista, spoke to reporters after the incident.
“I obviously was shot with whatever that Border Patrol had,” said Bautista, who is a pastor at an Oakland church. “And I came to say we came in peace, and he didn’t care. There’s nothing else to say — he wanted to cause harm to me.”
“It’s clear that we’re here to be on the side of love,” Bautista added. “Because it is our responsibility to express love and be on the side of peace and to make sure that no families are being harassed and threatened with their lives.”
“They stopped at the crowd, and then got out and said they were going to drive through us if we didn’t move, they weren’t going to stop once they started, and they started pushing through,” said one Alameda resident who didn’t to give her name. “They ran over one gentleman’s foot, another person got pushed off.”
“They have the right to come out here and walk around, (and) so do I,” said one man wearing a MAGA hat who also didn’t share his name.
“We are not here to be violent, but if we are being aggressed, what do you do?” remarked Oakland resident Kendra Ferguson.
Officers opened fire Thursday evening at a vehicle backing into a line of police outside the U.S. Coast Guard base in Alameda, site of a day-long protest against what was originally planned as an immigration enforcement surge in the San Francisco Bay Area.
It was unclear if anyone was hurt or detained in the incident.
A KPIX crew at the scene showed a U-Haul truck reversing toward the base entrance when law enforcement fired their weapons at the vehicle.
Witnesses said the truck struck two bystanders and then fled.
This is a breaking news update. Original story follows below.
Protesters gathered outside the entrance to Coast Guard Base Alameda Thursday ahead of an anticipated surge in President Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown in the San Francisco Bay Area.
After an initial turnout early Thursday morning with protesters attempting to block vehicles going through the base gates, the gathering turned into a day-long standoff between California Highway Patrol officers in riot gear and protesters. Thursday afternoon, another large group of protesters marched from a rally in Oakland’s Fruitvale District to the base, also known as Coast Guard Island, an artificial island in the Oakland Estuary between Oakland and Alameda.
U.S. officials told CBS News on Wednesday that the Trump administration planned to expand its nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration to the Bay Area, and that Border Patrol agents would stage at the base, located roughly 15 miles from San Francisco.
“DHS is targeting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens – including murderers, rapists, gang members, pedophiles, and terrorists – in cities such as Portland, Chicago, Memphis and San Francisco,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said. “As it does every day, DHS law enforcement will enforce the laws of our nation.”
Despite the announcement from Mr. Trump, protesters remained outside the entrance to the base Thursday afternoon. Additional protests were planned in San Francisco and San Jose. It was not clear whether other Bay Area cities would see an increase in immigration enforcement.
Protesters began to arrive at Coast Guard Island around 6 a.m., blocking the entrance to the island. Shortly after 7 a.m., a CBS News Bay Area crew spotted a Coast Guard vehicle drive past the crowd and then fire flash bangs and smoke grenades to disperse the crowd.
Protesters gathering outside the entrance to Coast Guard Island in Alameda on Oct. 23, 2025, ahead of the expected arrival of Customs and Border Protection agents.
CBS
At least two people were seen being detained at the site. One person appeared to be hit by a piece of shrapnel or a projectile, a minister who was part of a group of interfaith leaders protesting.
The minister, identified as Jorge Bautista, spoke to reporters after the incident.
“I obviously was shot with whatever that Border Patrol had,” said Bautista, who is a pastor at an Oakland church. “And I came to say we came in peace, and he didn’t care. There’s nothing else to say, he wanted to cause harm to me.”
“It’s clear that we’re here to be on the side of love,” Bautista added. “Because it is our responsibility to express love and be on the side of peace and to make sure that no families are being harassed and threatened with their lives.”
“They stopped at the crowd, and then got out and said they were going to drive through us if we didn’t move, they weren’t going to stop once they started, and they started pushing through,” said one Alameda resident who did not share her name. “They ran over one gentleman’s foot, another person got pushed off.”
“They have the right to come out here and walk around, so do I,” said one man wearing a MAGA hat who also did not share his name.
“We are not here to be violent, but if we are being aggressed, what do you do?” said Oakland resident Kendra Ferguson.
Gov. JB Pritzker signed an executive order on Thursday aimed at addressing federal enforcement in Illinois, telling CBS News that his newly created Illinois Accountability Commission will serve as a permanent record of alleged civil rights abuses by federal agents in Chicago.
Pritzker told CBS News, in an exclusive interview, the state is documenting “unlawful attacks” by ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers under Operation Midway Blitz.
“They are attacking people on the ground — ICE, CBP — going after people just because they’re Brown or Black,” Pritzker said. “No one above them is holding them responsible. Greg Bovino, who is running the operation in Chicago, isn’t holding them accountable. No one is. So we’re going to have to keep a record.”
Pritzker’s office said the task force will consist of nine people appointed by him to capture and create a public record of federal law enforcement, ultimately recommending actions to hold the federal government accountable for operations taking place here.
“The commission will be charged with three core missions. One, creating a public record of the abuses; two, capturing the impact on families and communities; and three, recommending actions to prevent further harm and pursue justice,” Pritzker said at a press conference announcing his executive order.
He said members will be supported by the Department of Human Rights, and he expects hearings to launch “several weeks from now.”
“Since this began, I have encouraged the people of Illinois to use their phones and to record everything they are witnessing and post it on social media,” Pritzker said. “We have a duty to ensure that the truth is preserved.”
The governor said hundreds of videos and firsthand accounts have already been collected and will be preserved for use in future legal proceedings.
“These people need to be held accountable,” he said. “And they will be — by the judiciary now, and by Congress or the next administration later.”
Former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Ruben Castillo, will lead the commission as chair.
“This commission is about civil rights. This commission is about the Constitution. This commission ultimately about human rights, Castillo said.
Pritzker emphasized that Illinois is not waiting for Washington to act, pointing to recent legal victories against federal enforcement actions.
“We’ve won at the circuit court level. We’ve won at the appeals court level. We are taking action now. But it’s appalling that the people committing these crimes are still on the job,” Pritzker said. “Let’s be clear: Congress isn’t doing anything right now. They’ve become sycophants to the President. They’re not holding hearings or asking questions.”
He described reports of Black Hawk helicopters, military-style weapons, and the mass detention of civilians, including children being zip-tied.
“There are people who just don’t believe it until they see it,” he said. “We’ve seen pastors hit with pepper balls while praying outside ICE facilities. Peaceful protesters tackled or shot with tear gas and rubber bullets for exercising their First Amendment rights. … That’s why we’re telling everyone: record it, document it, send it in.”
In his interview with CBS News, Pritzker detailed the timeline on these accountability efforts.
“We are taking those cases to court, and again we are winning. So we’re taking action now. I don’t want to make it seem like nothing is happening,” he said.
The governor said they’re taking cases to court now, but other actions could take years, when there’s a change in administration at the White House.
“Someone’s got to hold them accountable, and whether it’s the courts now or the elected officials later, we’ve got to make sure we have a record to show,” he said.
Pritzker said a report will be issued this January related to the work of the commission. They’ve created a website people can use to track this work and to report activity at ilac.illinois.gov.
“The courts have done a very good job stopping the worst offenses, but I’m disturbed that the Supreme Court might allow federalized National Guard troops when there is no insurrection, no rebellion,” he said.
Pritzker said he welcomes help from the FBI, DEA, and ATF to combat illegal guns and drugs, but rejected any military-style presence.
When asked what he’d say directly to CBP Chief of Patrol Bovino, who oversees the federal operation, Pritzker offered a pointed message: “Follow the law. Follow your own protocols. Do right by the citizens of the United States who live here in Illinois. And, finally, pronounce the name of our state correctly. It’s Illinois, not Illinoise.”
Bovino defends enforcement actions, claiming “absolute chaos in the streets”
On Thursday, Bovino also talked with CBS News and pushed back on Pritzker’s claims.
“Pritzker probably ought to set a hotline up for himself, for all the abuses that illegal aliens perpetrate on American citizens,” Bovino said, accusing him and other Democratic leaders of spreading “fake news” about racial profiling. He denied that CBP agents have targeted neighborhoods by race or acted outside policy.
“We’ve arrested individuals from 30 non-Latino countries,” he said. “We go where the threat is.”
Bovino defended his agency’s tactics, saying federal agents in Chicago have made nearly 2,700 arrests since Sept. 6 and used “exemplary” force amid what he called “absolute chaos in the streets.”
“We’ve arrested a lot of very bad individuals: Latin Kings members, bona fide terrorists, and things like that,” Bovino told CBS News.
Bovino said roughly 70% of arrests nationwide involve people with “criminal or immigration history,” though he declined to provide specific figures for Chicago, when pressed repeatedly. Earlier this month, CBS News Chicago dug into the data behind the arrests, and found some of the numbers reflected people arrested outside of Illinois.
Bovino also defended agents seen deploying tear gas and pepper balls at protesters outside the Broadview detention facility, despite a federal court order restricting chemical agents.
“The use of force I’ve seen has been exemplary, the least amount necessary to accomplish the mission,” he said. “Those protesters were trespassing and had been given multiple warnings. That was absolutely in line with policy.”
Bovino dismissed concerns that agents fired from elevated positions or above the waist, insisting, “It doesn’t matter where you fire from. That’s not a violation of policy.”
Asked if any agents had been disciplined for excessive force, Bovino said, “To my knowledge, no.”
He also defended the possible deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago, saying they would guard federal facilities, not patrol city streets.
“That was fake news,” he said. “It was never the intention for National Guard to be on the streets.”
Bovino described Chicago as a “model” for nationwide immigration enforcement and said CBP’s mission will continue until “we arrest them all or they self-deport.”
“We’re here to protect taxpayers from violence and crimes by illegal aliens,” Bovino said. “We’ve had enough, and we’re not going anywhere.”
CBS News Chicago reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment and is waiting to hear back. This story will be updated if we receive a response.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced Wednesday he has directed city officials and departments to coordinate the city’s response to any federal law enforcement action in the city.
Lurie’s directive includes the activation of an Incident Coordination Call by the city’s Department of Emergency Management to coordinate response and information sharing among city departments. In addition, the order directs the City Attorney’s Office to monitor developments and pursue legal action against the Trump administration when necessary, and to include the San Francisco Unified School District in interdepartmental coordination to support immigrant students and families.
“We have longstanding sanctuary policies in our city that prohibit local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration enforcement,” said Lurie. “Those policies help build trust between police and communities, and they help keep people comfortable reporting crimes … We can’t prevent federal officials from enforcing immigration laws, but we’re going to keep our local law enforcement focused on ensuring your safety.”
There was no immediate word on what type of operations the CBP agents would be carrying out. CBS News Bay Area has reached out to CBP for more information on the mission. Two U.S. officials told CBS News that Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino is expected to be involved in the operation. He’s currently leading Border Patrol arrests in Chicago, and oversaw the agency’s controversial raids in Southern California this summer.
CBP is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the Department of Homeland Security and is the country’s primary border control organization.
The Alameda Police Department released a statement on Wednesday saying it was not a part of the operation, and that the department does not enforce federal immigration laws or related civil warrants. Alameda police also urged people to avoid interaction with federal law enforcement and referred residents to the city’s website for resources and information on immigrants’ rights.
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee issued a statement Wednesday, saying the city was actively monitoring the situation.
“Oakland remains a proud sanctuary city committed to standing with our immigrant families, ” said Lee. “We will notify our community with as much information as possible about any federal deployment. Real public safety comes from Oakland-based solutions, not federal military occupation.”
The developments come on the same day Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he would deploy the state National Guard to help staff food banks amid the ongoing government shutdown. Newsom said the National Guard would not be acting as law enforcement during the mission, mirroring his deployment of the Guard in the early days of the COVID pandemic, also in support of food banks.
Trump has argued that troop deployments to U.S. cities are necessary because of what he characterizes as high levels of crime and unrest, as well as shielding federal agents from attacks during immigration enforcement operations. California, Illinois and Oregon have sued the Trump administration over the deployments, arguing they are politically motivated and violate state sovereignty, that there is no insurrection to justify them, and they violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits using the U.S. military to enforce domestic laws except where expressly authorized by Congress.
The Trump administration has made preparations to expand its nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration in the San Francisco area with a team of Border Patrol agents, two U.S. officials familiar with the internal plans told CBS News on Wednesday.
The officials, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said Border Patrol’s operations in the Northern California area could start as early as later this week, but that the timing could shift.
One of the U.S. officials said the Border Patrol agents would stage at the U.S. Coast Guard base in Alameda, roughly 15 miles from San Francisco. That plan was reported earlier Wednesday by The San Francisco Chronicle. The Department of Homeland Security oversees Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Coast Guard.
In a response to CBS News’ request for comment, a spokesperson for DHS said, “DHS is targeting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens-including murderers, rapists, gang members, pedophiles, and terrorists-in cities such as Portland, Chicago, Memphis and San Francisco. As it does every day, DHS law enforcement will enforce the laws of our nation.”
In a video posted on social media Wednesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, denounced the Trump administration’s plans, accusing the president of seeking to create “conditions for anxiety” in American cities.
“He sends out masked men, he sends out Border Patrol. He sends out ICE, creates anxiety and fear in the community, so that he can lay claim to solving for that by sending in the Guard in the first place,” Newsom said.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker whose district includes most of San Francisco, issued a statement saying reports of what she called a “planned mass immigration raid in the Bay Area” are “an appalling abuse of law enforcement power. Broad sweeps that target families and terrorize law-abiding residents betray our nation’s values and waste resources that should focus on real threats to public safety.”
“We’re going to go to San Francisco. The difference is I think they want us in San Francisco,” Mr. Trump said in a Fox News interview that aired over the weekend.
On Wednesday, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said local residents would protest peacefully if the Trump administration uses “un-American tactics to target immigrant communities” in the area.
“This federal administration wants to divide us, but we know San Francisco is strongest when we come together to stand up for each other and our values,” Lurie added.
As part of an aggressive expansion in deportation efforts across the country, the Trump administration has deployed teams of Border Patrol agents to large, Democratic-led American cities far away from a U.S. border.
As federal immigration officers, Border Patrol agents have the legal authority to arrest individuals suspected of being in the U.S. illegally anywhere in the country. However, they have expanded search powers in areas close to a coastal or land border.
In recent weeks, Border Patrol has been carrying out immigration arrests throughout the Chicago area, sometimes as part of operations at worksites and public places that have garnered local backlash. Earlier in the year, Border Patrol launched a similar campaign in the Los Angeles area, arresting suspected unauthorized immigrants in Home Depot parking lots, car washes and other locations.
President Trump has thrust the U.S. military into a critical role deterring illegal crossings into this country at the southern border. As Charlie D’Agata reports, their presence is having unintended consequences.
The number of migrant apprehensions have dropped dramatically since the beginning of the year. Adam Yamaguchi visited the U.S.-Mexico border near Tucson, Arizona, to find out what’s working.
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Philadelphia intercepted a package from Portugal containing 60 dead butterflies earlier this month, officials said.
CBP agriculture specialists first inspected the parcel, which was labeled as “pieces of silk to be used in works,” on May 2 and found that it contained “dried out pupal cases and over 60 envelopes containing dead adult moth and butterfly specimens of the order Lepidoptera,” according to a news release from CBP.
The specialists detained the package, which was bound for Wayne County in Northeast Pennsylvania, and reported it to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Fish and Wildlife Service regulates wildlife importation, including dead specimens. The package of butterflies did not contain invoices or import documentation that would have explained the species or purpose of the package, according to the release.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists intercepted a collection of 60 dead adult moth and butterfly specimens of the order Lepidoptera on May 3. (CBP Photos/Handouts)
CBP Photos/Handouts
“Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists have a very challenging and critical mission, and that is to protect our vital agricultural resources against the accidental or deliberate introduction of invasive insect pests, and plant and animal diseases that could harm our nation’s economic vitality,” CBP’s Area Port Director for Philadelphia Tater Ortiz said in a statement.
CBP agriculture specialists inspect tens of thousands of international air travelers and air and sea cargo coming into the United States every day.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists intercepted a collection of 60 dead adult moth and butterfly specimens of the order Lepidoptera on May 3.
Laura Fay is a digital content producer at CBS News Philadelphia. Laura previously worked as a reporter, editor and audience director at The 74, a nonprofit news organization covering education.
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Both President Biden and former President Donald Trump will travel to the southern border in Texas on Thursday. CBS News White House reporter Bo Erickson has more on what the two leading presidential candidates have planned.
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The number of migrants arriving at the southern border is unprecedented. Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded two-and-a-half million instances of detaining or turning away people attempting to cross into the United States from Mexico.
So what’s the fastest growing group among them? Chinese migrants. Yes, you heard that right…Chinese. We saw large groups, including many from the middle class, come through a 4-foot gap at the end of a border fence 60 miles east of San Diego.
The illegal entryway is a new route for those hoping to live in America.
Just after sunrise, we saw the first group of migrants make their way from Mexico…through a gap between the 30 foot steel border fence and rocks.
Ducking under a bit of razor wire and into the United States.
We were surprised to see the number of people coming through from China…nearly 7,000 miles away.
Our cameras, and at one point this armed Border Patrol agent standing 25 feet away…. did not deter them.
60 Minutes
This man, a college graduate, told us he hoped to find work in Los angeles. He said his trip from China took 40 days.
Sharyn Alfonsi: What countries did you go through?
College grad: Thailand, Morocco, Ecuador … Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica …Nicaragua.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Jeez.
Thirty minutes later, a smuggler’s SUV raced along the border fence and dropped another group at the same spot. And 30 minutes after that…. another group.
Over four days, we witnessed nearly 600 migrants – adults and children- pass through this hole and onto U.S. soil…unchecked. We saw people from India, Vietnam and Afghanistan. Many of the Chinese migrants who came through will end up asking for political asylum.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Did you travel by yourself or with family or friends?
Migrant no. 2: Eh No. Just me.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Just you.
Migrant no. 2: Yeah.
The gap is a global destination…littered with travel documents from around the world.
Travel documents from around the world have been left on the ground at the border gap.
60 Minutes
With the help of a translator, we learned a little about the Chinese migrants coming through.
We also met a banker and small business owners.
Some of the migrants made a grueling journey through Central America with dusty backpacks…but we noticed middle class migrants from China arriving with rolling bags. They told us they took flights all the way to Mexico.
Some flew from China to Ecuador, because it doesn’t require a visa for Chinese nationals. Then, took flights to Tijuana, Mexico.
The migrants told us they connected with smugglers, or what they call snake heads, in Tijuana.
And they each paid them about $400 for the hour-long drive that ended here…at the gap…
Sharyn Alfonsi: Why did you decide to come to the United States?
Female migrant/Translator speaking English: Oh, it’s hard to live there … hard to find jobs.
Sharyn Alfonsi: What did you do? Did you work in China?
Female migrant/Translator speaking English: She worked in the factory but now it’s hard to work in the factory.
She said it was…and that she sold her house to cover the $14,000 cost of her trip to the U.S.
60 Minutes
Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 37,000 Chinese citizens were apprehended crossing illegally from Mexico into the U.S.…that’s 50 times more than two years earlier.
Many of the migrants told us they made the journey to escape China’s increasingly repressive political climate and sluggish economy.
This 37-year-old woman said China’s COVID lockdown destroyed her child care business. She left her two young children with family at home.
Sharyn Alfonsi: And why did you decide to come to the United States?
37-year-old female migrant/translator speaking English: Many reasons.
Sharyn Alfonsi: For work or?
37-year-old female migrant/translator speaking English: Not … not entirely.
We wondered how all of these migrants…knew about this particular entryway into California.
The answer was in their hands.
Translator: TikTok, TikTok.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Oh you learned on TikTok.
TikTok is a social media platform created in China. The posts we found had step-by-step instructions for hiring smugglers and detailed directions to that hole we visited.
We were struck by just how orderly and routine it all seemed. The migrants walked about a half mile down a dirt road and waited in line for U.S. Border Patrol to arrive so they could surrender.
The land they are waiting on is owned by 75-year-old Jerry Shuster, a retiree.
Sharyn Alfonsi: The whole world seems to know there’s a way in. And it’s on your property.
Jerry Shuster and Sharyn Alfonsi
60 Minutes
Jerry Shuster: They’re all doing this. They’re all doing this. when they come over here, they come with the suitcases. They come prepared with the computers just like they got off on a Norwegian cruise ship yesterday.
Shuster owns 17 acres…just north of the border fence and a quarter mile outside of Jacumba Hot Springs, California. Population 540.
Sharyn Alfonsi: You’re an immigrant yourself.
Jerry Shuster: Yes.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Where did you come from?
Jerry Shuster: I come from Yugoslavia. And I left Yugoslavia, I went to Austria. I stayed there eight month. And I knock on this door. I didn’t bust the door down to come over here.
Sharyn Alfonsi: You came through the front door.
Jerry Shuster: I came through the front door.
Sharyn Alfonsi: And what do you think about this?
Jerry Shuster: They– they don’t care. They– they– they– they come through the hole like they’re comin’ to their own country over here. And nobody do nothin’ about it.
Shuster says it all started in May. He went to investigate some smoke coming from his property and found migrants burning trees to stay warm.
Today, his property looks like a messy moonscape…littered with the trash and tents migrants have left behind.
Tents have been left behind on Jerry Shuster’s property
60 Minutes
Sharyn Alfonsi: Have you ever just yelled, “Get outta here?”
Jerry Shuster: Well, they say—I uh – it was, like, four month ago, there was eight guys start– knocking my trees and start burning my– my– my trees on the other side. So I told ’em, “Please, don’t do that. Please don’t do–” and they start surrounding me. I went home, and I got my gun, and I shoot in the air. They arrest me.
Sharyn Alfonsi: They arrested you?
Jerry Shuster: Yeah, they arrest me.
Sharyn Alfonsi: On your property?
Jerry Shuster: Yeah, on my property. Yeah, just because. I ask ’em not to burn the trees, not to knock the fences. And they– they arrested me. They put me in a police car. I’m just protecting my own land.
Shuster wasn’t charged – but his gun was confiscated.
Sharyn Alfonsi: If you had to guess, how many migrants do you think you’ve seen come through here?
Jerry Shuster: Maybe 3,000—a week.
Sharyn Alfonsi: 3,000 a week?
Jerry Shuster: I would say that, yes. Because this is ongoing deal.
About two hours after these migrants arrived, we saw the Border Patrol pull up, broadcasting recorded instructions in Mandarin.
The migrants were driven to a detention facility near San Diego…where they are given background checks. Some are interviewed. Typically – within 72 hours – they are released into the United States and can begin the process of filing an asylum claim.
Jacqueline Arellano has volunteered on the border for eight years offering humanitarian aid to migrants.
Jacqueline Arellano: So I’m a– native Spanish speaker. I have been able to rely on being bilingual in doing this work for the duration that I have been doing it. And in this past year, I mean, there’s been times that I’ve come to the sites and not spoken to a single Spanish speaker.
She relies on translation apps to communicate with Chinese migrants.
Sharyn Alfonsi: These people want to be picked up by border patrol. Why isn’t this happening at a port of entry?
Jacqueline Arellano: That would definitely be the ideal situation. And people would much prefer to do so. It would definitely be much safer and more efficient. Unfortunately, there are barriers to people being able to seek asylum at a port of entry.
One barrier is the phone app called “CBP One”.
Asylum seekers are supposed to use the app to make an appointment to enter the U.S. through a legal border crossing…
Volunteers who work with migrants told us there is still a three to four month wait to secure an appointment at a border crossing.
Sharyn Alfonsi: So is this a shortcut?
Jacqueline Arellano: It’s really, like, the only one that they have. I don’t even know that they would consider it a shortcut.
For years, millions of Chinese entered the U.S. with a visa that allowed them to visit, work or study. But in the last few years, those visas have been increasingly difficult to secure as tensions between the two countries have grown.
In 2016, the U.S. granted 2.2 million temporary visas to Chinese nationals. In 2022, it was just 160,000.
Tammy Lin is an immigration attorney and has worked with clients from China for nearly two decades.
Sharyn Alfonsi: if someone’s not granted asylum here, will China then say, “Okay, yes, we’ll take them back”?
Tammy Lin: I haven’t seen that happen, really. I– I think– even back to 2008– a lot of the Chinese nationals that had failed asylum cases weren’t able to get passports– to be put on the plane to be sent back. So we can’t send you back.
Based on our review of data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement – there are at least 36,000 Chinese who have been ordered by U.S. courts to leave the country. But China is notorious for not taking back its citizens and the U.S. can’t force China to accept them.
Sharyn Alfonsi: So, then, what happens if they have a failed claim but they can’t go back to China?
Tammy Lin: That’s a very good question. They’re stuck in this limbo.
According to the Department of Justice, last year 55% of Chinese migrants were granted asylum. compared to 14% for every other nationality.
With the odds in their favor, and a phone to guide them, there’s little to discourage more Chinese migrants from coming through the gap near Jerry Shuster’s place.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Have you said to anybody, “Hey, there’s this giant hole. They’re comin’ through. How ’bout patching that up?”
Jerry Shuster: They know that thing is there. And– we– we all been tellin’ ’em, “Hey, when this thing gonna quit over here? you gotta call Washington D.C.” That’s what they say.
So, we did. U.S. Customs and Border Protection told us their agents don’t have authority to stop people from coming through gaps like this one and can only arrest them after they’ve entered illegally.
As for closing that gap, they said it is on their priority list. But would require money from Congress.
Produced by Guy Campanile. Associate Producer, Lucy Hatcher. Broadcast associate, Erin DuCharme. Edited by Craig Crawford.
U.S. Border Patrol processed more than 302,000 migrants at the southern border in December, a monthly record high. However, U.S. officials have seen a notable drop in daily illegal crossings so far in January. Camilo Montoya-Galvez reports from Eagle Pass, Texas.
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Republicans have blamed President Biden for a surge in migrant crossings at the southern border. But Mr. Biden pointed the finger at the GOP blocking a funding bill that would have provided billions for border security. Weijia Jiang reports.
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