Smugglers Reportedly Telling Migrants To Hoof It Toward Border Before Trump Takes Office

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

Human smugglers are reportedly urging migrants to rush into the United States before President-elect Donald Trump comes back into power, according to the Wall Street Journal

Migrants across Latin America are being told by smugglers that the time is now to reach the U.S. southern border before Trump enters office and embarks on his hardline immigration agenda, according to a report by the WSJ. Officials on the U.S. side of the southern border told the Daily Caller News Foundation that they are bracing for the possibility of a last-minute migrant surge before inauguration day.

“I am deeply concerned about the potential for a surge at our southern border as we near the end of President Biden’s term,” San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who represents a district by the California-Mexico border, stated to the DCNF. “With the Trump Administration signaling that it will prioritize stricter immigration enforcement, many individuals seeking to enter the U.S. illegally are likely to try to do so before those policies are enacted.”

“Right now, we are already seeing 800 to 1,000 people entering our region daily, creating a massive strain on our resources, services, and communities,” Desmond continued. “The influx is overwhelming local infrastructure and endangering the well-being of residents.”

Close to the Darien Gap — a vast jungle region spread across the Panama and Colombia border where thousands of U.S-bound migrants cross every year — migrants were told by a smuggler that he anticipates more deportations under the Trump administration, according to a WhatsApp group message reviewed by the WSJ.

“There were four WhatsApp groups in which hundreds of migrants coordinated their departure on U.S. election day,” Luis Villagrán, a Mexican migrant advocate who helps organize caravans in Tapachula, told the WSJ.

“As soon as Trump’s victory became clear, messages spreading fear began to appear,” Villagrán said.

In a statement to the DCNF, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson said the agency is remaining vigilant to ever-changing migration patterns, and urged migrants to “not believe the lies” of smugglers.

“The fact remains: the United States continues to enforce immigration law. Individuals who enter the U.S. unlawfully between ports of entry will continue to be quickly removed,” the CBP spokesperson said.

Upon entering office, President Joe Biden undertook 296 executive actions on immigration, with 89 of those orders specifically reversing or beginning the process of reversing Trump’s immigration policies. The Biden-Harris administration went on to undo a number of major Trump-era initiatives concerning border security, such as ending border wall construction and shutting down the Remain in Mexico program.

The aftermath was a historic flow of illegal immigration across the southern border. The number of illegal border crossings in fiscal year 2024 were the second worst in U.S. history — only surpassed by fiscal year 2023, according to data tracked by CBP.

There were about 8.5 million migrant encounters along the U.S.-Mexico border during the four fiscal years of the Biden-Harris administration.

Trump, who is set to return to office in January, was very clear about his immigration enforcement platform while on the campaign trail.

The president-elect has pledged to continue building the U.S.-Mexico border wall, revive the Remain in Mexico program, hire more border patrol agents and embark on the “largest deportation program in American history.” He has also pledged to put an end to birthright citizenship for those born on U.S. soil by illegal migrant parents.

The incoming administration appears poised to follow through this hardline agenda given the picks so far to lead top immigration enforcement roles. The White House transition team has tapped former Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Tom Homan to serve as border czar, Stephen Miller to serve as deputy chief of staff for policy and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security.

Human smugglers and migrants south of the border appear to be paying attention to the American political scene. At least some migrants are now reportedly ditching the idea of booking an asylum appointment with U.S. officials and joining northbound caravans to the border.

“More than 20 friends decided not to wait for an appointment and joined the caravan,” Alfonso Meléndez, a 24-year-old Venezuelan national who arrived in southern Mexico in late September, stated to the WSJ.

“I’m very worried that they will throw us out when Trump takes office,” he continued.

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LA Anti-ICE Chaos, Clashes With Police Spreading Around America

Published on June 11, 2025

Todayville

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Hudson Crozier

The unrest that has consumed Los Angeles in recent days appears to be spreading elsewhere as numerous rioters outraged at immigration raids were arrested across the country on Tuesday night.

Los Angeles authorities began making “mass arrests” late Tuesday and issued a curfew following days of rioting sparked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of illegal immigrants in the area. Businesses were seen in the process of boarding up their buildings in anticipation of possible looting, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported.

LOS ANGELES: Adidas is boarding up their store that already got looted. Shops next to it have workers cutting wood to finish up as we’re now about 40 minutes out from curfew @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/Pshx5lixbZ

— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) June 11, 2025

Local media outlets reported that major U.S. cities saw their own versions of Los Angeles’ chaos Tuesday night, with alleged assaults of police officers, fires, rock-throwing and other acts of violence. Protests and resulting arrests had already started to spread beyond Los Angeles as of Monday night.

Seattle

At least two people were arrested after protesters tore down American flags at a federal building in Seattle and burned them on Tuesday night, according to multiple reports. Earlier that day, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers were seen on video shoving back Antifa-style militants and firing crowd control munitions after the activists tried to block entrances and exits to the building, which houses an immigration court.

New York City

Eighty-six people were arrested overnight starting on Tuesday evening as protesters marched to a Manhattan immigration court and other locations, local outlet ABC7 reported. Police said people threw bottles at protesters and debris and traffic cones onto the road. Charges included assault, resisting arrest, reckless endangerment and obstructing government administration.

One exchange caught on video showed a woman pleading with protesters to let her drive past them on the road so she could go to work.

Illegal migrants “are having their children taken and their parents,” a traffic-blocking activist told the driver.

Another video posted by Sky News showed a mob trying to force its way past a wall of officers while screaming.

🚨 SPOTTED near the LA Law Library

Photos from @haileyggomez pic.twitter.com/Wr02Zi9b6L

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 10, 2025

Denver

Protesters began gathering at the Colorado State Capitol building in Denver on Tuesday before moving off in a crowd to block traffic on two streets, Colorado Newsline reported. Police ended up in confrontations with rioters throughout the evening, arresting at least 17 on charges such as obstruction of streets, graffiti, assaulting a peace officer and unlawful throwing of projectiles, according to 9News. Police were reportedly seen throwing smoke bombs and pepper balls to disperse crowds.

Atlanta

Organizers of an anti-ICE rally in Atlanta on Tuesday night had agreed to disperse by 9 p.m., but some protesters remained and set off scuffles with police, a local Fox network reported. Rioters damaged three police squad cars by throwing rocks, police said, and threw fireworks at officers. Police used tear gas to disperse the agitators and arrested at least six.

Crime

LA Mayor Karen Bass Makes New Demands Of Trump At Monday Night Press Conference

Published on June 10, 2025

Todayville Content Team

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Mariane Angela

During a Monday night press briefing, Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told the Trump administration to stop the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles.

President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles on Saturday after riots erupted following an ICE raid at a Home Depot. During Monday’s press briefing, Bass called for an end to the raids conducted by the Trump administration, claiming that the power to deploy troops or request assistance should lie with state and local officials, not the federal government.

“I would say stop the raids. Stop the raids, period. I would say give the power back to our governor, and if we need the National Guard, we can do it in the normal circumstances, which is the request is made local, and the governor decides, or not to, grant that to our city,” Bass said when asked what she would say to the Trump administration.

Bass reiterated her earlier stance and questioned the need for an additional military presence, given the National Guard’s current role in securing federal buildings.

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“We didn’t need the National Guard. Why on earth? What are they going to do? Do you know what the National Guard is doing now? They are guarding two buildings,” Bass said when asked to react to the deployment of Marines.

Bass then called the deployment an unjustified and overreaching action.

“They are guarding the federal building here in downtown, and they’re guarding the federal building in Westwood. That’s what they’re doing. So they need Marines on top of it? I don’t understand that. That’s why I feel like we are part of an experiment that we did not ask to be a part of,” Bass added.

Despite Bass claiming that the National Guard’s deployment was unnecessary, Fox News reporter Bill Melugin shared videos showing ICE agents in one of the vehicles being struck by rocks. Melugin also posted additional footage and photos of the aftermath, including an image of an ICE agent’s injury and a windshield damaged by a rioter’s rock.

Around 1,000 individuals wreaked havoc in Los Angeles Friday night, surrounding a federal building, attacking ICE agents, deflating tires and vandalizing government property, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The unrest caused significant damage and severe traffic disruptions, bringing several key city roads to a complete standstill.

On Saturday night, Trump authorized the deployment of the National Guard to assist local law enforcement and warned Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom that the federal government would intervene if local authorities failed to restore order.

In response, California filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Monday, challenging the deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles to address the immigration riots. Attorney General Rob Bonta and Newsom said that federalizing 2,000 California National Guard members without Newsom’s consent exceeded the president’s authority.