Le Journal

CHICAGO, IL (AP) — Chicago has entered what many consider a new uneasy phase of a Trump administration immigration crackdown that has already led to thousands of arrests. While a U.S. Border Patrol commander known for leading intense and controversial surges moved on to North Carolina, federal agents are still arresting immigrants across the nation’s third-largest city and suburbs. A growing number of lawsuits stemming from the crackdown are winding through the courts. Authorities are investigating agents’ actions, including a fatal shooting. Activists say they are not letting their guard down in case things ramp up again, while many residents in the Democratic stronghold where few welcomed the crackdown remain anxious. “I feel a sense of paranoia over when they might be back,” said Santani Silva, an employee at a vintage store in the predominantly Mexican neighborhood of Pilsen. “People are still afraid.” Intensity slows, but arrests continue For more than two months, the Chicago area was the focus of an aggressive operation led by Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol commander behind similar efforts in Los Angeles and soon Louisiana. Armed and masked agents used unmarked SUVs and helicopters throughout the city of 2.7 million and its suburbs to target suspected criminals and immigration violators. Arrests often led to intense standoffs with bystanders, from wealthy neighborhoods to working-class suburbs. While the intensity has died down in the week since Bovino left, reports of arrests still pop up. Activists tracking immigration agents said they confirmed 142 daily sightings at the height of the operation last month. The number is now roughly six a day. “It’s not over,” said Brandon Lee with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. “I don’t think it will be over.” Suburb under siege Bearing the brunt of the operation has been Broadview, a Chicago suburb of roughly 8,000 people that has housed a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center for years. Protests outside the facility have grown increasingly tense as federal agents used chemical agents that area neighbors felt. Broadview police also launched three criminal investigations into federal agents’ tactics. Community leaders took the unusual step of declaring a civil emergency last week, after Bovino left the area, and moving public meetings online. Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson said the community has faced bomb threats, death threats and violent protests because of the crackdown. “I will not allow threats of violence or intimidation to disrupt the essential functions of our government,” Thompson said. Questionable arrests and detentions The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has touted more than 3,000 arrests, but the agency has provided details on only a few cases where immigrants without legal permission to live in the country also had a criminal history. The Trump administration takes to social media to post photos of supposed violent criminals apprehended in immigration operations, but the federal government’s own data paints a different picture. Of 614 immigrants arrested and detained in recent months around Chicago, only 16, less than 3%, had criminal records representing a “high public safety risk,” according to federal government data submitted to the court as part of a 2022 consent decree about ICE arrests. Those records included domestic battery and drunken driving. A judge in the cases said hundreds of immigrant detainees qualify to be released on bond, though an appeals court has paused their release. Attorneys say many more cases will follow as they get details from the government about arrests. “None of this has quite added up,” said Ed Yohnka with the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which has been involved in several lawsuits. “What was this all about? What did this serve? What did any of this do?” Investigations and lawsuits The number of lawsuits triggered by the crackdown is growing, including on agents’ use…

Wilmington, NC (WWAY)– Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times for traveling each year. According to American Automobile Association, nearly eighty-two million Americans are projected to travel at some point this week, including more than two million people from North Carolina. Nearly ninety percent of that eighty-two million number, AAA says is projected to be on the roads. Some people are getting an early start in New Hanover County today, as traffic already started to brew up heading into North 421 There were also some people getting an early start in the skies, flying into, and out of Wilmington International Airport. Priscilla Rivas is traveling from Greenville and headed into her first trip. She expresses her luck on how everything had gone so far at the airport. “It was actually pretty good this morning, surprisingly, because I thought it was going to be a lot more traffic because, it’s early for the holiday. I came here and everything is going pretty well, everything is falling into place, and I am enjoying it for my first trip as it is my first trip after all”, said Rivas. With construction ongoing at the airport, it’s important to come in at least two hours prior to your departure, to ensure there is plenty of time to park and not miss your flight. Categories: Local, New Hanover, News, Top Stories Tags: ILM Airport, North 421, Thanksgiving, Traveling, Wilmington

WASHINGTON (AP) — New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani didn’t back down in an interview that aired Sunday from past criticism that President Donald Trump acted like a despot and a fascist after a surprisingly friendly White House meeting between the two men. The newly elected democratic socialist and the Republican president have fiercely criticized each other in the past. Trump called Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” in a social media post following the incoming mayor’s election victory, and Mamdani has said Trump was attacking democracy. Yet the two political foils emerged smiling after the meeting Friday and spoke of shared goals. Pressed about his past criticism during a “Meet the Press” interview conducted Saturday, Mamdani said his views remained unchanged. “Everything that I’ve said in the past, I continue to believe,” Mamdani said. “And that’s the thing that I think is important in our politics, is that we don’t shy away from where we have disagreements, but we understand what it is that brings us to that table, because I’m not coming into the Oval Office to make a point or make a stand. I’m coming in there to deliver for New Yorkers.” Trump had brushed aside Mamdani’s criticisms Friday and even jumped in on his defense several times. When a reporter asked if Mamdani stood by his comments that Trump is a fascist, Trump interjected before Mamdani could fully answer the question. “That’s OK. You can just say yes. OK?” Trump said. “It’s easier. It’s easier than explaining it. I don’t mind.” Asked about the fascist criticism on “Meet the Press,” Mamdani said, “That’s something that I’ve said in the past. I say it today. ” Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” talk show that Trump wants to work with everybody who cares about the future of the American people. “We’re at times disagreeing about policies,” Hassett said, “but I think that the objective of making life better for everybody is something that a lot of people share on the Democratic and Republican side.” Though far apart politically, the White House meeting offered potential political benefits for both men. The incoming mayor was able to meet one-on-one with the president, and Trump got to to talk about affordability, an issue that is increasingly important to voters. Categories: Associated Press, News, US Tags: Donald Trump, Interview, New York City, Zohran Mamdani

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Poorer nations attending the Group of 20 summit in South Africa have used the meeting to push leaders on climate action and high levels of debt, issues directly affecting the developing world. They have also sought to position themselves as economic partners with much to offer in sectors including mining, technology and artificial intelligence, among others. Many lauded South Africa, which hands over the rotating G20 presidency to the U.S., for promoting an inclusive agenda prioritizing the needs of poorer nations by focusing on global inequality. The United States boycotted the Johannesburg meeting meant to bring rich and developing nations together over President Donald Trump’s claims that South Africa is violently persecuting its Afrikaner white minority. In addition to the G20 countries, the African Union and the European Union, many developing nations were invited as guests, like Zimbabwe, Namibia, Jamaica and Malaysia. “We are not here to speak of despair, we are here to speak of possibilities and shared responsibilities,” Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told delegates. He said that debt relief must translate into investments that benefit people. “In Ethiopia, we have learnt that inclusivity is not charity, it is efficiency.” Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah called for fair financing terms for developing nations. She said her country had recently paid back its $750 million bond on time. “However, we are considered by decision makers as a risky country. We need fair international financial institutions,” she said. Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Michael Holness reflected on climate-fueled natural disasters and their impact on developing nations, like that of Hurricane Melissa that had devastated his country. “One external shock can undo years of progress,” he said. World Trade Organization Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Sunday urged African leaders to think carefully about future trade with other countries when adopting policies. “How we position ourselves depends on us and our policymakers. So if we continue to export, and see that 60% of our exports are commodities and raw materials, then things will not change,” she said. “We can go from raw materials all the way to finished product by creating subregional and regional value chains.” Nabil Ahmed, director of economic and racial justice at think tank Oxfam, said it was the first time that a G20 agenda had inequality as one of its central pillars. “The world recognizes that we have a climate emergency. It’s now time that we recognize that we have an inequality emergency as well,” he said. “One thing that South Africa managed to do as the first host of a G20 meeting on African soil, was to prioritize the interests of African nations and the interests of global south nations,” he said. Categories: Associated Press, News, World Tags: Climate Concerns, G20, G20 Summit, National, South Africa

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani says in a new interview with NBC’S “Meet the Press” that he still believes President Donald Trump is a “fascist” and a “despot,” but he viewed their first face-to-face meeting at the White House on Friday as an “opportunity” to work together on lowering the cost of living for New Yorkers. After months of trading insults during the campaign, the two were friendly during the meeting, with the president telling reporters he’ll be “cheering” for Mamdani, and the mayor-elect calling the meeting “productive.” Following their meeting, Mamdani was asked by reporters if he stood by his decision to call Trump a “fascist” during his campaign. “That’s OK, you can just say it,” Trump told him, jokingly. “It’s easier, it’s easier than explaining it.” In the interview, which was recorded Saturday and aired Sunday, Mamdani told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker that he does still believe the president is a fascist. “After President Trump said that, I said, ‘Yes,’” Mamdani said. He added, “That’s something I’ve said in the past and I say today. And I think what I appreciated about the conversation that I had with the president was that we were not shy about the places of disagreement, about the politics that has brought us to this moment, and we also wanted to focus on what it could look like to deliver on a shared analysis of an affordability crisis for New Yorkers.” Mamdani referenced other past negative comments about Trump, telling Welker, “Everything that I’ve said in the past, I continue to believe.” “I’m not coming into the Oval Office to make a point or make a stand. I’m coming in there to deliver for New Yorkers,” he added. The mayor-elect also spoke about his attitude going into the meeting and why it ended up so friendly. “I thought again and again about what it would mean for New Yorkers if we could establish a productive relationship that would focus on the issues that those New Yorkers stay up late at night thinking about,” rather than keep trading barbs, Mamdani told Welker. “When you actually ask New Yorkers and you listen to them, you hear it come back to the issues that animated not just the conversation the president and I had with the press after our meeting, but frankly, in the meeting itself,” Mamdani added. New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani appearing on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” with Kristen Welker (NBC) The mayor-elected pointed to Trump’s own campaign message last year, which included promises to lower costs for Americans on Day 1 of his second term. On Saturday, Mamdani said he went out of his way during the mayoral campaign to speak to New Yorkers living in the Bronx and Queens who had voted for Trump in 2024. “I shared with the president that when I asked those New Yorkers why did they vote for the president, they told me again and again, it was cost of living, cost of living, cost of living,” the mayor-elect said. “And when the president and I were speaking, we were speaking about what is preventing from delivering on that affordability agenda.” In the weeks leading up to Election Day, Trump frequently bashed Mamdani online, calling him a “communist lunatic” and threatening to cut off federal funding for New York City if voters elected Mamdani, who refers to himself as a democratic socialist. Mamdani often shot back, once calling Trump a “despot.” On Friday, after reporters asked the pair about that particular insult, the president said, “I’ve been called much worse than a despot,” adding, “I think he’ll change his mind after we get to working together.” On the eve of the election, Trump even endorsed Mamdani’s strongest opponent, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat-turned-independent who ran in the general election after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary. In his victory speech, Mamdani spoke forcefully against the Trump administration, promising that “New York will be the light” in political darkness and telling Trump to “turn the volume…