Border Patrol

Oct. 25 (UPI) — Due process rights were violated when federal officers detained the father of a girl who has cancer without a bond hearing pending deportation to Mexico, a federal judge in Chicago ruled.

U.S. District of Northern Illinois Judge Jeremy Daniel on Friday ordered Ruben Torres Maldonado, 40, to be given a bond hearing no later than Oct. 31 while he faces deportation as his 16-year-old daughter undergoes cancer treatment, WBBM-TV reported.

He remains in custody at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility pending the outcome of the bond hearing, which Daniel said should have been done already to uphold his right to due process.

His attorneys sought an immediate release, but Daniel said the “appropriate remedy” to his detainment is to hold a bond hearing as soon as possible.

“While sympathetic to the plight the petitioner’s daughter faces due to her health concerns, the court must act within the constraints of the relevant statutes, rules and precedents,” Daniel said.

Daniel was appointed to the court by former President Joe Biden.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary. Tricia McLaughlin called the legal challenge a “desperate Hail Mary attempt to keep a criminal in our country,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

He “did not comply with instructions from the officers and attempted to flee in his vehicle and backed into a government vehicle,” she explained.

McLaughlin, in a prepared statement, said “U.S. Border Patrol conducted a targeted immigration enforcement operation that resulted” in his arrest in Niles, Ill., on Oct. 18, according to WLS-TV.

“He has a history of habitual driving offenses and has been charged multiple times with driving without insurance, driving without a valid license and speeding,” she said. “He will remain in ICE custody pending removal.”

Moldonado, 40, has illegally resided in the United States since entering in 2003 and has lived in the greater Chicago area with his partner for the past 20 years.

He has worked as a painter for the same company over the past 20 years.

The Trump administration is calling for the immediate detention of all people when encountered and who are suspected of illegally entering or otherwise residing in the United States.

The detention mandate is based on a federal law that Maldonado’s legal team says only applies to “non-citizens who recently arrived at a border or port of entry.”

Daniel agreed that the law does not apply to Moldonado and ordered his bond hearing to ensure due process in his case.

Oct. 20 (UPI) — Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officials are expected to appear in court on Monday to after a judge last week demanded the agency answer questions about its operations in Chicago.

U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis for the Northern District of Illinois on Friday ordered ICE and Border Patrol officers to wear body cameras. They were expected in court to explain their tactics, including the use of tear gas, as officers and residents have clashed across the city.

The case was brought as Operation Midway Blitz has led to the arrest of more than 1,000 people in Illinois over the past month after the Trump administration sent federal forces there.

Ellis, who was nominated for the bench by former President Barack Obama, on Thursday ordered federal agents to stop dispersing crowds from places they are legally permitted to be, stop using tear gas on people who are not a threat and start wearing the cameras.

On Friday, she reiterated these orders to both agencies and noted that “that wasn’t a suggestion … it’s not up for debate.”

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit alleged that the tactics used by both agencies, which have included using pepper balls and pepper spray against people with no warning, are violating their constitutional rights — and the agencies continue to use them, despite Ellis ordering them to stop in early October.

Both agencies have not followed the judicial orders, and Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin went so far as to suggest they do not exist.

“There is currently no order requiring body cameras, and any suggestion to the contrary is false reporting,” she said, adding that “were a court to enter such an order in the future, it would be an act of extreme judicial activism.”

Oct. 7 (UPI) — Federal prosecutors have charged an alleged member of a Chicago-based gang of ordering a hit on a prominent border patrol leader, according to documents unsealed Monday.

The criminal complaint accuses Juan Espinoza Martinez of orchestrating a murder-for-hire scheme, alleging that he offered $10,000 in Snapchat messages to other members of the Latin Kings street gang to kill the unnamed official.

The Homeland Security Department later named that official as U.S. Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino, a formerly obscure regional agent who has risen to prominence amid President Donald Trump‘s aggressive efforts to deport undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles and Chicago.

Those efforts include Operation Midway Blitz, a crackdown in Chicago that has drawn protests and pushback from local officials. The charges against Martinez were filed as the Trump administration remains locked in legal battles with Democratic governors who object to his deployment of federal troops to cities.

The complaint is based on information provided to law enforcement by a confidential informant who described Martinez as a high-ranking member in the gang. After border patrol agents shot a woman on Saturday in the Brighton Park neighborhood of Chicago, Martinez ordered gang members to increase their presence in the area, the complaint states.

Screenshots included in the complaint show that Martinez offered $2,000 for information on Bovino or “10k if u take him down.”

“Placing a bounty on the head of a federal officer is an attack on the rule of law and on every American who depends on law enforcement to keep them safe,” Deputy Attorney General Robert Blanche said in a statement. “This case is exactly what we mean when we say Take Back America – taking back every neighborhood and street corner from violent thugs and criminal gangs and returning them to the law-abiding members of our communities.”

It’s not clear if Martinez has legal counsel and he has not made any public statements.

Oct. 3 (UPI) — Protesters clashed with law enforcement agencies outside a U.S. Immigration and Enforcement detention site near Chicago hours after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited.

At least five people were arrested and are facing charges of aggravated battery to a police officer, as well as resisting and obstruction, a Cook County Sheriff’s Office official told CNN.

Surrounded by armed agents and a camera crew, Noem was on the rooftop of the center in Brookview, which is about 20 miles west of Chicago, WLS-TV reported.

She was accompanied by El Centro Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino.

Noem was seen directing protesters and media away from the area after arriving at 8 a.m. She left at 9:45 a.m.

The situation escalated shortly after 9 a.m. with pushing, shoving and arrests, WLS reported.

Not used were tear gas, pellets or other chemical substances but have utilized in the past, the Sun Times reported.

Counter-protesters were also in the area in support of ICE and federal agents.

Aldermen, previously arrested demonstrators and political candidates, during a 9 a.m. news conference there, demanded transparency and safety protocols.

About 100 to 200 protesters were in the area during the morning but by 11 am., there were more law enforcement officers than demonstrators, WBBM-TV reported.

During the protest, Broadview police officers, Cook County sheriff’s deputies and Illinois State Police troopers held them back.

Protesters chanted and held signs, including ones that said “ICE melts under resistance” and “Hate has no home here.”

“I’m not gonna look back and say I sat at home and did nothing,” Nocole Bandyk, who lives in a nearby suburb, told CNN. “It’s wrong … It’s just wrong what they’re doing. We are becoming a fascist authoritarian state and it’s wrong.”

ICE, under the direction of President Donald Trump, has ramped up enforcement in Midway Blitz Operation, which began Sept. 8. Since then, there have been more than 800 arrests, according to Homeland Security.

Protesters said they wanted to know about the conditions inside the ICE facility, and for officials to be allowed inside to inspect it.

Illinois Gov. JB Prizter again on Friday criticized the operation.

“Federal agents reporting to Secretary Noem have spent weeks snatching up families, scaring law-abiding residents, violating due process rights, and even detaining U.S. citizens,” Pritzker wrote on Facebook. “Secretary Noem should no longer be able to step foot inside the State of Illinois without any form of public accountability.”

In a statement to WLS-TV, he said: “Last time when the secretary was here, she snuck in during the early morning to film social media videos and fled before sunrise. Illinois is not a photo opportunity or war zone, it’s a sovereign state where our people deserve rights, respect and answers.”

Noem earlier went to Broadview Village Hall, asking to meet with the Mayor Katrina Thompson, but she was out of the building, village spokesperson David Ormsby said.

Noem posted on X that she was going into the municipal building “for a quick bathroom break.”

The mayor then went to the detention sites, accompanied by Broadview Police Chief Thomas Mills and other officers, and asked to have the fencing around the site to be removed.

On Thursday, a free speech zone that consists of barricades was erected. Instead of congregating there, protesters went to another entrance, WGN-TV reported.

The village’s fire department describes it as “illegally built” fencing, and it would block firefighters’ access to areas on that street during an emergency.

Also, village officials have launched three criminal investigations into ICE actions.

The Department of Homeland Security sent a memo to the Department of Defense — which the Trump administration has informally changed to Department of War — requesting 100 active-duty troops be deployed across Chicago for the protection of ICE agents.

The acting U.S. attorney in Sacramento has said she was fired after telling the Border Patrol chief in charge of immigration raids in California that his agents were not allowed to arrest people without probable cause in the Central Valley.

Michele Beckwith, a career prosecutor who was made the acting U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of California earlier this year, told the New York Times that she was let go after she warned Gregory Bovino, chief of the Border Patrol’s El Centro Sector, that a court injunction blocked him from carrying out indiscriminate immigration raids in Sacramento.

Beckwith did not respond to a request for comment from the L.A. Times, but told the New York Times that “we have to stand up and insist the laws be followed.”

The U.S. attorney’s office in Sacramento declined to comment. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment Friday evening.

Bovino presided over a series of raids in Los Angeles starting in June in which agents spent weeks pursuing Latino-looking workers outside of Home Depots, car washes, bus stops and other areas. The agents often wore masks and used unmarked vehicles.

But such indiscriminate tactics were not allowed in California’s Eastern District after the American Civil Liberties Union and United Farm Workers filed suit against the Border Patrol earlier in the year and won an injunction.

The suit followed a January operation in Kern County called “Operation Return to Sender,” in which agents swarmed a Home Depot and Latino market, among other areas frequented by laborers. In April, a federal district court judge ruled that the Border Patrol likely violated the Constitution’s protections against unreasonable search and seizure.

As Beckwith described it to New York Times reporters, she received a phone call from Bovino on July 14 in which he said he was bringing agents to Sacramento.

She said she told him that the injunction filed after the Kern County raid meant he could not stop people indiscriminately in the Eastern District. The next day, she wrote him an email in which, as quoted in the New York Times, she stressed the need for “compliance with court orders and the Constitution.”

Shortly thereafter her work cell phone and her work computer stopped working. A bit before 5 p.m. she received an email informing her that her employment was being terminated effective immediately.

It was the end of a 15-year career in in the Department of Justice in which she had served as the office’s Criminal Division Chief and First Assistant and prosecuted members of the Aryan Brotherhood, suspected terrorists, and fentanyl traffickers.

Two days later on July 17, Bovino and his agents moved into Sacramento, conducting a raid at a Home Depot south of downtown.

In an interview with Fox News that day, Bovino said the raids were targeted and based on intelligence. “Everything we do is targeted,” he said. “We did have prior intelligence that there were targets that we were interested in and around that Home Depot, as well as other targeted enforcement packages in and around the Sacramento area.”

He also said that his operations would not slow down. “There is no sanctuary anywhere,” he said. “We’re here to stay. We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to affect this mission and secure the homeland.”

Beckwith is one of a number of top prosecutors who have quit or been fired as the Trump administration pushes the Department of Justice to aggressively carry out his policies, including investigating people who have been the president’s political targets.

In March, a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles was fired after lawyers for a fast-food executive he was prosecuting pushed officials in Washington to drop all charges against him, according to multiple sources.

In July, Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor in Manhattan and the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, was fired by the Trump administration, according to the New York Times.

And just last week, a U. S. attorney in Virginia was pushed out after he had determined there was insufficient evidence to prosecute James B. Comey. A new prosecutor this week won a grand jury indictment against Comey on one count of making a false statement and one count of obstruction of a congressional proceeding.

The Hollywood sign has been blown up in movies, altered by pranksters to read “Hollyweed,” “Jollygood” and “Hollyboob” and saw Tom Cruise staple some Olympic rings on it to promote the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. Politicians have used it as a prop for commercials and mailers the way they do kissing a baby or eating a taco. Out-of-town goobers and locals alike hike up to various vantage points around it for a selfie or group shot.

But the crown for the worst stunt involving the monument to everything dreamy and wonderful about L.A. now lies with the Border Patrol.

Earlier this week, Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol sector chief in charge of Trump’s long, hot deportation summer in L.A., posted on social media a photo of him and dozens of his officers posing on a patch of dirt in what looks like Lake Hollywood Park. Behind them is the Hollywood sign.

Arms are crossed. Hands are on belts. A few National Guard troops, one with a K9 unit, join in. None of the faces are masked for once. That’s because they didn’t have to be: Almost every one of them is blurred out.

“This is the team. They’re the ones on the ground, making it happen,” wrote Bovino, one of only two in the photo without a blurry face. “The mean green team is not going anywhere. We are here to stay.” And just in case readers didn’t get that la migra is hard, Bovino concluded his post with a fire emoji.

The faces of these supposedly brave men are more fuzzed out than Bigfoot in that famous footage from 1967.

Jeff Zarrinnam, chairman of the nonprofit in charge of maintaining the Hollywood sign, said “we have to stay neutral on these types of things,” so he didn’t offer his opinion on why a man who spent his summer terrorizing large swaths of the Southland would want to pose there. He did say the Border Patrol didn’t request special access to get closer to it as other politicians have in the past.

“It was probably a team-building effort for them, or a lot of them probably hadn’t seen it before,” he said. “It’s a symbol of America. Maybe that’s why they were standing up there. Who knows?”

L.A. Councilmember Nithya Raman, whose district is where the Hollywood sign stands, was not as charitable.

“To see an icon of this city used for an image designed to instill fear in Angelenos is chilling — particularly on the heels of Monday’s Supreme Court ruling which dealt a devastating blow to a city that has already faced so much hardship this year,” she said in a statement.

Bovino is expected to show up soon in Chicago to oversee the Border Patrol’s invasion of the Windy Cindy. His press team didn’t return my request for an interview or my questions about whether the photo was digitally altered — other than the face blurring and the ultra-sharp focusing on Bovino — and what he hoped to accomplish with it. The sign itself looks shrouded in fog, but who knows? The whole photo has a weirdness about it.

Nevertheless, Bovino’s smirk in the group portrait says it all.

This is a guy who came into town like so many newcomers before him wanting to make it big and willing to do whatever it took. Short, with a high fade haircut and nasal drawl, Bovino quickly became a constant on local news, selling himself as a mix of Andy Griffith (a fellow North Carolina native) and Lt. Col. Kilgore in “Apocalypse Now.”

He starred in slickly produced government-created videos portraying the Border Patrol as warriors on a divine mission to make the City of Angeles safe from immigrant infidels. He claimed local politicians were endangering residents with their sanctuary policies and gleefully thumbed his nose at a temporary restraining order barring indiscriminate raids like those, which the Supreme Court just ruled can start happening again. He was there, a cameraman filming his every strut, when National Guard troops in armed Humvees parked along Whittier Boulevard in July all so Border Patrol agents on horseback could trot through an empty MacArthur Park.

Bovino cheered on via social media when his “mean green team” rented a Penske truck to lure in day laborers at a Westlake Home Depot in August only to detain them. Even worse was Bovino showing up in front of the Japanese American National Museum with a phalanx of migra while California’s political class was inside decrying the gerrymandering push by President Trump. He pleaded ignorance on that last action when Gov. Gavin Newsom and others accused the sector chief of trying to intimidate them even as friendly media just happened to be there, just like they so happened to be embedded with immigration agents all summer as they chased after tamale ladies and day laborers.

Supporters played up his moves as if they were a master class in psyops, with grandiose codenames such as Operation Trojan Horse for the Penske truck raid and Operation Excalibur for the invasion of MacArthur Park. So Bovino and his janissaries posing in front of the Hollywood sign comes off like a hunter posing in front of his killed prey or a taunting postcard to L.A.: Thinking about you. See you soon.

But all of Bovino’s actions grabbed far more non-criminals than actual bad hombres and did nothing to make Southern California safer. Locals have countered his attempt at a shock-and-awe campaign with lawsuits, protests, mutual aid and neighborhood watches that won’t end. That resistance forced la migra to cry to their daddy Trump for National Guard and Marine backup, with an occasional call to the LAPD and L.A. Sheriff’s Department to keep away the boo birds who now track their every move.

Greg: hope you enjoyed your stay in L.A. Congrats — you made it! You’re the star of your own D-level Tinseltown production that no one except pendejos wants to see. You left L.A. as one of the most loathed outsiders since former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. Stay gone. Wish you weren’t here.

Sept. 11 (UPI) — The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the “Stop Illegal Entry Act,” which increases potential prison sentences for those who are convicted of repeatedly illegally entering the United States.

The proposed Stop Illegal Entry Act of 2025 is part of the Trump administration’s and the GOP’s efforts to discourage illegal immigration and related crimes.

Eleven Democrats joined with Republicans to approve House Resolution 3486, 226-197, and sent the measure to the Senate, where a similar measure has been introduced, Roll Call reported.

“The Biden Administration let over 10 million illegal immigrants into the country and failed to prosecute those who defied U.S.immigration law,” said sponsor Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla.

“These individuals included people from countries designated as state sponsors of terror, with 400 illegal aliens on the Terrorist Watch List being encountered at the border,” Bice continued.

“We must deter future illegal immigration and give our law enforcement and border patrol officers the tools they need to hold dangerous criminals accountable.”

The measure would set a mandatory prison sentence of at least five years and up to life for those who are convicted of a felony after illegally entering the nation.

The resolution also increases to five years the prior maximum sentence of two years for those convicted of repeated illegal entry.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the measure includes “common-sense provisions” that deter illegal entry into the United States.

“Deterrence is an effective method of prevention, and the Stop Illegal Entry Act delivers the enforcement measures necessary to help strengthen law and order at our border,” Johnson said.

American Civil Liberties Union officials oppose the measure’s passage and in a press release said H.R. 3486 “would impose extreme prison sentences” on asylum seekers, teenagers and people trying to reunite with their families.

“H.R. 3486 would supercharge President Trump’s reckless deportation drive, which is already damaging our economy and destabilizing communities,” said Mike Zamore, ACLU national director of policy and government affairs.

“This legislation would hand the Trump administration more tools to criminalize immigrants and terrorize communities at the same time they are deploying federal agents and the military to our streets,” he continued.

“It would also undermine public safety by diverting more resources away from youth services and prevention programs that actually improve community safety.”

July 20 (UPI) — A 21-year-old undocumented migrant with an extensive criminal history is in police custody following a robbery-turned-shooting of an off-duty Border Patrol agent in New York City, officials said Sunday.

Miguel Mora is in police custody at Lincoln Hospital, where he underwent surgery following the exchange of gunfire late Saturday with the unidentified Border Patrol agent in Riverside, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters during a Sunday afternoon press conference. The suspect sustained gunshot wounds to the groin and leg.

The press conference was held at Harlem Hospital, where the 42-year-old Border Patrol agent was recovering from his injuries. He was shot in the face and forearm, and is expected to survive.

The incident occurred at about 11:53 p.m. Saturday. Authorities said the border agent and a friend were sitting on rocks along the waterside, when two males riding a scooter neared.

The passenger got off and approached the officer, producing a firearm. Tisch told reporters that upon realizing he was being robbed, the Border Patrol agent drew his own service weapon.

“The perp fired first, and an exchange of gunfire followed,” she said, before the suspects fled the scene.

At 12:18 a.m. Sunday, Mora arrived at BronxCare Health System with wounds matching those sustained by the suspect seen in CCTV footage of the shooting, she said.

He was in police custody but had not been formally arrested at the time of the Sunday afternoon press conference.

Authorities are still looking for the alleged accomplice who is accused of driving the scooter.

Tisch said Mora illegally entered the United States via Arizona from Mexico in 2023.

She said he has two prior arrests for domestic violence in New York and an active warrant for failing to appear in court in one of those cases. He was also wanted in the state for robbery in December and felony assault with a stabbing in January, with both those alleged crimes occurrring in the Bronx.

Mora was also wanted in Massachusetts in connection to the February robbery of firearms from a pawn shop.

Authorities said the Border Patrol agent does not appear to have been targeted due to his profession.

The firearm used to shoot the Border Patrol agent has yet to be recovered, authorities said.

“In less than one year, he has inflicted violence in our city, and once he is charged for last night’s crimes, we will be able to add attempted murder to his rap sheet,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.

July 10 (UPI) — U.S. Border Patrol agents in Detroit arrested two men in the United States illegally over the past weekend, one of whom admitted to being a member of the gang MS-13 and spending time in a Salvadorian prison for murder.

Agents responded to a request for help from law enforcement partners in Sterling Heights, Mich., who were holding two men involved in a fight at a local motel Sunday, according to a press release from the Department of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Record checks showed that the two were in the United States illegally.

During interviews, one man claimed to be a member of the gang Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, and said he had spent 20 years in a Salvadorian prison for the murder of a rival gang member.

The department didn’t reveal the names of the men.

“This is a major win for the U.S. Border Patrol and the safety of our communities,” said Detroit Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Javier Geronimo Jr. “This arrest is a clear example of how agents and our law enforcement partners are protecting our towns by removing violent criminals from our country.”

Both men are being processed for removal from the country, the release said.

MS-13 is a known gang that began in Los Angeles and was created to protect Salvadorian immigrants. It has since become an organized crime organization and has spread throughout the Americas.

MS-13 is listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government.

June 25 (UPI) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 1,155 pounds of cocaine with a street value of about $15 million south of Cabo Rojo. Puerto Rico, two days after a vessel with 18 pounds of cocaine was found nearby in Rincon.

CPB’s Air and Marine Operations interdicted a vessel shortly before midnight Tuesday in western Puerto Rico and arrested three people from the Dominican Republic without proper documentation to enter or remain in the United States.

The 30-foot yola-type vessel had outboard engines and carried three people, navigating north about 22 miles south of Cabo Rojo.

The Coastal Interceptor vessel was supported by an AMO UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter.

The FBI took custody of the three people as well as a rifle. The Drug Enforcement Administration assumed custody of the narcotics.

“This successful interdiction highlights the critical role maritime domain awareness plays in securing our nation’s borders,” Creighton Skeen, deputy director of Air and Marine Operations in the Caribbean, said. “Our teams are committed to protecting the homeland by stopping drug trafficking before they reach U.S. shores.”

On Sunday, CBP’s Caribbean Air and Marine Operations detected a suspected vessel approximately 3 nautical miles southwest of Black Eagle beach in Rincon.

The 22-foot white vessel with a 60-horsepower engine was beached along the shoreline, CBP said.

The Ramey Sector, which encompasses U.S. territorial islands of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, is the only Border Patrol Sector located outside the continental United States.

It encompasses 6,000 square miles of land and water.

easyJet states that post-Brexit, Brits travelling to the EU will need to ensure their travel documents meet certain requirements – specifically when it comes to their passport’s validity

If you are one of the many sun-seeking Brits preparing for a European holiday, there are some rules that you should know.

easyJet has shared its guidance for those travelling to certain countries in the EU to ensure all passengers have a smooth flight. Under the ‘travel documents and information’ section of its website, easyJet states that passengers “need to have some form of identification on both domestic and international flights”. Below are the specific guidelines for travel to Spain, Portugal, Greece and France.

Spain

Under post-Brexit regulations, easyJet confirms UK passport holders travelling to the EU (except Ireland), or Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican City or Switzerland need to meet certain passport criteria.

UK passport holders travelling to Spain must have a passport that is valid for “at least three months after the day you plan to depart from the EU or above countries”. Additionally, passports “must be no more than 10 years’ old on the date of travel to the EU or above countries”.

According to the UK government’s latest guidance, those with a full British citizen passport from the UK can travel without a visa to the Schengen area, which includes Spain, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

READ MORE: Brits warned as popular holiday country slashes visa-free stays for tourists

Portugal

easyJet passengers flying to Portugal are also reminded that entry is permitted for a maximum stay of 90 days in a 180-day period without a visa.

Portugal follows Schengen area rules as well, meaning your passport’s validity must fall within the prescribed 10-year and three-month rules. Your passport must have a ‘date of issue’ less than 10 years before the date you arrive and have an ‘expiry date’ at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave the Schengen area (the expiry date does not need to be within 10 years of the date of issue).

easyJet also states that extra documents are required for children entering or leaving Portugal without a parent or guardian. According to the airline: “Children aged 17 and under, must carry written authorization to be able to travel to and from Portugal if they are travelling without their parent or legal guardian.”

easyJet’s guidance continues: “The letter must include the details of the adult who will be responsible for them during their stay in Portugal. For full information about the requirements please see the web pages of the Government of Portugal and the Government of the United Kingdom .

Greece

Given that Greece is also part of the Schengen area, easyJet passengers that are UK passport holders are subject to the same passport and visa regulations as those travelling to Spain and Portugal.

Meaning that those with a full British passport will also be able to travel without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Additionally, the UK government website advises that even if you are visiting multiple countries “your total stay in the Schengen area must be no more than 90 days in every 180 days.

“It does not matter how many countries you visit. The 180-day period keeps ‘rolling’,” the website confirms. Additionally, if you are considering adding on a trip to Cyprus on your Greece journey, remember that Cyprus is not in the Schengen area.

That said, the UK government confirms that British passport holders can stay up to 90 days in a 180-day period in Cyprus without a visa. More importantly, any time you spend in the Schengen area does not affect the number of days you can spend in Cyprus.

France

France, also being part of the Schengen region, does not require British passport holders to travel with a visa for stays under 90 days. Non-EU passport holders travelling to the Schengen area are once again obliged to ensure that their passport is valid for at least three months from the date of their departure from the Schengen member country, according to the UK government website.

Though this requirement does not apply to holders of a Schengen issued residence permit or long-term visas.

June 15 (UPI) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized a shipment of amphetamines valued at $6.7 billion, intercepted a Canadian citizen attempting to drive a stolen, high dollar sports car into the country, and apprehended a murder suspect at two Texas border crossings within a matter of hours.

Officers at the Pharr International Bridge cargo facility in Texas discovered the methamphetamine concealed in a shipping manifesto and disguised as tomatillos.

“The cargo environment continues to be a top choice for trafficking organizations but our CBP officers along with our tools and technology are a force to be reckoned with,” said Carlos Rodriguez, port director of the Pharr port.

Officials seized the drugs and the vehicle they were being transported in.

At the same port of entry, officers encountered a 2023 Porsche Cayenne, valued at $55,000, driven by Dileen Raad Sadullah, 39, a Canadian citizen.

Border Patrol officers reported that Sadullah’s story became inconsistent when questioned by the agents at the initial inspection, which resulted in his being detained for a secondary questioning.

“During the secondary examination of the motor vehicle, officers discovered that the Porsche had been reported stolen in Canada earlier that day,” a release from CBP said.

CBP verified his identity and confirmed with Canadian officials that the vehicle was stolen, the U.S. equivalent of a felony.

Sadullah and the vehicle were detained by Canadian law enforcement. That incident also occurred at the Pharr port.

Agents apprehended Alan Alexis Ornelas, 31, of Desoto, Tex., at the Hidalgo International Bridge crossing and investigated him in connection with an arrest warrant, then detained him.

“Ornelas has been wanted since September, 2024 and is charged with capital murder by terror, a first-degree felony in the state of Texas,” a release from CBP said.

Ornelas was transported to the Hidalgo County jail where he awaits extradition to Dallas County.

No one wants to be delayed, or for their flight to be suddenly cancelled, but in such ‘worst case’ events travel experts urge passengers to store two items in their hand luggage

Travellers have been urged to pack two essential items people nearly always put into their suitcase instead.

The team at Flash Pack, the social travel platform, has created an extensive list of the key items you should keep in your hand luggage. Apart from your passport and travel documents, there are two basic but noteworthy items they think you should be adding to your carry-on bag.

These are a pair of socks and spare pair of underwear. Flash Pack writes: “While nobody wants their hold luggage to be delayed, we always prefer to live by the old adage of ‘prepare for the worst, hope for the best.’ Hedge your bets and pack an extra pair of socks and underwear in your carry-on.”

An change of socks and underwear can also come in hand if your flight has been significantly delayed or diverted unexpectedly. While some airports have showers you can use, switching out these items can be a small relief after a gruelling travel day.

READ MORE: UK airline copying Ryanair with strict hand luggage allowance rules

The hand luggage checklist also notes that passengers may want to have noise-cancelling headphones and a blanket on hand. Both of these items are must-packs for germaphobes as its now common knowledge that airlines repackage and redistribute these items.

While the checklist advises passengers to pack a portable charger in their hand luggage, you should double check the guidelines of your airline before doing this. That’s because recent incidents have led many airlines to enforce stricter regulations around the carry of power banks.

The extra precautions stem from the fact that power banks use lithium-ion batteries, which are known to be highly flammable and difficult to extinguish. South Korea’s transport ministry’s initial investigation of the Air Busan incident even found a scorched power bank in an overhead luggage compartment where the fire was first observed.

Essential medications should also always been packed in your hand luggage. Again, travellers should double-check their airline’s specific guidelines around the carry of liquid medications as you may be asked to present a prescription or note from a healthcare professional.

One final noteworthy item you will want to carry is a reusable water bottle, which can be filled up before boarding. Flight attendants have disclosed that the hot water provided on planes may not be the most sanitary so you should come prepared with your own aqua.

Full checklist for carry-on essentials from Flash Pack:

• Passport
• Portable charger
• Jewellry and other valuables
• Headphones
• Wash bag packed with all the essentials (toothbrush, face wipes, deodorant, etc.)
• Essential medications
• Refillable water bottle
• Socks & underwear
• Chewing gum or sweets
• Entertainment (book, magazine, tablet)
• Eye mask
• Ear plugs
• Neck pillow
• Compression socks
• Blanket
• Hand sanitiser

Alarm spread through California agricultural centers Tuesday as panicked workers reported that federal immigration authorities — who had largely refrained from major enforcement action in farming communities in the first months of the Trump administration — were showing up at farm fields and packing houses from the Central Coast to the San Joaquin Valley.

“Today we are seeing an uptick in the chaotic presence of immigration enforcement, particularly the Border Patrol,” said Elizabeth Strater, vice president of the United Farm Workers. “We’re seeing it in multiple areas.”

Department of Homeland Security officials declined to confirm specific locations, but said enforcement actions were taking place across the southern area of state. Advocates from numerous immigrant advocacy groups said their phones were lighting up with calls, videos and texts from multiple counties.

The Times reviewed a video that showed a worker running through a field under the cover of early morning fog, with at least one agent in pursuit on foot and a Border Patrol truck racing along an adjacent dirt road. Eventually, the worker was caught.

In Tulare County, near the community of Richgrove, immigration agents emerged near a field where farm laborers were picking blueberries, causing some workers to flee.

In Oxnard in Ventura County, organizers responded to multiple calls of federal immigration authorities staging near fields and entering a packing house at Boskovich Farms. Hazel Davalos of the group Cause, said there were reports of ICE agents trying to access nine farms in Oxnard, but that in many cases, they were denied entry.

In Fresno County, workers reported federal agents, some in Border Patrol trucks, in the fields near Kingsburg.

Strater said she did not yet have information about the number of people detained in the raids, but said the fear among workers was pervasive. At least half of the estimated 255,700 farmworkers in California are undocumented, according to UC Merced research.

“These are people who are going to be afraid to take their kids to school, afraid to go to graduation, afraid to go to the grocery store,” Strater said. “The harm is going to be done.”

The expansion into rural communities follows days of coordinated raids in urban areas of Los Angeles County, where authorities have targeted home improvement stores, restaurants and garment manufacturers. The enforcement action has prompted waves of protest, and the Trump administration has responded by sending in hundreds of Marines and National Guard troops.

Two Democratic members of Congress who represent the Ventura area, Reps. Julia Brownley and Salud Carbajal, released a statement condemning the raids around Oxnard.

““We have received disturbing reports of ICE enforcement actions in Ventura County, including in Oxnard, Port Hueneme, and Camarillo, where agents have reportedly stopped vehicles, loitered near schools, and attempted to enter agricultural properties and facilities in the Oxnard Plain,” they said. “These actions are completely unjustified, deeply harmful, and raise serious questions about the agency’s tactics and its respect for due process.”

They added that “these raids are not about public safety. They are about stoking fear. These are not criminals being targeted. They are hardworking people and families who are an essential part of Ventura County. Our local economy, like much of California’s and the country’s as a whole, depends on undocumented labor. These men and women are the backbone of our farms, our fields, our construction and service industries, and our communities.”

Farmworker advocates noted that Tuesday’s raids came despite a judicial ruling stemming from a rogue Border Patrol action in Kern County earlier this year.

ACLU attorneys representing the United Farm Workers and five Kern County residents sued the head of the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Border Patrol officials, alleging the Border Patrol’s three-day raid in the southern San Joaquin Valley in early January amounted to a “fishing expedition” that indiscriminately targeted people of color who appeared to be farmworkers or day laborers.

Judge Jennifer Thurston of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California said in an 88-page ruling that evidence presented by the ACLU lawyers established “a pattern and practice” at the Border Patrol of violating people’s constitutional rights when detaining people without reasonable suspicion, and then violating federal law by executing warrantless arrests without determining flight risk.

Thurston’s ruling required the Border Patrol to submit detailed documentation of any stops or warrantless arrests in the Central Valley and show clear guidance and training for agents on the law.

June 7 (UPI) — A former Arkansas police chief who escaped from a prison 12 days ago was apprehended about a mile and half from where he was incarcerated in northwest Arkansas.

Grant Hardin, known as the “Devil in the Ozarks,” was caught around 3 p.m. local time Friday by Arkansas law enforcement officers and the U.S. Border Patrol, according to Arkansas Department of Corrections.

Hardin, 56, was an inmate at the North Central Unit in Calico Rock in Izard County for murder and rape. Calico Rock is 126 miles north of Little Rock.

Tracking dogs picked up Hardin’s scent west of the prison near Moccasin Creek in Izard County, the state agency said.

Hardin was brought back to the North Central Unit where he was identified using his fingerprint and for a physical exam before he was moved to the Varner SuperMax Unit in Gould, Arkansas, Arkansas Department of Corrections spokesperson Rand Champion told CNN.

After a dayslong manhunt that crossed several states, Champion said Hardin would be interviewed to learn more about his escape and nearly two weeks on the run.

“This was a great joint operation by a number of agencies, and I’m so thankful for their tireless efforts,” Dexter Payne, director of the Division of Correction in Arkansas’ Department of Corrections, said in an agency press release. “The Arkansas State Police, U.S. Marshals, FBI, Border Patrol, Game and Fish, all the state and local agencies, along with the dedication of our Department employees, all played an indispensable role and I express my extreme gratitude.”

Hardin escaped from the prison at approximately 2:55 p.m. on May 25. The agency said he “was wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement” when he escaped, but was not wearing an actual guard uniform and all DOC-issued equipment was accounted for.

Hardin is the former chief of police for the city of Gateway in Benton County, which had a population of 444 people in 2023. He also was a police officer, county constable and corrections officer. Gateway, which is near the Missouri border, is 129 miles west of Calico Rock.

Since 2017, he was in the North Central Unit serving a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder, and 25 years for each rape count.

He pleaded guilty to the murder of James Appleton, 59, a city water employee found shot in the face inside his work truck in October 2017, KNWA reported.

Hardin’s DNA linked him to the 1997 rape of a teacher, the TV station reported. Amy Harrison, a teacher at Frank Tillery Elementary in Rogers, was ambushed while preparing lesson plans at the school when she was ambushed and assaulted by a man with a gun.

“He’s a sociopath,” former Benton County prosecutor Nathan Smith told Arkansas ABC affiliate KHBS/KHOG. “Prison’s not full of people who are all bad. It’s full of a lot of people who just do bad things. Grant’s different.”

The FBI offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to his arrest.

“Arkansans can breathe a sigh of relief because violent criminal Grant Hardin is now in custody,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders posted on X. “I am grateful for all law enforcement who contributed to his capture and give special thanks to the Trump administration and Secretary Kristi Noem, who sent a team from Border Patrol that was instrumental in tracking and apprehending Hardin.”

May 14 (UPI) — A Russian Harvard University Medical School researcher held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since February has been arrested and charged with smuggling biological material into the United States.

The one count of smuggling goods into the United States was announced by the Justice Department on Wednesday, marking a dramatic escalation in the case that has garnered attention from academics.

According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint — which was dated Monday but made public Wednesday — Kseniia Petrova had frog embryos and embryonic samples in her possession when entering the country that she did not declare to immigration authorities.

The document states she arrived at Boston’s Logan International Airport from Paris on Feb. 16. A Customs and Border Protection canine alerted its handler to Petrova’s bag, which was removed and brought to an agricultural secondary inspection area for further screening where biological items were found.

When questioned about it, she allegedly denied carrying any biological material, but a search of a plastic bag she was carrying revealed additional biological material.

Under oath, she admitted that the items were biological material and said she was not sure if she was supposed to declare them on her arrival, the document states, adding that a search of her found text messages to the contrary.

“[I]f you bring samples or antibody back, make sure you get the permission,” one text message she received from an unidentified person said.

“What is your plan to pass the American … Customs with samples? This is the most delicate place of the trajectory,” another text message read.

A third message to Petrova’s phone had asked: “what is your plan for getting through customs with samples?”

“No plan yet,” Petrova allegedly replied, according to excerpts of the messages included in the court document. “I won’t be able to swallow them.”

If convicted, Petrova could face up to 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

“The rule of law does not have a carve out for educated individuals with pedigree,” U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a recorded statement.

The affidavit states her visa was canceled at the airport.

“The U.S. visa that Ms. Petrova was given — which was revoked by customs officials as a result of her conduct — is a privilege, not a right.”

Her lawyer, Gregory Romanovsky, told The New York Times that Petrova’s J-1 visa was canceled and that deportation proceedings were initiated.

He said normally, a case like this would be treated as a minor infraction, and that filing the criminal charge three months after the alleged violation, “is clearly intended to make Kseniia look like a criminal to justify their efforts to deport her.”

Romanovsky also added that a Vermont hearing held earlier Wednesday had essentially established that his client was detained unlawfully and that the complaint had “blindsided” them, and Petrova’s transfer from immigration to criminal custody was “suspect” as it occurred right after a judge set a bail hearing, signaling she could be released.

During the Vermont hearing, U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss had questioned the government over the legality of its actions.

“Where does a Customs and Border Patrol officer have the authority on his or her own to revoke a visa?” Reiss asked, NBC News reported.

“You cannot be found inadmissible because of the customs violation.”

According to the affidavit, Petrova told customs that she is fearful of going back to Russia.

“She claimed she had protested the Russian Federation,” the affidavit states. “She provided no other details.”

In an opinion piece she wrote for The New York Times — and which was published Tuesday — Petrova states she had left Russia after being arrested for protesting its war in Ukraine.

The charge was filed as the Trump administration has been conducting a crackdown on immigration, including targeting foreign-born academics, particularly over their support for Palestine amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

Some of those detained students have been released by judges who have ruled against the Trump administration’s use of immigration enforcement to seek to deport them.

Last week, White House senior adviser Stephen Miller said they are “actively looking at” suspending the writ of habeas corpus, which is the right to challenge the legality of a person’s detention by the government.

May 9 (UPI) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at a crossing in Texas seized 113 grams of fentanyl earlier this week. Officials said the drugs allegedly were hidden in the vagina of a 40-year-old U.S. citizen.

Border patrol officials said the pedestrian border crosser was detained on Wednesday at the international crossing in El Paso.

“This is an exceptionally dangerous practice and could be lethal if the packaging were to fail during transport,” said CBP El Paso Port Director Ray Provencio. “It is best to not engage in smuggling activity, but especially this form. It is risky on many levels.”

According to federal officials, border agents selected the woman for a secondary exam just before 3 a.m. During the inspection, officials said, the woman told officers she had a foreign object concealed inside her.

Agents took the woman to a medical facility, where an exam confirmed the presence of a concealed object inside the woman, officials said, adding that the alleged package of drugs was removed from the woman’s vagina.

According to officials, the woman then was returned to the port of entry, where she was arrested and turned over to Homeland Security. She faces federal charges associated with the alleged smuggling act, officials said.

May 5 (UPI) — Three people are dead after a “panga” boat washed ashore Monday morning in southern California. Based on survivors’ reports, the craft seems to have been a vessel used for migrant travel.

“It is a suspected migrant smuggling boat,” said Petty Officer Chris Sappey, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson.

At least nine other people are still missing.

“Human smuggling, no drugs — the ones coming up from south of the border,” he specified.

According to Sappey, at least two children were on board. However, the exact number of people allegedly on board the vessel was not immediately clear.

Four survivors were given medical care in the morning hours after a boat came ashore at Torrey Pines State Park near San Diego, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Multiple local agencies — including the San Diego Police Department, nearby fire departments, Del Mar Lifeguards and U.S. border patrol agents — aided in the search that authorities had described as a “mass casualty incident.”

The emergency response began when the vessel was spotted near the 12000 block of North Torrey Pines Road after it reportedly capsized at around 6:30 a.m. local time near Del Mar.

“There were estimated to be about 18 people on the beach, so we upgraded this to a major medical response due the number of potential victims that we had on the beach with this boat,” confirmed Jorge Sanchez, deputy fire chief with the Encinitas Fire Department.

Sanchez said earlier it was unclear if it was a suspected case of human smuggling, adding that “several resources” were walking up and down the beach as well to making sure “that no one is missed.”

The UK Foreign Office has advised travellers to be prepared for travel to this EU country – as well as others – ahead of the implementation of a new security system

Britons travelling to Portugal will soon be subject to a new security measure. Later this year, the European Commission will begin a phased rollout of a new Entry/Exit System (EES) which will replace traditional passport checks with biometric data registration.

The UK Foreign Office has issued a travel alert for UK tourists as Portugal joins twenty other European countries in introducing the new EES in October 2025. Since Brexit, UK travellers have been considered ‘third-party nationals’ in the EU so they will be required to submit fingerprints and a facial scan upon arrival at borders in Portugal and other Schengen Area countries.

The system was originally meant to be implemented across EU borders in November 2024. However, the launch was postponed after Germany and France both raised concerns about preparedness.

READ MORE: UK Foreign Office confirms everything Spanish airports demand from British tourists

The EES is being implemented to enhance border security and increase the efficiency of entry procedures. Another goal of the new system is to better identify travellers who have exceeded their permitted stay and better prevent irregular immigration and terrorist offences.

While the EES aims to improve safety and reduce illegal migration, travellers are likely to encounter longer queues as the system rolls out, especially at high-traffic crossings in Lisbon, Faro, and Porto. The Foreign Office has advised UK travellers to be prepared for these changes.

The European Commission advises that the process can be made quicker if you register some of your data in advance. You can do so at a dedicated self-service system (if available at your border crossing point).

You will not need to register your data every time you cross the border. After the initial biometric data recording, a digital file will be created with your information which passport control officers can use to verify (as opposed to collect) your fingerprints and photo. The EES will store these individual data files for 3 years and 1 day from the date of your last exit (or refusal of entry) into the EU.

EU travellers who already hold a short-stay visa won’t have to have their biometric data stored again on the EES, as their fingerprints are registered in the Visa Information System (VIS). Sadly, for passport stamp collectors, the new system means that passports will no longer be stamped by hand at border crossings.

Instead, each visitor’s arrival and departure will be logged digitally through a secure central database. This digital record will help border officials determine how long a person has stayed and whether they’ve exceeded the 90-day limit permitted for short-term visits.

The EES will record and store the following in each digital file:

• data listed in your travel document(s) (e.g. full name, date of birth, etc.)
• date and place of each entry and exit
• facial image and fingerprints (called ‘biometric data’)
• whether you were refused entry.