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Donald Trump’s border czar on Sunday defended raiding churches and schools as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration, while six federal agencies launched a sweep aimed at “potentially dangerous criminal aliens” in Chicago. Trump began his second term last Monday with a flurry of executive actions aimed at overhauling US immigration.His administration quickly moved to ramp up deportations, including by relaxing rules governing enforcement actions at “sensitive” locations such as schools, churches and workplaces.Asked about the rule change, Tom Homan, who was tapped to oversee Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda, said Sunday it sends a clear message.”There’s consequences of entering the country illegally. If we don’t show there’s consequences, you’re never going to fix the border problem,” Homan, who is also the former head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), told ABC News’s “This Week” program.But Trump has been unhappy with the number of arrests so far and has directed federal immigration officials to meet higher detention quotas, the Washington Post reported Sunday.It said he was ordering ICE to raise the arrest numbers from a few hundred a day to at least 1,200 to 1,500, citing people with knowledge of internal briefings.ICE later reported making 956 arrests on Sunday, the largest single-day number since Trump’s inauguration. There were no details on where the arrests were made.It had reported 593 arrests on Friday and 286 on Saturday. It averaged around 310 per day in the 2024 federal fiscal year, according to agency data.- ‘Enhanced targeted operations’ -Homan was speaking from Chicago, a Democratic stronghold and a “sanctuary city” for migrants that Homan has viewed as “ground zero” of the deportation push.ICE announced Sunday on X that it had joined five other federal agencies in “enhanced targeted operations” in Chicago “to enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities”.Joining ICE were the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs and Border Protection and the US Marshals Service.Fear of being swept up in the raids kept many Latinos in the region at home, the Chicago Tribune reported.Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, told CNN that state officials would assist federal law enforcement agencies in apprehending anyone accused or convicted of violent crimes but would defend “law-abiding” citizens. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, both Democrats representing Illinois, rebuked Trump’s deportation raids in a joint statement Sunday, saying the efforts “go far beyond” targeting “dangerous individuals” and risk indiscriminately detaining migrants.”We stand with the immigrant community in Chicago and across the country, and our offices and caseworkers are ready to help those who are improperly caught up in these raids,” the statement said.On Thursday, leaders of three Catholic organizations blasted the rule change that allows raids on churches and schools, saying in a joint statement that “turning places of care, healing and solace into places of fear and uncertainty… will not make our communities safer.”When pressed on the Catholic opposition, Homan stood firm.”We’re enforcing laws Congress enacted and the president signed. If they don’t like it, change the law.”Vice President JD Vance, who was also asked about the Catholic pushback in an interview broadcast Sunday, accused one group of being worried about losing funds in the immigration crackdown.”I think that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?” he told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”All eyes during Trump’s first week in office have been on immigration enforcement and deportations, though it was unclear to what extent actions have increased from predecessor Joe Biden.Homan called on Congress to pass additional funding for dealing with those arrested.”We’re gonna need more ICE beds, a minimum of 100,000,” he told ABC News.”We’re going to try to be efficient. But with more money we have, the more we can accomplish.”

Jennifer Lopez brought a heady blend of 1950s Hollywood musical and gritty prison drama to Sundance with her new film “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” which earned a standing ovation from the indie movie festival on Sunday.The musical film, about two mismatched cellmates who form an unlikely intimate bond during Argentina’s 1970s military dictatorship, was the hottest ticket at this year’s Sundance gathering, which typically focuses on smaller arthouse and documentary fare.”It’s about how love can cure any divide. These two people who couldn’t be more different in this cell together — doesn’t matter their sexuality, their political beliefs. None of it,” Lopez told AFP, on the red carpet.”It’s exactly the kind of story that we need to see right now,” she said.Based on the Broadway adaptation of Argentine author Manuel Puig’s novel, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” is directed by Bill Condon.Condon is best-known for blockbusters like “Dreamgirls,” “Chicago” and the final “Twilight” films, but earned his big break at Sundance with 1998’s Oscar-winning “Gods and Monsters.”He told AFP that Lopez’s involvement undoubtedly helped the film procure financing, but that he also “knew she was the only person who could play this part.””Because it’s a diva. We don’t have that many divas in our lives. I don’t know whether it’s gone out of fashion,” he said.Diego Luna plays Valentin, a tough and idealistic political prisoner who is experiencing horrific torture by the regime, but refuses to give up his revolutionary secrets.He finds himself forced to bunk up with Molina (Tonatiuh), an LGBTQ convict who has secretly been sent to coax information from him.Molina starts regaling Valentin with the plot of his favorite Hollywood musical — shown in extensive flashbacks, starring Lopez as the glamorous diva Ingrid Luna, which begin to interweave with the prison narrative.”When I read it, I thought to myself, ‘This role was made for me, this is the role I was born to, this is the one.’ And I had to wait, but it was worth it,” said Lopez.”It was challenging in the way that indie films are challenging… limited time, limited money.”Like most films at Sundance, the movie is up for sale, with producers hoping to spark a bidding war between Hollywood studios and streamers.- Wildfires -Elsewhere at Sundance, Josh O’Connor attended the premiere of “Rebuilding,” a drama about wildfire victims that has become tragically timely in the wake of the Los Angeles blazes.The British star of “The Crown” and “Challengers” plays a quiet, forlorn cowboy who loses his Colorado ranch and all his possessions in a wildfire.His character finds himself living in a trailer at a federal emergency camp, where he must discover a new purpose and build connections with his unfamiliar community.O’Connor told AFP that the recent Los Angeles, which killed more than two dozen people and destroyed thousands of homes, made the film more poignant — but that there were positive parallels to draw.”One of the things that I’ve heard a lot coming out of LA is this feeling of unity in the city,” he said.”I think that’s what this movie is about — community coming together to support each other, that we can’t do it alone, and that isolation isn’t good for us.”That’s what I think the relevance is.”Earlier at the Utah-based festival, Benedict Cumberbatch had unveiled “The Thing With Feathers,” a surreal meditation on grief and bereavement.The “Sherlock” and “Doctor Strange” actor stars as a widower struggling to raise his two young sons alone, in a movie based on Max Porter’s experimental and poetic novel.As hinted at by the title, Cumberbatch’s character is visited an eight-foot-tall crow — an unexpectedly literal manifestation of his unprocessed grief.Sundance runs until next Sunday.

Colombia on Sunday backed down and agreed to accept deported citizens sent on US military aircraft, hours after President Donald Trump threatened painful tariffs to punish the defiance to his mass deportation plans.Colombia’s leftist president, Gustavo Petro, had earlier said he would only take back citizens “with dignity,” such as on civilian planes, and had turned back two US military aircraft with repatriated Colombians.Trump, less than a week back in office, responded furiously and threatened sanctions of 25 percent that would quickly scale up to 50 percent against Latin America’s fourth largest economy.Petro initially sought to hit back and impose his own tariffs on US products, but by the end of the volatile Sunday he had backed down.Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo told a late-night news conference that his country had “overcome the impasse” and would accept returned citizens.A White House statement said that Colombia has agreed to “unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay.””Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again,” it said.”President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nation’s sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States.”Trump said he would suspend implementation of the tariffs. It had been unclear even earlier how quickly Trump could impose tariffs on Colombia, historically one of Washington’s closest allies in Latin America, which enjoys a free-trade agreement with the United States.Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose wife is Colombian-American, suspended issuance of visas at the US embassy in Bogota and said visas would be revoked to Colombian government officials and their immediate family members.The White House said the visa measures would stay in place until the first planeload of deportees returns.Trump also vowed to subject Colombians to greater scrutiny at US airports.- Concerns over treatment -Trump — who during his campaign said that immigrants were “poisoning the blood” of the United States — took office with promises to round up and swiftly deport undocumented people.While some countries including Guatemala have accepted military deportation flights, Trump had faced resistance from Petro, a former guerrilla elected in 2022 as Colombia’s first left-wing leader.”The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants,” Petro wrote earlier on X.The Colombian government earlier said it was instead ready to send its presidential plane to the United States to transport the migrants “with dignity.”Petro also said there were 15,600 undocumented Americans living in his country and asked them to “regularize their situation,” while ruling out raids to arrest and deport them.Petro’s initial hard-ball tactics infuriated his many critics in the historic US ally.Former right-wing president Ivan Duque accused Petro of “an act of tremendous irresponsibility” for refusing what he called Colombia’s “moral duty” to take back illegal migrants and warned US sanctions would take an “enormous” toll.- ‘Tied hands and feet’ -Trump’s deportation threats have put him on a potential collision course with governments in Latin America, the original home of most of the United States’ estimated 11 million undocumented migrants.Brazil, which is also led by a left-wing president, voiced outrage over treatment by the Trump administration of dozens of Brazilian migrants deported back to their country on Friday. The migrants, who were deported under a bilateral agreement predating Trump’s return, were handcuffed on the flight, in what Brazil called “flagrant disregard” for their basic rights.Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician who was among the 88 deported migrants, told AFP: “On the plane they didn’t give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn’t even let us go to the bathroom.””It was very hot, some people fainted.”The president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, called for an urgent meeting of leaders from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to take place Thursday in Tegucigalpa to discuss migration following the latest US moves.While previous US administrations also routinely carried out deportations, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week.

Since being sworn in as president of the world’s most powerful nation, Donald Trump has been sure to lavish the standard bearer of the conservative right Fox News with scoops, favors and an exclusive interview.Everything might appear to be rosy in the post-inaugural honeymoon period, but the relationship — a political marriage of convenience — between the two sides has not always been so smooth.”We’re back to work. We’re not collecting checks in our pajamas anymore,” said one of the channel’s star anchors Jesse Watters, host of “The Five” talk-show, taking aim at the Biden administration.”It’s fun to watch the Democrats and the media completely broken and just getting ruled over. Thank God. Look at what this government is capable of. I’m just, I’m invigorated.”Since Trump’s return to the White House Monday, the most popular news channel has been the big winner on the broadcast battlefield.Owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, Fox News scored the first TV interview with the 47th president in the Oval Office.The task was entrusted to network stalwart Sean Hannity who was seen as so close to Trump during his first term that he was dubbed his “shadow chief-of-staff.”The White House press corps are being reminded of the privileged status enjoyed by their competitor, being brushed off by spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt when journalists asked about Elon Musk’s apparent criticism of an investment announced by Trump.Leavitt told them she had already addressed the spat on Fox News, while it was one of the channel’s journalists who revealed the contents of the letter left by Biden for Trump.During the day, the channel focuses on news, with its journalists reporting from the field. But in the evening, the channel is transformed and its stars fete the president between ads for his $110 “Save America” coffee table book and a Trump wine to honor his stints as the 45th and 47th president.- ‘Extreme tendencies’ -“The Trump administration wants an outlet to reach their constituency, and the ‘MAGA’ (Make America Great Again) crowd — and that’s where they happen to look at a lot of their news,” said Jeffrey McCall, a communication professor at DePauw University, explaining the enduring influence of Fox News.The White House is also “probably looking for the most sympathetic interviewers”.The channel points to its blockbuster ratings, pulling 71 percent of primetime news channel viewers — having extended its lead over closest competitors CNN and MSNBC since the election.It even claims first place among Democrats and Independents who watched the inauguration on a cable news channel.While podcasts, social media and viral digital content have eroded the influence of legacy media, 78-year-old Trump remains a loyal consumer of traditional news.”Fox News, in contrast to the podcasting world, has a lot of clout with congressional elites,” said Reece Peck, author of “Fox Populism.”Speculation abounds in media circles about just how long the honeymoon between Trump and Fox News can last.”Trump has not had the best relationship with Fox News,” said McCall, reflecting the sometimes turbulent ties between Murdoch and Trump.The Republican has frequently condemned the channel like on the evening of the 2020 presidential election when it called the key swing state of Arizona for Biden, and when he subsequently attacked the channel for being too soft on Kamala Harris.Some Fox News commentators also distanced themselves from Trump after the violent attack on the Capitol by his supporters in 2021, almost all of whom were pardoned or had sentences commuted by the new president this week.”I don’t think anyone can really predict how the relationship between Trump and the media is going to play out said Mark Lukasiewicz of Hofstra University’s communications school. The only given is that “the second Trump administration is much more empowered and emboldened than the first… to the extent there were traditional guardrails, whether it was in the media or in Congress who were resisting some of Donald Trump’s more extreme tendencies — those seem to have largely disappeared.””The line has moved,” he said. “It remains to be seen how far it moves.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered sweeping tariffs and sanctions against Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept military deportation flights, seeking to punish one of his most defiant critics in Latin America.Colombia’s left-leaning President Gustavo Petro did not back down, announcing his own tariffs against US products, as he vowed that returning migrants be treated with dignity.Trump, back in office for less than a week, promised to impose 25 percent tariffs on products from Colombia — the source of one-fifth of coffee in the United States — and to raise them to 50 percent in a week.It was unclear how quickly the tariffs would come as Colombia, historically one of Washington’s closest allies in Latin America, enjoys a free-trade agreement with the United States.”These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.Not to be outdone, Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, said he had instructed his minister for external trade “to raise tariffs on imports from the US to 25%.”In a long broadside on X addressed to Trump he declared: “You will never dominate us.”Secretary of State Marco Rubio, days away from a trip to Latin America aimed at pushing Trump’s agenda, said that the US embassy in Bogota was suspending all issuance of visas.He also said he was imposing visa restrictions on Colombian officials and their immediate family members, with Trump vowing to subject Colombians to greater scrutiny at US airports.- ‘I forbid entry’ -Trump — who during his campaign said that immigrants were “poisoning the blood” of the United States — took office with promises to round up and swiftly deport undocumented people.While some countries including Guatemala have accepted military deportation flights, Trump has faced resistance from Petro, elected in 2022 as the first left-wing leader of Latin America’s fourth-largest economy.”The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants,” Petro wrote earlier on X.Petro said he had “turned back US military planes.” Trump said two US planes were not allowed to land.The Colombian government said it was instead ready to send its presidential plane to the United States to transport the migrants “with dignity.”Petro said he was also ready to allow civilian US flights carrying deported migrants to land, as long as those aboard were not treated “like criminals.”He additionally urged what he said were the more than 15,600 undocumented Americans living in his country to “regularize their situation,” while ruling out raids to arrest and deport them.Petro’s Colombian critics reacted furiously to what they saw as his reckless rumble with Trump.Former right-wing president Ivan Duque accused Petro of “an act of tremendous irresponsibility” for refusing what he called Colombia’s “moral duty” to take back illegal migrants and warned US sanctions would take an “enormous” toll.- ‘Tied hands and feet’ -Trump’s deportation threats have put him on a potential collision course with governments in Latin America, the original home of most of the United States’ estimated 11 million undocumented migrants.Brazil, which is also led by a left-wing president, voiced outrage over treatment by the Trump administration of dozens of Brazilian migrants deported back to their country on Friday. The migrants, who were deported under a bilateral agreement predating Trump’s return, were handcuffed on the flight, in what Brazil called “flagrant disregard” for their basic rights.Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician who was among the 88 deported migrants, told AFP: “On the plane they didn’t give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn’t even let us go to the bathroom.””It was very hot, some people fainted.”The president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, called for an urgent meeting of leaders from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to take place Thursday in Tegucigalpa to discuss migration following the latest US moves.While previous US administrations also routinely carried out deportations, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week.

The makers of a new documentary alleging the iconic “Napalm Girl” photo was deliberately credited to the wrong photographer — claims denied by the Associated Press — said Sunday that it is “critical” to “share this story with the world.” “The Stringer,” which premiered at the Sundance film festival, chronicles an investigation into rumors that the devastating image which helped change global perceptions of the Vietnam War was actually taken by a little-known local freelancer.Nick Ut, the AP staff photographer credited with the photo of a nine-year-old girl fleeing naked from a napalm strike, won a Pulitzer Prize. He has always said that he took the photo. Ut’s lawyer attempted to block the film’s release.AP published a report last week detailing its own investigation into the controversy, which found “nothing that proves Nick Ut did not take the photo,” but said it had not yet been granted access to the film’s research.”AP stands ready to review any and all evidence and new information about this photo,” the organization said in an updated statement Sunday. The new film was triggered when Carl Robinson, the photo editor on duty in AP’s Saigon bureau on the day the image was captured, began speaking out about the provenance of the photo.In the film, Robinson says he was ordered to write a photo caption attributing the photo to Ut by Horst Faas, AP’s two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning chief of photos in Saigon.”I started writing the caption… Horst Faas, who had been standing right next to me, said ‘Nick Ut. Make it Nick Ut,'” says Robinson.After interviewing Robinson, the filmmakers identified the long-lost name of a Vietnamese freelance photographer who is visible in other photos of the infamous scene at Trang Bang on June 8, 1972.They eventually tracked down Nguyen Thanh Nghe, who states in the film that he is certain he took the photo.”Nick Ut came with me on the assignment. But he didn’t take that photo… That photo was mine,” he says.Executive director Gary Knight, a photojournalist who led the film’s investigation, told AFP it was “critical” that members of the news media “hold ourselves to account.””The photograph in question is one of the most important photographs of anything ever made, certainly of war,” he said.”Just getting that recognition (for Nghe)… it was always important for us as a film team to share this story with the world,” added director Bao Nguyen.- ‘Speaking up’ -One question repeatedly raised in response to the new allegations is why it took so long for anybody to speak up.Robinson says that, at the time of the photo being captioned, he feared for his job. He added he consequently felt it was “too late” to speak out, until he learned the name of the freelancer decades later.Ut’s lawyer Jim Hornstein told AFP that Robinson had a “50-year vendetta against Nick Ut, AP and Horst Faas,” and said “a defamation action will soon be filed against the film makers.”In the documentary, Nghe’s family say he consistently spoke at home of his regret about losing credit for the photo.Nghe says: “I felt upset. I worked hard for it, but that guy got to have it all. He got recognition, he got awards.” Nguyen, the film’s director, said the idea that the family are “only now are speaking up… is sort of a fallacy.”Within their own circles, they’ve been saying this for so long,” Nguyen said.Knight said there has always been “a huge power imbalance in journalism.” “It has been dominated by white, Western heterosexual males for as long as I’ve been in it, and before,” he said.- ‘Investigating’ -The filmmakers also hired INDEX, a France-based non-profit that specializes in forensic investigations, which concluded it is “highly unlikely” Ut was in the right position to take the photo.AP’s latest statement repeats its request for the filmmakers to share evidence, including eyewitness accounts and the INDEX report.”When we became aware of this film and its allegations broadly, we took them very seriously and began investigating,” it says.”We cannot state more clearly that The Associated Press is only interested in the facts and a truthful history of this iconic photo.”

US President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered sweeping tariffs and sanctions against Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept deportation flights, as Bogota responded in kind with a 25 percent levy on US goods.Trump, back in office for less than a week and peeved after President Gustavo Petro said he turned back US military planes carrying immigrants, began the tariff tit-for-tat by saying he would impose 25 percent on Colombian products, which would rise to 50 percent in a week.His authority to do so was unclear as Colombia, historically one of Washington’s closest allies in Latin America, enjoys a free-trade agreement with the United States.Trump also said he would immediately revoke visas for Colombian government officials and “supporters” of President Gustavo Petro — and subject Colombians to greater scrutiny at airports.”These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.Not to be outdone, Petro, writing on X, said that he had instructed his minister for external trade “to raise tariffs on imports from the US to 25%.”Trump took office with promises to round up and swiftly deport foreigners unlawfully in the United States, but has faced resistance from Petro, elected in 2022 as the first left-wing leader of Latin America’s fourth-largest economy.”The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants,” Petro wrote earlier on X.In a later post, he said he had “turned back US military planes.” Trump said two US planes were not allowed to land.The Colombian government said it was instead ready to send its presidential plane to the United States to transport “with dignity” the migrants whose flights were blocked by Bogota.Petro also said he was ready to allow civilian US flights carrying deported migrants to land, as long as those aboard were not treated “like criminals.”In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Petro had authorized the flights but then “canceled his authorization when the planes were in the air.”The Colombian leader meanwhile said that more than 15,600 undocumented Americans were living in his country and urged them to “regularize their situation,” while ruling out raids to arrest and deport them.The trip comes days before Rubio is set to visit Latin America — but not Colombia — on his first trip as top US diplomat.- ‘Tied hands and feet’ -Trump’s deportation threats have put him on a potential collision course with governments in Latin America, the original home of most of the United States’ estimated 11 million undocumented migrants.Brazil, which is also led by a left-wing president, voiced outrage over treatment by the Trump administration of dozens of Brazilian migrants deported back to their country on Friday. The migrants, who were deported under a bilateral agreement predating Trump’s return, were handcuffed on the flight, in what Brazil called “flagrant disregard” for their basic rights.Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician who was among the 88 deported migrants, told AFP: “On the plane they didn’t give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn’t even let us go to the bathroom.””It was very hot, some people fainted.”Several deportation flights since Trump’s return to office have garnered public and media attention, although such actions were also common under previous administrations.In a break with prior practice, however, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft for some repatriation flights, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week.Several Latin American countries have vowed to welcome back citizens, many of whom have been living and working in the United States for years, with open arms.The Mexican government said it planned to open nine shelters for its citizens and three more for deported foreigners, under a scheme called “Mexico embraces you.”President Claudia Sheinbaum said the government would also provide humanitarian assistance to deported migrants from other countries before repatriating them.Honduras, a central American country that is also a large source of migrants to the United States, said it was launching a program for returnees entitled “Brother, come home,” which would include a “solidarity” payment, food and access to employment opportunities.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered sweeping tariffs and sanctions against Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept deportation flights, doubling down on his immigration crackdown as he sought to silence a chorus of defiance in Latin America.Trump, back into office for less than a week, said he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on Colombian products that would rise to 50 percent in a week. His authority to do so was unclear as Colombia, historically one of Washington’s closest allies in Latin America, enjoys a free-trade agreement with the United States.Trump also said he would immediately revoke visas for Colombian government officials and “supporters” of President Gustavo Petro — and subject Colombians to greater scrutiny at airports.”These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.Trump took office with promises to round up and swiftly deport foreigners unlawfully in the United States, but has faced resistance from Petro, elected in 2022 as the first left-wing leader of Latin America’s fourth-largest economy.”The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants,” Petro wrote on X.In a later post, he said he had “turned back US military planes.” Trump said two US planes were not allowed to land.The Colombian government said it was instead ready to send its presidential plane to the United States to transport “with dignity” the migrants whose flights were blocked by Bogota.Petro also said he was ready to allow civilian US flights carrying deported migrants to land, as long as those on board were not treated “like criminals.”The Colombian leader later said more than 15,600 undocumented Americans were living in his country and urged them to “regularize their situation,” while ruling out raids to arrest and deport them.The trip comes days before Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to visit Latin America — but not Colombia — on his first trip as top US diplomat as he seeks support for Trump’s policies.He is also not scheduled to visit Mexico, which has been critical of the use of military planes for deportations.- ‘Tied hands and feet’ -Trump’s threats to deport millions of migrants has put him on a potential collision course with governments in Latin America, the original home of most of the estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States.Brazil, which is also led by a left-wing president, voiced outrage over the treatment by the Trump administration of dozens of Brazilian migrants deported back to their country on Friday. The migrants, who were deported under a bilateral agreement predating Trump’s return to the White House, were handcuffed on the flight, in what Brazil called “flagrant disregard” for their basic rights.Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician who was among the 88 deported migrants, told AFP: “On the plane they didn’t give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn’t even let us go to the bathroom.””It was very hot, some people fainted.”TV footage showed some passengers descending from the civilian plane with their hands handcuffed and their ankles shackled.Several deportation flights since Trump’s return to office have garnered public and media attention, although such actions were also common under previous administrations.In a break with prior practice, however, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft for some repatriation flights, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week.Several Latin American countries have vowed to welcome back citizens, many of whom have been living and working in the United States for years, with open arms.The Mexican government said it planned to open nine shelters for its citizens and three more for deported foreigners, under a scheme called “Mexico embraces you.”President Claudia Sheinbaum said the government would also provide humanitarian assistance to deported migrants from other countries before repatriating them.Honduras, a central American country that is also a large source of migrants to the United States, said it was launching a program for returnees entitled “Brother, come home,” which would include a “solidarity” payment, food and access to employment opportunities.

Mel Gibson’s new action film “Flight Risk” has topped the North American box office, taking in an estimated $12 million on a slow winter weekend, industry analysts said Sunday.The Lionsgate movie stars Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery and Topher Grace in a story about a US marshal transporting a mobster-turned-informant across the Alaskan wilderness. The flight proves bumpy when the pilot is revealed to have an ulterior motive. “This is a good opening for an original action thriller,” said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. Though reviews have been “poor,” he said, “business should be good in all parts of the world.”Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King,” slipped to second spot, earning an estimated $8.7 million. Its domestic take stands at $221.1 million, and it has sold $405 million in tickets abroad.Also dropping one spot, to third, was Sony comedy “One of Them Days,” at $8 million. Keke Palmer and singer SZA star in the Issa Rae-produced film, playing roommates scrambling to pay rent or face eviction after a boyfriend squanders their money.Holding steady at fourth, in its sixth weekend out, was Paramount’s animated “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” at $5.5 million. And holding in fifth was Disney animation “Moana 2.” It took in $4.3 million in its ninth weekend out and should soon become the ninth biggest animated film of all time, according to The Hollywood Reporter.Rounding out the top 10 were:”Presence” ($3.42 million)”Wolf Man” ($3.4 million)”A Complete Unknown” ($3.1 million)”Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” ($3 million)”The Brutalist” ($2.9 million)

Donald Trump’s border czar on Sunday defended raiding churches and schools as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration, while acknowledging that deporting all undocumented people in the United States was not “realistic.”Trump began his second term on Monday with a flurry of executive actions aimed at overhauling US immigration.His administration quickly moved to ramp up deportations, including by relaxing rules governing enforcement actions at “sensitive” locations such as schools, churches and workplaces.Asked about the rule change, Tom Homan, a former head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tapped to oversee Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda, said Sunday it sends a clear message.”There’s consequences of entering the country illegally. If we don’t show there’s consequences, you’re never going to fix the border problem,” he told ABC News’ “This Week” program.Such actions would nonetheless be made on a “case by case” basis, he said, noting that “many” members of gangs such as MS-13 are teenagers.If there’s a “national security threat or a public safety threat that’s in one of these facilities, then it should be an option,” he said.On Thursday, leaders of three Catholic organizations blasted the rule change, saying in a joint statement that “turning places of care, healing and solace into places of fear and uncertainty for those in need… will not make our communities safer.”When pressed on the Catholic opposition, Homan stood firm.”We’re enforcing laws Congress enacted and the president signed. If they don’t like it, change the law.”Vice President JD Vance, who was also asked about the Catholic pushback in an interview broadcast Sunday, accused one group of being worried about losing funds in the immigration crackdown.”I think that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?” he told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”All eyes during Trump’s first week in office have been on immigration enforcement and deportations, though it was unclear to what extent actions have increased from predecessor Joe Biden.ICE said in posts on X that it had made 593 arrests on Friday and 286 arrests on Saturday.In the 2024 federal fiscal year, agency data shows ICE made 113,431 arrests, or around 310 per day.Homan called on Congress to pass additional funding for dealing with those arrested.”We’re gonna need more ICE beds, a minimum of 100,000. Congress needs to come to the table quick and give us the money we need to secure that border,” he told ABC News.”We’re going to try to be efficient. But with more money we have, the more we can accomplish.”