Trump live updates: President exploring the legality of deporting U.S. citizens to Central American prisons

Jennifer Vasquez, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador, held a press conference outside the court where a status hearing on the case was held today.

“I find myself pleading with the Trump administration and the Bukele administration to stop playing political games with the life of Kilmar. Our family is torn apart during this scary time. Our children miss their dad so much,” she said.

“Enough is enough. My family can’t be robbed from another day without seeing Kilmar. This administration has already taken so much from my children, from Kilmar’s mother, brother, sisters, and me.”

Chaotic surveillance footage from inside a federal courthouse showed the moment two ICE agents knocked down an elderly man with a cane as they attempted to arrest a Venezuelan migrant.

Mike Bedigan has the story.

President Donald Trump is exploring the legality of whether he can deport U.S. citizens to prisons in Central American countries, the White House said Tuesday during the press briefing.

“It’s another question that the president has raised,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said when asked if Trump currently has the authority to send Americans to foreign prisons or would need to amend the law to do so.

“It’s a legal question that the president is looking into,” Leavitt added.

She said that Trump “would only consider this, if legal, for Americans who are the most violent, egregious, repeat offenders of crime who nobody in this room wants living in their communities.”

When asked to elaborate on the administration’s view of the law, Leavitt said, “We’re looking at it, and when I have more to share, I certainly will.”

A judge in Washington on Tuesday blocked most of President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting law firm Susman Godfrey, dealing the White House a new legal setback in its campaign against firms that Trump disfavors.

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan issued a temporary restraining order halting provisions of Trump’s directive that threatened to cancel federal contracts held by Susman Godfrey’s clients and restricted its lawyers’ access to government buildings and officials.

Here’s Justin Baragona with the background as to why Trump is targeting the firm.

One of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s top advisors, Dan Caldwell, was escorted out of the Pentagon on Tuesday after being identified during an investigation into leaks at the Department of Defense, a U.S. official told Reuters.

Caldwell, a senior advisor to Pete Hegseth, was placed on administrative leave for “an unauthorized disclosure,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The decision has not been previously reported.

“The investigation remains ongoing,” the official said.

The UK may be on the brink of agreeing a new trade deal with the US, after nearly five years of negotiations.

Alicja Hagopian and David Maddox take a look at what such a deal might mean in practice.

Department of Government Efficiency staffers have been given access to government databases containing private information about where people work or live – all with the intention of identifying undocumented immigrants and assisting in President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

Those databases – at agencies such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Social Security Administration and IRS – contain private information that immigrants of all statuses have submitted about themselves, believing the information would not be used against them.

Ariana Baio has the details.