A federal judge ruled late Tuesday that U.S. officials must retain custody and control of migrants apparently removed to South Sudan in case he orders their removals were unlawful. Attorneys forimmigrantssaid theTrumpadministration appears to have begundeporting peoplefrom Myanmar and Vietnam toSouth Sudan— despite a court order restricting removals to other countries. House Republicans are pushing to vote on theirmulti-trillion-dollar tax breaks packageas soon as Wednesday,grinding out last-minute deal-makingto shore up wavering GOP support and deliver on Trump's top legislative priority. And Trump willhost South Africa's leaderat the White House on Wednesday for a meeting that might be tense after Trump accused the country's government of allowing a "genocide" to take placeagainst minority white farmers. Here's the latest: Trump selects concept for $175 billion 'Golden Dome' missile defense system Trump has announced the concept he wants for his futureGolden Dome missile defense program— a multilayered, $175 billion system that for the first time will put U.S. weapons in space. Speaking Tuesday from the Oval Office, Trump said he expects the system will be "fully operational before the end of my term," which ends in 2029, and have the capability of intercepting missiles "even if they are launched from space." It's likelier that thecomplex systemmay have some initial capability by that point, a U.S. official familiar with the program said. Golden Dome is envisioned to include ground- and space-based capabilities that are able to detect and stop missiles at all four major stages of a potential attack: detecting and destroying them before a launch, intercepting them in their earliest stage of flight, stopping them midcourse in the air, or halting them in the final minutes as they descend toward a target. ▶ Read moreabout the "Golden Dome" House GOP grinds ahead with Trump's big tax cuts bill, but new report says it will add to deficit House Republicans are pushing to vote on theirmulti-trillion-dollar tax breaks packageas soon as Wednesday, grinding out last-minute deal-making to shore up wavering GOP support and deliver on Trump's top legislative priority. Trump himself had instructed the Republican majority toquit arguing and get it done, his own political influence on the line. But GOP leaders worked late into the night to convince skeptical Republicans who have problems on several fronts, including worries that it will pile onto the nation's$36 trillion debt. A fresh analysis from the Congressional Budget Office said the tax provisions would increase the federal deficit by $3.8 trillion over the decade, while thechanges to Medicaid, food stamps and other services would tally $1 trillion in reduced spending. The lowest-income households in the U.S. would see their resources drop, while the highest ones would see a boost, the CBO said. Republicans hunkered down at the Capitol through the night for one last committee hearing processing changes to the package. Democrats immediately motioned to adjourn, but the vote failed on party lines. ▶ Read moreabout the upcoming vote US must keep control of migrants sent to South Sudan in case removals were unlawful, judge rules A federal judge has ruled that U.S. officials must retain custody and control of migrants who were apparently removed to South Sudan in case he orders their removals were unlawful. U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Massachusetts issued the ruling late Tuesday after an emergency hearing, after attorneys for immigrants said the Trump administration appears to have begundeporting peoplefrom Myanmar and Vietnam toSouth Sudan— despite a court order restricting removals to other countries. Murphy said the government must "maintain custody and control of class members currently being removed to South Sudan or to any other third country, to ensure the practical feasibility of return if the Court finds that such removals were unlawful." While Murphy left the details to the government's discretion, he said he expects the migrants "will be treated humanely." ▶ Read moreabout the judge's ruling The revival of an old program delegates Trump immigration enforcement to local police As part of the Trump administration's push to carry out mass deportations, the agency responsible for immigration enforcement has aggressively revived and expanded a decades-old program that delegates immigration enforcement powers to state and local law enforcement agencies. Under the 287(g) program led byImmigration and Customs Enforcement, police officers can interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them forpotential deportation. Since PresidentDonald Trumptook office in January, ICE has rapidly expanded the number of signed agreements it has with law enforcement agencies across the country. The reason is clear. Those agreements vastly beef up the number of immigration enforcement staff available to ICE, which has about 6,000 deportation officers, as they aim to meet Trump's goal of deporting as many of the roughly 11 million people in the country illegally as they can. ▶ Read more about whatthese agreementsare and what critics say about them As many as a dozen migrants may have been deported to Africa, according to lawyers Immigration authorities appear to have begundeporting migrantsfrom Myanmar and Vietnam toSouth Sudan, attorneys for the migrants said in court documents filed Tuesday. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return messages seeking comment. An immigration official in Texas confirmed via email that at least one man from Myanmar had been flown to South Sudan Tuesday morning, according to court documents. A woman also reported to attorneys that her husband from Vietnam and up to 10 other people were flown to Africa. Those removals would violate a court order from a judge in Massachusetts requiring that people have a chance to challenge removals to countries other than their homelands, attorneys from the National Immigration Litigation Alliance wrote. They asked Judge Brian E. Murphy for an emergency order to prevent such removals. Hepreviously saiddeportations to Libya would violate his ruling. After Trump's visit to the Capitol, some Republicans still oppose big bill Speaker Mike Johnsonsays Trump's "one, big, beautiful, bill will require one, big, beautiful vote", but holdouts remain. The chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, said they're still "a long ways away" from agreement. And other key Republicans said they were still a no vote. Johnson headed to the Senate to update Republicans there on the path ahead.
