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Trump admin live updates: Judge releases Venezuelan couple accused of being gang members, rips government evidence

PHOTO: President Donald Trump arrives at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., April 26, 2025, upon returning from a trip to attend the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
3:08
Evan Vucci/AP
Pete Hegseth makes trip to southern border amid scrutiny in Washington
By Kevin Shalvey, Jon Haworth, Alexandra Hutzler, Ivan Pereira, Emily Chang
Last Updated: April 27, 2025, 11:52 PM

A federal judge ordered a Venezuelan couple, accused by the Trump administration of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang, to be released, delivering a stinging rebuke of the government's evidence in the case.

Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday was making an announced trip to the southern border -- without reporters -- as he faces new scrutiny in Washington.

ABC News has confirmed that, in at least two separate meetings, Hegseth accused top-ranking military officers of leaking to the news media and threatened to polygraph them.

Hegseth also used the Signal app on a personal computer in his office that was connected to the internet on an unsecured commercial line, what's known as a "dirty line," two sources confirmed to ABC News Thursday. A Pentagon spokesman called that report "fake news."

Latest headlines:

  • Schumer has plans to mark Trump’s first 100 days
  • Trump says he’s ‘reinstating’ Columbus Day
  • Trump tells Michigan delegation to skip 100-day celebration to stay in DC and vote
Here's how the news is developing.

Apr 27, 2025 11:52 PM

Schumer has plans to mark Trump’s first 100 days

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a dear colleague letter today marking Trump's first 100 days in office, calling his early tenure "the worst for any President in modern history".

In the letter, Schumer outlines plans by Senate Democrats to mark the 100th day of Trump's presidency on Tuesday by holding the Senate floor late into the evening with speeches "against Donald Trump’s disastrous 100 days."

"On Wednesday, we will join with our House colleagues to decry in one voice the many ways Donald Trump has already failed our country in his second term," he writes.

PHOTO: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer takes a question from a reporter following a weekly Democratic policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol, April 8, 2025 in Washington.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer takes a question from a reporter following a weekly Democratic policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol, April 8, 2025 in Washington.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

He also promises Democratic resistance to the upcoming reconciliation package Republicans are working on to fund Trump’s agenda, and he said Democrats will continue to conduct oversight where possible.

"We will do what Senate Republicans refuse: Conduct strong oversight and hold the Administration accountable for its incompetence and the harm they are doing to the American people. This includes looking into the disastrous leadership at the Pentagon, pushing back on the attacks at the Social Security Administration, fighting the attacks on educational resources like PBS, and exposing the chilling arrests of individuals without a shred of due process," he said.

-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin


Apr 27, 2025 7:30 PM

Trump says he’s ‘reinstating’ Columbus Day

Trump claimed Sunday that he is bringing back Columbus Day, blaming Democrats for “destroying” Christopher Columbus.

"I am hereby reinstating Columbus Day under the same rules, dates, and locations, as it has had for all of the many decades before!" Trump wrote.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump arrives at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., April 26, 2025, upon returning from a trip to attend the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Evan Vucci/AP
President Donald Trump arrives at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., April 26, 2025, upon returning from a trip to attend the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Evan Vucci/AP

Columbus Day is a federal holiday on the second Monday of October that celebrates Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas.

In 2021, then-President Joe Biden commemorated the date as Indigenous Peoples' Day with a presidential proclamation he issued yearly. Indigenous Peoples’ Day is not a recognized holiday under U.S. federal law; however, some states have paired or replaced Columbus Day with it.

-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh


Apr 27, 2025 7:18 PM

Trump tells Michigan delegation to skip 100-day celebration to stay in DC and vote

Trump encouraged the Michigan Republican delegation to stay in Washington this week instead of traveling with him to celebrate his 100th day in office in Michigan on Tuesday evening.

"I wish everyone could come with me, but this is a crucial week to work on “THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,” which will contain Massive Tax Cuts, Strong Border Security Measures, Major Military Advancements, Dramatic Deregulation, Powerful Spending Reforms, and more!" Trump said in a Truth Social post. "It is much more important that everyone stay in Washington this week to work hard and fast on all of it – IT MUST BE DONE."

PHOTO: President Donald Trump arrives at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., April 26, 2025, upon returning from a trip to attend the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Evan Vucci/AP
President Donald Trump arrives at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., April 26, 2025, upon returning from a trip to attend the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Evan Vucci/AP

He continued, "You will be missed, but your work is far too important to take any time off."

The President would be referring to Reps. Jack Bergman, John Moolena, Bill Huizenga, Tim Walberg, Tom Barrett, Lisa McClain and John James.

Michigan currently has two Democratic U.S. senators, Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin.

The president's trip is the second domestic swing of his second term. He traveled to North Carolina, California and Nevada during the first weekend in office.

-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh



Apr 26, 2025 10:52 PM

Judge eviscerates government evidence, releases migrants accused of being TdA

In a scathing rebuke of the government’s attempt to deport a Venezuelan couple who is in the country legally, on grounds that they’re TdA members, a federal judge has ordered them to be released Friday.

U.S. District Judge David Briones, a Clinton appointee, also barred the administration from removing anyone under the Alien Enemies Act in the Western District of Texas without giving them 21 days notice.

PHOTO: Under the direction of U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Transportation Command is supporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation flights by providing military airlift, Fort Bliss, Texas, Feb. 10, 2025.
Sgt. Griffin Payne/DoD
Under the direction of U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Transportation Command is supporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation flights by providing military airlift, Fort Bliss, Texas, Feb. 10, 2025.
Sgt. Griffin Payne/DoD

Julio Cesar Sanchez-Puentes and Luddis Norelia Sanchez-García, fled Venezuela and entered the U.S. in October 2022 and were released on parole, court documents said. Both applied and were granted Temporary Protected Status in 2024, according to court documents.

The couple was arrested and released twice in March, due to charges stemming from their entry into the U.S, according to court documents.

On April 1, their TPS status was withdrawn because of their alleged “association with a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” but they were given 33 days to appeal the decision and should have been protected from detention, their lawyer argued in court.

On April 16, the couple was again arrested this time at the El Paso International Airport after they had attended a hearing about those charges.

PHOTO: Deportation flight conducted at Fort Bliss
Sgt. Griffin Payne/DoD
Under the direction of U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Transportation Command is supporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation flights by providing military airlift, Fort Bliss, Texas, Feb. 10, 2025.
Sgt. Griffin Payne/DoD

Briones accused the government of declaring they were members of the gang “without providing this Court with a single piece of meaningful evidence.”

Declarations from ICE officials claimed that during a previous arrest, Sanchez-Garcia had acknowledged that her ex-husband, who she had separated from 10 years ago, was a member of the gang and was killed by the Venezuelan government because of it.

The couple's attorneys said in a statement that they were released Friday.

"As the Court's ruling made clear, they should not have been designated 'alien enemies.' And the consequences of this designation are drastic," they said in a statement."

"If ICE was successful, Cesar would be facing a life sentence in a brutal El Salvadoran prison. Norelia was facing the same at some other unknown location," they added.

In March, Judge Leonie Brinkema, a Clinton appointee, also slammed the government's evidence against the couple, claiming she’d throw government lawyers out of her chambers if it were a criminal case.

-ABC News' Armando Garcia


Apr 22, 2025 5:11 PM

Nearly 700 State Dept jobs to be cut under Rubio reorganization plan: Officials

Rubio’s reorganization of the State Department would involve shuttering 132 agency offices and ultimately lead to the elimination of roughly 700 of the department’s D.C.-based civil and foreign service workforce positions, officials familiar with the proposal told ABC News.

Offices on the chopping block include those under the department’s Energy Resources and Conflict and Stabilization Operations wings, the Office of the Science and Technology Advisor to the Secretary, the Office of Global Criminal Justice, the Office of International Religious Freedoms, the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, the Office of Global Women’s Issues, and the Office of Global Partnerships.

PHOTO: Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives at the Quai d'Orsay, France's Minister of Foreign Affairs for high-level talks to discuss Ukraine and its security in Paris, April 17, 2025.
Julien De Rosa/Pool via Reuters
Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives at the Quai d'Orsay, France's Minister of Foreign Affairs for high-level talks to discuss Ukraine and its security in Paris, April 17, 2025.
Julien De Rosa/Pool via Reuters

Additionally, the department’s Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability bureau will be merged with its International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau (and now branded Arms Control, Nonproliferation and Stability).

Plus, what was the department’s Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism bureau will see significant reductions and now be known just as the Counterterrorism bureau. Several special envoys and their offices are also expected to be eliminated.

A senior State Department official told ABC News that no layoffs are expected to happen immediately, and that department leaders will have 30 days to analyze and implement the plan.

The official also claimed that the elimination of roles within the department does not necessarily directly translate to the number of employees that will eventually be let go, and that many in eliminated offices will likely be moved to other areas.

-ABC News' Shannon Kingston


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