Former top DOJ immigration official says she was removed with no explanation
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(WASHINGTON) — A former top Justice Department immigration official who was removed from her position by new DOJ leadership this week told ABC News that she did not receive any explanation for her removal.
Lauren Alder Reid was one of four top officials from the agency that operates the U.S. immigration courts who was removed from her post. She had been with the agency for more than 14 years.
“They did not give me any reason, other than not citing the 16 years of outstanding performance evaluation for lack of any discipline, administrative leave or reassignment in my entire career,” Reid told ABC News.
The firings come as President Donald Trump has signed a flurry of immigration executive orders after vowing on the campaign trail to clamp down on immigration and undo Biden-era policies.
When asked if she’s considering legal action, Reid, who was the assistant director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s office of policy, said that she and the others are considering all options available to them.
“It’s pretty hard to sit back and imagine that this could begin to happen, at will, to any employee throughout the government, especially when we’re talking about public servants who have dedicated their careers to try to make our country the best,” she said.
The Justice Department employs about 700 immigration judges who decide whether migrants seeking asylum in the United States can remain in the country legally. There is currently an historic backlog of 3.5 million cases.
Reid said drastic reform is needed to address the backlog, saying, “Congress needs to act.”
Asked what message her removal sends to other career officials in the federal government, Reid said that employees are fearful. “If fear is what they wanted, that’s what they’re getting,” Reid said.
(WASHINGTON) — Top Congressional Democrats are expressing outrage after members of President Donald Trump’s administration inadvertently added Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, to an unsecured message thread discussing highly sensitive war plans on Monday.
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, who apparently added Goldberg to the Signal chat, was joined on the thread by those identified by Goldberg as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — among others.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responded forcefully on the chamber floor on Monday, calling upon Leader John Thune and Senate Republicans to work with Democrats in calling a “full investigation” into why officials had coordinated military operations over Signal, rather than using taxpayer-funded secure communications channels.
“Mr. President, this is one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time,” Schumer said.
“What we have here are senior U.S. leaders, including the Vice President and Secretary of Defense, having classified discussions of military action over an unsecure app,” Schumer continued. “It’s bad enough that a private citizen was added to this chain, but it’s far worse that sensitive military information was exchanged on an unauthorized application, especially when that sensitive military information was so so important.”
“This kind of carelessness is how people get killed. It’s how our enemies can take advantage of us. It’s how our national security falls into danger,” he added.
The Democratic leader said that the investigation he’s called for should look into how this “debacle” happened, the damage it created, and how they could avoid it in the future.
“Every single Senator– Republican and Democrat and Independent, must demand accountability. If a government employee shared sensitive military plans like this, they’d be investigated and face very harsh consequences,” Schumer said.
He also suggested that his Republican colleagues should be as “outraged” by this incident as they were over the email controversy involving former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the days before the 2016 election, which she lost to Trump.
“If you were up in arms over unsecure emails years ago, you should certainly be outraged by this amateurish behavior,” Schumer said.
Schumer ended his brief remarks by claiming that Democrats has anticipated an event like this one when they opposed Hegseth’s nomination.
“When Pete Hegseth came before the Senate as a nominee, Democrats warned that something like this might happen. These people are clearly not up for the job. we warned confirming them was dangerous, that they behaved recklessly. Unfortunately, we were right. Now, we must have accountability in both parties. The Senate should investigate how this blunder was even possible,” Schumer said.
Clinton also reacted. “You have got to be kidding me,” she posted on X on Monday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also advocated for a congressional investigation and directly called out Hegseth.
“There should absolutely be a congressional investigation so that we can understand what happened. Why did it happen, and how do we prevent this type of national security breach from ever happening again,” Jeffries said at a press conference on Monday.
Jeffries, who got fired up when asked about the incident, called the situation “reckless, irresponsible and dangerous” and suggested that those involved were “jeopardizing America’s national security” — before sharply criticizing Hegseth.
“This whole Trump administration is filled with lackeys and incompetent cronies. I’m not talking about any particular individual, though,” he said. “I will note that the secretary of Defense who was on that chain has got to be the most unqualified person ever to lead the Pentagon in American history. Think about that.”
Speaker Mike Johnson downplayed the flurry of national security concerns on Monday afternoon.
“Look, I’m not going to characterize what happened. I think the administration has acknowledged it was a mistake, and they’ll tighten up and make sure it doesn’t happen again. I don’t know what else you can say about,” he told reporters at the Capitol, following a White House event where he appeared alongside Trump and the governor of Louisiana.
Johnson added that he doesn’t believe Waltz or Hegseth should be disciplined for the incident.
In addition to his on-camera remarks, Jeffries released a statement on the national security breach, calling it “completely outrageous.”
“It is yet another unprecedented example that our nation is increasingly more dangerous because of the elevation of reckless and mediocre individuals, including the Secretary of Defense,” Jeffries said.
He reiterated his call for a Congressional investigation into the matter — even though Democrats have little power to do so since they are in the minority.
“If House Republicans are truly serious about keeping America safe, and not simply being sycophants and enablers, they must join Democrats in a swift, serious and substantive investigation into this unacceptable and irresponsible national security breach,” he concluded.
Speaking to reporters in Honolulu on Monday, during a layover for a trip to Asia, Hegseth disputed Goldberg’s description of the chat, saying “nobody was texting war plans.”
Trump said he “doesn’t know anything about it” when first asked about the reports on Monday afternoon. The Pentagon referred questions to the National Security Council and the White House.
When asked by ABC News on Monday, the White House said that the Signal chat “appears to be authentic.” Additionally, White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes shared with ABC News the statement he provided to The Atlantic confirming the veracity of a Signal group chat.
Both the top Republican and top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee said Monday that they expect to receive classified briefings aimed at addressing the incident.
ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Jay O’Brien, Lauren Peller and T. Michelle Murphy contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is continuing his outreach to Senate Republicans — critical to advancing his Cabinet nominees and aggressive agenda.
ABC News has exclusively obtained an invitation sent to GOP senators and their spouses to have dinner with Trump at Mar-A-Lago on Friday while they are in town for the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s Annual Winter Meeting.
The NRSC, chaired by South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, is set to host its annual winter meeting at The Breakers, a hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, on Feb. 7-9. The event is expected to have a record attendance of both Republican senators and donors.
Although the dinner will be with Trump, the Republican National Committee is paying for the event.
The dinner comes following the NRSC announcing in a memo to Republican Senate chiefs of staff Monday morning that it broke a fundraising record in January with $8.5 million raised — more than any other January off-year in committee history.
The memo also noted that the committee is entering the cycle with nearly $24 million in debt and unpaid bills from last cycle and limited cash on hand.
The 2024 election cycle was a good year for Republicans, securing the Senate’s majority by flipping seats in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Montana.
The memo also expressed the committee’s gratitude to White House political staff for briefing the group and shared their hopes of a partnership with them through the cycle.
“We appreciate James [Blair] and Matt [Brasseaux] for making the time to speak with us and we look forward to continuing to partner with them throughout the cycle.”
Blair is currently Trump’s deputy chief of staff at the White House and Brasseaux serves as the Trump administration’s director of the Office of Political Affairs. Blair served as the Trump’s campaign political director and Brasseaux was the deputy political director.
Trump’s invitation to GOP senators is one of many recent efforts to show a strong working relationship. Trump recently hosted breakfast with Republican senators the morning before the inauguration at Blair House and Senate Majority Leader John Thune at the White House just after the inauguration.
With the 2026 midterms a little more than a year and half away, Republicans look to expand their 53-seat majority in the Senate while also defending their seats in the critical states of Maine and North Carolina, represented by GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Thom Tillis.
But the 2026 midterms could prove to be a successful year for the GOP, with chances to flip the Senate seats in Michigan, where Democratic Sen. Gary Peters announced he would not seek reelection and in Georgia, where the race would be made much tighter if GOP Gov. Brian Kemp were to jump in the race against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
(WASHINGTON) — The mayors of Boston, Chicago, Denver and New York City faced a fiery House Oversight Committee during a blockbuster hearing on sanctuary cities on Wednesday.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams all defended their actions on immigration enforcement in their respective cities as Republicans on the committee accused them of increasing crime and impeding on law enforcement actions.
“The mayors here today each lead so-called ‘sanctuary cities,’ and let’s be clear, these policies only create sanctuary for criminals,” Chairman James Comer, a Republican, said in his opening remarks.
“Today, mayors Wu, Johnson, Johnston and Adams will be publicly accountable for their failure to follow the law and protect the American people.”
Sanctuary cities still enforce U.S. federal immigration laws, but the term often refers to a limited collaboration with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement while enacting policies that are more favorable to undocumented people.
Democrats immediately criticized the Trump administration, arguing the overreach of federal officials has led to unlawful detentions and created fear in communities.
“Republicans have hauled before us the mayors of four major American cities to frame them as lawless, because those cities have some limits on how intrusively and aggressively their own officials can conduct federal immigration operations and responsibilities,” Ranking Member Gerry Connolly said.
“Let’s be clear, the state and local laws that Republicans have issue with today are in full compliance with federal law. They do not obstruct ICE from carrying out its duties, and they are backed by evidence demonstrating that they keep people safe.”
Throughout the hearing, the mayors took turns defending their status, describing how they work with law enforcement on arrests while also creating policies that make their cities more safe.
“As mayor, I do not control who enters or remains in our country, but I do have to manage the population that is within our city,” said Adams, who said as New York City mayor he is working with the Trump administration on immigration aid. “In order to carry out this function without having long term negative ramification, I must create an atmosphere that allows every law abiding resident, documented or not to access vital services without fear of being turned over to federal authorities.”
Wu said that the Trump administration is making “hard-working, tax-paying, God-fearing residents afraid to live their lives.”
“A city that scared is not a city that’s safe. A land ruled by fear is not the land of the free,” Wu said.
Wednesday’s committee hearing comes as President Donald Trump’s administration officials have ramped up their immigration enforcement efforts with Attorney General Pam Bondi shutting down federal grants to sanctuary cities and multiple threats “border czar” Tom Homan has issued toward these mayors if they refuse to comply.
On Tuesday, Bondi said efforts to crack down on immigration enforcement would increase in Boston, citing a lack of effort from Wu to prosecute undocumented immigrants.
“As a result of the Mayor’s decision to side with public safety threats over law-abiding citizens, DOJ will have no choice but to increase efforts in the city of Boston. Criminals will be prosecuted, illegal aliens will be arrested, and justice will be served,” Bondi posted on X.
