🎧News Brief: National Guard to Deploy More Troops to US–Mexico Border; White House Says Deportation Flights Have Begun

A National Guard soldier looks across the Rio Grande to Mexico on the border in Eagle Pass, Texas, on May 23, 2022. Allison Dinner/AFP via Getty Images

Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. I’m Bill Thomas, we have some urgent stories to share with you right now, and on today’s program, we’ll focus on the implementation of the new president’s policies, their impact on our country, and here’s what’s happening.

The National Guard responds to President Donald Trump’s order regarding security at the U.S. border, the White House issues an update on its mass deportation efforts, and the president gives California an ultimatum concerning federal aid for its recent wildfires.

Also, a wealthy country in the Middle East promises to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in our nation, and alarming health news to report as a federal agency warns that a troubling bird flu is rapidly spreading across the country.

We have a number of pressing stories to share with you today, and we begin here. An emergency has been declared at our nation’s southern border, the U.S. military has been deployed, and more now on our top story.

National Guard to Deploy More Troops to US-Mexico Border

The U.S. National Guard is sending additional troops to the U.S.–Mexico border as the Trump administration continues to ramp up immigration enforcement efforts.

An agency within the Department of Defense called the National Guard Bureau says that in response to the president’s emergency declaration, it is going to send more assets to help the military’s U.S. Northern Command as well as the Department of Homeland Security.

The general in charge of the bureau says that right now, about 1,600 National Guard members are already deployed along the border, but that the bureau is “developing additional support options” to meet the requirements of those other security forces.

He went on to say that more than 4,100 Texas National Guard troops will also be on duty at the southern border. By the way, the placement of those troops was initiated years ago by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as part of his “Operation Lone Star” efforts.

Additionally, the Pentagon says that earlier this week, the nation’s acting defense secretary ordered 1,000 Army soldiers and 500 Marines to head to the border, increasing the total there to about 4,000 U.S. military troops.

Since taking office, Trump has issued multiple executive orders that allow members of the U.S. military to act as immigration and border enforcement officers as part of his promise to secure our nation’s borders.

We’ll continue now with the Trump administration following through on what Trump said would be the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history, and here’s what’s already happening.

White House Confirms Deportation Flights Have Begun

The White House says that deportation flights removing illegal immigrants from the United States have begun. It also says that Trump is sending a “strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences.”

The White House also shared photos of individuals in handcuffs walking onto military-style airplanes as they were being monitored by officials; however, it’s not clear when or where those photos were taken.

Meanwhile, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says that on Thursday alone, the agency made 538 arrests and filed paperwork to keep an additional 373 illegal immigrants in custody.

The White House says that four of those individuals were part of a notorious Venezuelan-based gang, that one was a “suspected terrorist,” and that several were convicted of sex crimes against minors.

Additionally, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security has just issued a new directive that expands the roles of the U.S. Marshals; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Federal Bureau of Prisons; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in investigating and apprehending illegal immigrants.

He said that his action empowers law enforcement officials at the Department of Justice (DOJ) to help identify and apprehend immigrants who have illegally entered our country. He also said that these efforts have not been given proper resources for several decades, and that his directive is a “major step” in addressing that problem.

We’ll move to Southern California now, a region that’s been devastated by deadly and destructive wildfires in recent weeks. Trump says federal aid will be provided, but first, a couple of conditions must be met, and more now on this developing story.

Trump Gives 2 Conditions to California Before Offering Federal Aid for Wildfires

Trump visited Los Angeles yesterday to survey the damage, and he says he wants California to fulfill two requirements before he comes through with federal support to the state. They include creating a voter ID law and changing some of the state’s water regulations.

The president said that he wants people to have a chance to vote, and earlier this week, Trump suggested that California’s water and fire issues were due to state mismanagement, adding that he didn’t think the government should give the state anything until Gov. Gavin Newsom releases the water “that comes from the north.” He pointed out that Northern California has massive amounts of water, including rainwater and mountain water that comes down as the snow melts.

On Monday, he signed an executive order that directs federal agencies to “route more water” from Northern California to other parts of the Golden State, and he said that order was an attempt to end “radical environmentalism” which was essentially prioritizing fish over people.

The White House said that the recent deadly and historically destructive wildfires in Southern California underscore why the state needs a reliable water supply and sound vegetation management practice, and that the president’s plan must “immediately be reimplemented.”

Also yesterday, Trump visited western North Carolina, which was devastated by Hurricane Helene four months ago. While there, he said he will soon sign an executive order to start the process of fundamentally overhauling or entirely “getting rid of” the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Some big business news to share with you today, and the head of one foreign government says his country is going to invest more than half a trillion dollars in the U.S. economy, but Trump is asking for even more, and here’s what we know.

Crown Prince: Saudi Arabia Will Invest $600 Billion in US

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told President Donald Trump that over the next four years, his kingdom will invest $600 billion in the United States in an effort to boost trade relations between the two nations.

According to Saudi Arabian officials, the prince made the pledge during a phone call to congratulate Trump on his recent inauguration. The prince did not specify where the funding will be directed; however, he said that the investment may increase when and if additional opportunities arise, and the officials added that they believe Trump’s expected reforms in the United States would lead to “unprecedented economic prosperity.”

In a response, Trump called the crown prince a “fantastic guy.” The president also said that he might ask Saudi Arabia to round up its planned investment to an even $1 trillion.

The White House says the phone conversation was Trump’s first with a foreign leader since his return to Washington. It says that the discussion also touched on efforts to bolster Middle East security, combat terrorism, and bring peace and stability to the entire region.

Additionally, Trump told reporters earlier this week that he would consider making Saudi Arabia his first foreign visit if it’s willing to buy $500 billion worth of American products.

Meanwhile, the prince also spoke this week with newly confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio. According to the State Department, the two discussed the benefits of the U.S.–Saudi economic partnership, artificial intelligence (AI), Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and “the threats posed by Iran and its proxies.”

Finally today, some alarming health news to share with you. Avian flu has just been detected in more than a half dozen states in the United States, dozens of people have reportedly been infected, and more now on a story that has many people nationwide highly concerned.

Avian Flu Detected in Poultry Across 7 US States

Federal officials say that bird flu outbreaks are now affecting hundreds of thousands of birds in flocks that are spread across seven states. Additionally, authorities in an eighth state, Delaware, are now actively warning people against coming into contact with any sick birds.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that this week alone, bird flu cases in poultry were reported in Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, Georgia, Oregon, and Virginia. In Missouri, more than 1.3 million birds were affected by the outbreaks, and they were discovered at both egg layer and turkey meat facilities.

Meanwhile, in nearby Arkansas, officials confirmed an outbreak affecting more than 100,000 birds at a commercial broiler production facility, which is a site where chickens are raised for consumption. Also in Maryland, two outbreaks were confirmed; they both involved broiler facilities and affected more than 260,000 birds combined.

Additional outbreaks were also found among more than 440,000 birds in Virginia and another 130,000 birds in Georgia.

So you know, over the past 30 days, infections have been confirmed in 98 flocks across the country, affecting more than 13 million birds. At the top of the list is Ohio, with over 3 million birds impacted by the avian flu.

Meanwhile, in Delaware, state officials say they’re working to collect dead and sick snow geese, along with other wild birds that may have been infected with avian flu, in order to help them track the infection. They say that in the last 30 days, more than 300,000 birds in the state have been confirmed to be affected by the flu.

Also, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that as of last week, there have been 67 confirmed cases of bird flu found in people here in the States.

That’s a wrap for today, but before we go, a few more stories we’re following closely here in The Epoch Times News Brief newsroom:

Yesterday in Washington, thousands of demonstrators took part in the annual March for Life as the new administration takes shape, and pro-life advocates continue to work toward an end to abortion.

Also in Washington, federal agencies have been given a deadline of 30 days from yesterday to implement a return-to-work mandate issued earlier this week by President Donald Trump.

And finally this week, Trump terminated the security detail assigned to protect former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, saying that “you can’t have a security detail for the rest of your life” just because you worked for the federal government.

And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Saturday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.

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And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap everything up with a very notable quote, and this one comes to us from the late, great Kenny Rogers: “I’ve always said music should make you laugh, make you cry or make you think.”

Kenny Rogers released 39 studio albums and 80 singles, 24 of which hit number one on the country chart. From “Coward of the County” to “Islands in the Stream,” nobody did it better than Kenny Rogers.

For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.

The Epoch Times News Brief program is written each day by David Ross.

Thank you for making us your one-stop source for a concise, accurate, and unbiased daily synopsis of many of the news stories you need to know about.

Enjoy the remainder of your day, and we’ll see you right back here next time for another edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.

For now, it’s imperative that we all continue to watch out for one another, and have an absolutely superb day today. Bye for now.