• President Trump directed federal immigration agents to assist TSA at US airports during a partial shutdown over Department of Homeland Security funding, with agents guarding exit lanes and checking passenger IDs unless Democrats agree to fund the agency.
• White House border czar Tom Homan is leading the airport security effort and has been meeting with bipartisan senators, though negotiations have not yet reached total agreement on resolving the shutdown.
• Democrats are demanding major changes to federal immigration operations and have stated willingness to fund TSA and most DHS components, citing concerns about escalated tensions among frustrated travelers and unpaid screeners.
Officials understood to be investigating use of visas by company linked to Ahmadi Religion of Peace and LightThe Home Office is investigating a company linked to a religious sect based in Cheshire over its use of immigration visas.The company under investigation is linked to the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL), a sect that blends tenets of Islam with conspiracy theories about the Illuminati and aliens controlling US presidents. Followers believe the sect’s leader, Abdullah Hashem, can cure the sick and make the moon disappear. About 100 of his followers live in a former orphanage in Crewe, in the north-west of England. Continue reading...