President Trump’s federal crackdown in Washington, D.C., results in over 100 arrests in its first days as he plans to seek a long-term extension from Congress. President Trump and Vladimir Putin are set for a high-stakes summit in Alaska to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. The U.S. foreign-born population has plunged by a record 2.2 million people in six months as the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement ramps up.
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D.C. Crackdown Yields Hundreds of Arrests
Topline: Just days after President Trump federalized the Washington, D.C., police force, a massive influx of National Guard troops and federal agents has resulted in over 100 arrests as the administration plans to seek a long-term extension of its control.
Hours after Trump’s announcement on Monday, National Guardsmen and federal agents from the FBI, DEA, and ATF began sweeping the streets of the nation’s capital. The efforts have already resulted in more than 100 arrests, including a homicide suspect, 33 for firearm offenses, and 23 illegal immigrants. “We’re just getting started,” said FBI Director Kash Patel.
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Under the law, the president’s control of the D.C. police force lasts for 30 days, but Trump announced he will ask Congress for a long-term extension. He also plans to push for a new crime bill that would eliminate no-cash bail and create stricter penalties for juvenile offenders.
Democrats have responded furiously, accusing the president of racism and renewing their calls for D.C. statehood. President Trump has dismissed the idea of statehood as “ridiculous” and a ploy for Democrats to “pick up two senators.” The D.C. Police Union has backed the president’s move, saying federal intervention is a “critical stopgap” for a city where crime is “out of control.”
Trump and Putin to Meet in High-Stakes Summit
Topline: President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet face-to-face in Alaska on Friday for a highly anticipated summit aimed at negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine.
The summit is the first in-person meeting between the two leaders since Trump returned to the White House and is being framed by his administration as a “listening exercise.” According to Victoria Coates of the Heritage Foundation, significant economic pressure from the U.S. is a key factor in bringing Putin to the negotiating table. “The president’s been very harsh with India recently,” Coates told Morning Wire. “I think it shows he really wants to get their attention, really wants to get them off of Russian gas, and that’s what’s going to truly bring Putin to the table.”
Discussions will likely focus on territorial swaps in the Russian-speaking areas of eastern Ukraine. Recent comments from both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggest a slight softening of their positions.
Coates gives Trump credit for his recent string of peace deals and for successfully pressuring NATO allies to increase their defense spending to 5% of GDP. “The Secretary General [Mark Rutte] also deserves a lot of credit for this unified message out of NATO and for encouraging President Trump to take this strong stand,” she said.
U.S. Foreign-Born Population Plunges by Record 2.2 Million
Topline: A new analysis shows the foreign-born population in the United States has plummeted by 2.2 million people in the first six months of 2025, the largest six-month decline ever recorded, as the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement continues to yield historic results.
According to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by the Center for Immigration Studies, the entire 2.2 million decline was among noncitizens, with the illegal alien population estimated to have dropped by 1.6 million people. The drop is the result of stepped-up immigration enforcement and a combination of forced and self-deportations.
The administration is also seeing historic success at the border itself. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Tuesday that July saw the “lowest monthly nationwide encounters ever” and that for the third straight month, “not a single illegal alien was released by the Trump administration into the United States of America.”
The immigration crackdown has also yielded a major victory in the fight against drug cartels. This week, Mexico agreed to extradite over two dozen top cartel leaders to U.S. authorities. The deal was reached after President Trump gave the Pentagon the green light to use military force against the cartels south of the border.