New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration is preparing to launch a statewide online system that would allow residents to submit reports, videos, and other documentation of encounters with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, an initiative modeled on similar efforts used by activists to monitor federal immigration activity.
Sherrill, a Democrat who was sworn into office earlier this month, revealed the plan Wednesday during an interview on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”
“We are also going to be standing up a portal so people can upload all their cellphone videos and alert people,” Sherrill said. “If you see an ICE agent in the street, get your phone out. We want to know.”
ICE did not immediately provide a response when asked to comment on the governor’s remarks.
In addition to the reporting system, Sherrill said her administration intends to bar ICE from conducting operations on state-owned property. Several local governments, including Jersey City, have already enacted similar prohibitions at the municipal level.
“They have not been forthcoming,” Sherrill said of ICE operations. “They will pick people up. They will not tell us who they are.”
The governor, who has frequently clashed with Republican President Donald Trump, argued that ICE routinely withholds information about arrests and conducts itself in a manner comparable to a clandestine law enforcement agency.
“They’ll pick up American citizens. They picked up a 5-year-old child. We want documentation, and we’re going to make sure we get it,” Sherrill said.
Following her television appearance, the governor’s office said more information about the reporting portal would be released soon. The administration said the rollout is being coordinated with Jennifer Davenport, who was recently appointed acting attorney general of New Jersey.
“Keeping New Jerseyans safe is Gov. Sherrill’s top priority, and in the coming days she and Acting Attorney General Davenport will announce additional actions to protect New Jerseyans from federal overreach,” the governor’s office said in a statement.
New Jersey’s plan comes after comparable action in New York, where Attorney General Letitia James announced a program in October to gather photos and videos of ICE activity following a widely publicized enforcement operation on Canal Street in New York City, a neighborhood with a large immigrant population.
State officials said any submissions to New Jersey’s system would be reviewed by the Office of the Attorney General to determine whether there were potential violations of state law.
Officials elsewhere have also signaled a willingness to challenge ICE through the courts. In Pennsylvania, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has said he is prepared to pursue state-level charges against ICE agents in certain situations.
At the federal level, members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation said this week that they are organizing legal observer training sessions to teach the public how to document immigration enforcement actions.
U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey said continued scrutiny of ICE is necessary.
“Their crimes must be recorded for the day when those who have violated our rights face justice,” Watson Coleman, D-12th Dist., said. “It’s up to us to serve as witnesses now.”
{Matzav.com}
A suspect charged in a violent rock-throwing attack on a school bus on the New Jersey Turnpike that seriously injured an 8-year-old student has been taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, officials said.
Authorities identified the man as Hernando Garcia-Morales of Teaneck. The Department of Homeland Security described him as an illegal alien from Mexico with a lengthy criminal record accumulated while living in New Jersey.
According to DHS, Garcia-Morales was arrested in 2023 on burglary charges. Records also show a 2006 arrest for weapons possession and theft.
The attack occurred at about 2 p.m. on January 7 as a school bus was returning to Yeshivat Noam, a Jewish day school, after a class trip to the Liberty Science Center, officials said.
As the bus approached the area near Exit 70A-B in Teaneck, Garcia-Morales allegedly hurled a baseball-sized rock at the vehicle. The impact shattered a window and caused a fractured skull to a third-grade girl, who later required surgery, authorities said.
Two days after the incident, New Jersey State Police arrested Garcia-Morales. He was charged with aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal mischief, resisting arrest by flight, and hindering apprehension, police said.
Investigators said Garcia-Morales was located at a makeshift campsite he had set up inside Old Croaker County Park in Bergen County following a state police-led investigation.
State police also said the investigation connected him to several other rock-throwing incidents reported in Bogota Borough, also in Bergen County.
DHS said Garcia-Morales entered the United States at an unknown time and location.
“Violently targeting a school bus full of children is extremely wicked and heinous,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “Hernando Garcia-Morales should have never been in this country, let alone released after multiple arrests into New Jersey communities.”
{Matzav.com}The Senate reached an agreement Thursday evening to keep much of the federal government operating, finalizing a plan just one day before a looming shutdown deadline.
Under the deal, funding for the Department of Homeland Security will be carved out from a broader package that includes five other major appropriations bills. Instead of advancing DHS funding as part of that bundle, the Senate will move forward with a short-term continuing resolution that maintains DHS funding at current levels through February 13.
Negotiations over the temporary funding measure had focused on how long the stopgap should last. Democrats pushed for a two-week extension, which ultimately became part of the agreement, while Republicans had argued for a six-week continuation.
Two sources familiar with the talks confirmed the arrangement, noting that Republican leaders were still reviewing the details with rank-and-file members to determine whether changes or amendments might be required.
The remaining five appropriations bills — covering Defense, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, and Education — are designed to fund those departments for the full fiscal year. If enacted, they would provide funding for roughly 96 percent of the federal government through fiscal year 2026. Senate votes on the package were expected Thursday night.
President Trump signaled support for the agreement in a post on Truth Social.
“I am working hard with Congress to ensure that we are able to fully fund the Government, without delay. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to get the vast majority of the Government funded until September, while at the same time providing an extension to the Department of Homeland Security (including the very important Coast Guard, which we are expanding and rebuilding like never before),” he wrote.
“Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed Bipartisan ‘YES’ Vote,” he added.
If the Senate approves the funding measures, attention will then shift to the House, which will be responsible for taking up the bills in the coming days.
The House is not expected to reconvene until Monday, making a brief funding lapse likely. Uncertainty also remains about how smoothly the legislation will move through the chamber, as some Republicans have already called for revisions to the bills.
Democrats had previously warned they would block the entire six-bill funding package unless the DHS measure was removed, following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis on Saturday.
That backlash left Republicans on the defensive and led the administration to take steps aimed at easing tensions.
Discussions between Democratic leaders and the White House intensified Wednesday night, setting the stage for Thursday’s agreement.
“Hopefully, we won’t have a shutdown. We’re working on that right now. I think we’re getting close. The Democrats, I don’t believe want to see it either,” President Trump said during a Cabinet meeting earlier Thursday. “So we’ll work in a very bipartisan way, I believe, not to have a shutdown.”
The compromise leaves lawmakers with only a narrow window to reach a longer-term solution for DHS funding for the remainder of the year.
On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Democrats are pressing three conditions in renewed DHS negotiations: ending roving patrols by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and tightening warrant requirements; increasing oversight by establishing a universal code of conduct; and mandating body cameras for agents while barring them from wearing masks.
“Under President Trump, Secretary Noem and Stephen Miller, ICE has been unleashed without guardrails,” Schumer said. “They violate constitutional rights all the time and deliberately refuse to coordinate with state and local law enforcement.”
{Matzav.com}President Donald Trump sent a personal letter to Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, thanking him for advancing the decision to name a new seaside promenade in Bat Yam after the American president and expressing appreciation for the gesture.
According to a report by Ynet, the letter arrived unexpectedly in Israel and included a photograph from the groundbreaking ceremony for the promenade, personally signed by Trump. On the photo, the president wrote, “Bibi, This is so great. Thank you. Donald.”
The groundbreaking ceremony took place about four months ago and was attended by Netanyahu, Bat Yam Mayor Tzvika Brot, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. During the event, Huckabee photographed the beachfront and informed those present that he had sent the images directly to Trump. Shortly afterward, Huckabee announced that the president had “promised to visit the promenade.”
In the photograph signed by Trump, Netanyahu and Brot are seen laying the cornerstone for the new promenade together, with Ambassador Huckabee standing alongside them. In his letter, Trump thanked the prime minister for his role in promoting the project.
Ynet further reported that construction work on the promenade is currently ongoing and is expected to be completed within the next few months. Once finished, Trump is expected to receive a formal invitation to inaugurate the promenade during one of his future visits to Israel, together with the prime minister and the mayor of Bat Yam.
{Matzav.com}
A new poll published Thursday night examines the political impact of a possible three-way alliance between Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid, and former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, indicating that such a joint list could dramatically reshape Israel’s political map.
According to a Channel 12 News survey, no political bloc currently has a clear path to forming a government without support from the Joint List or parts of it. Under the present scenario, the Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, would emerge as the largest party with 27 seats. Naftali Bennett’s party would place second with 21 mandates, followed by the Joint List with 12 seats and the Democrats with 11.
Shas and Eisenkot’s party, Yashar, would each receive nine seats. Yesh Atid, Yisrael Beytenu, and Otzma Yehudit would secure eight seats apiece, while United Torah Judaism would be the smallest faction in the Knesset with seven mandates.
The survey also assessed the effect of a partial consolidation. In that scenario, the Joint List would gain two additional seats, effectively weakening the so-called “change bloc” by one mandate. The opposition would stand at 57 seats, compared to just 51 for the current coalition. Several parties would fail to cross the electoral threshold, including Religious Zionism (2.9%), Blue and White (1.8%), and the Reservists party led by Yoaz Hendel (1%).
However, the most striking results emerged when the poll examined Eisenkot’s proposal for a full merger with Bennett and Yair Lapid. In that case, the unified list would surge to 38 seats, making it the largest party in Israel by a wide margin, while Likud would remain steady at 27 seats.
In this scenario, the Joint List would retain 12 mandates and the Democrats 11. Shas would again receive nine seats, with Yisrael Beytenu and Otzma Yehudit each winning eight. United Torah Judaism would remain the smallest faction, holding seven seats.
At the same time, a separate poll released by Channel 14 painted a very different picture. That survey showed the right-wing bloc strengthening significantly, reaching 64 seats, compared to 43 for the left-wing bloc. Arab parties would collectively receive 13 mandates.
In the Channel 14 results, Likud would lead with 34 seats, followed by the Joint List with 13. Bennett’s party would receive 12 seats, and Shas would gain 10. The Democrats and United Torah Judaism would each secure nine seats, as would Yisrael Beytenu.
Otzma Yehudit and Yashar would each stand at seven mandates, while Yesh Atid would fall to six. Religious Zionism would receive four seats, and Blue and White would fail to pass the electoral threshold, polling at just 3%.
{Matzav.com}
A Russian drone struck near the residence of Rabbi Liron Edri, the rabbi of the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, on Thursday night, causing damage to his home. No injuries were reported, as Rabbi Edri and his family were away at the time of the impact.
Kryvyi Rih, home to more than 500,000 people, is among Ukraine’s largest urban centers and serves as the heart of the country’s steel industry. The city is also recognized as the birthplace of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and has an estimated Jewish population of about 5,000.
Jewish leaders in Ukraine say attacks affecting Jewish sites have become so frequent that they have stopped keeping a precise tally. In just the last six months, more than ten incidents involving synagogues, rabbis’ residences, and Jewish cemeteries have been documented, with some cases suspected of being deliberate.
Describing the broader reality facing civilians, Rabbi Edri said, “People are freezing from the cold due to Russian attacks targeting electricity and energy facilities. It is a very difficult and challenging winter, and we need a great deal of heavenly mercy, but they will not break us. I, together with my fellow Chabad emissaries throughout Ukraine, am staying here to help the communities.”
In a statement, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine expressed support for the rabbi and those remaining in the country. The organization said, “We strengthen the hands of Rabbi Edri, who works in his city with astonishing dedication. It is very important that the world not forget the hundreds of thousands of Jews living here, as well as the hundreds of Chabad emissary families who did not leave Ukraine and remain here under constant bombardment, enduring terrible and threatening conditions, without electricity and sometimes without water. At the same time, we will continue to adhere to our mission and intensify it even further.”
{Matzav.com}
President Donald Trump has reviewed a series of potential military and non-military actions aimed at Iran, options that were jointly prepared by senior officials at the White House and the Pentagon, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Among the proposals shown to the president is an expansive air campaign known internally as “the big plan,” which would involve widespread strikes against key installations linked to Iran’s ruling clerical leadership and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Other alternatives outlined to Trump include more limited attacks on sites viewed as emblematic of the Iranian regime, paired with the possibility of widening the scope of operations if Tehran continues advancing its nuclear program. The menu of options also includes non-kinetic measures, such as cyber operations targeting Iran’s banking system, along with harsher economic penalties.
Officials in Israel have cautioned that a narrowly focused strike would likely fall short of bringing down Iran’s leadership. Sources in Jerusalem say that although Trump had previously been open to actions that might result in regime change, he now assesses that military force alone would not accomplish that objective. Instead, his current thinking is said to prioritize strikes on tangible assets, particularly nuclear-related facilities and potentially missile infrastructure.
Meanwhile, several Gulf countries — including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, and Oman — are engaged in coordinated efforts to broker dialogue between Washington and Tehran to avert a broader conflict. Despite the current diplomatic impasse, leaders in the region maintain that a negotiated off-ramp remains possible.
{Matzav.com}
