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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is set for a midnight shutdown after funding lapsed on February 13 due to disputes over ICE enforcement rules. President Trump’s insistence on aggressive deportations without Democratic reforms on warrants and masks has led to impasse, exacerbated by Minnesota fallout from two U.S. deaths sparking backlash. Unpaid TSA agents threaten airport travel chaos as the crisis unfolds.

Timmothy Hadley, 18, from Minooka, Illinois, was arrested February 11, 2026, during a traffic stop and charged with felony armed robbery with a firearm, unlawful gun possession without FOID card, and six misdemeanor aggravated assault counts for a November 24, 2025, incident in downtown Naperville. Hadley allegedly exited a white Nissan Sentra that blocked a Honda Pilot at Sleigh and School streets, approached masked with a handgun, demanded and took a backseat passenger’s phone after a failed door pull, then threw it down and fled with accomplices. A DuPage County judge denied pretrial release citing public safety, with Hadley’s next…

Social media video posted around February 13, 2026, shows Chicago police attempting to smash a vehicle’s window after the driver refused to exit during a stop, with officers surrounding the car. The driver then maneuvers onto the sidewalk, navigating past the blockade of police vehicles before speeding away. No further details on location, date, or outcome were available, but the clip from accounts like @the312watch highlights ongoing traffic stop tensions in the city.

Florida lawmakers advanced HB 1307, which would codify a new rule requiring all driver license tests, procedures, and instructions to be conducted exclusively in English, prohibiting interpreters, translators, or alternate language accommodations. Sponsored by Reps. Berny Jacques (R-Seminole) and Kiyan Michael (R-Miami), the bill cleared its first House panel (Commerce Committee) on a mostly party-line vote and heads to further committees amid arguments framing it as a road safety measure versus a barrier for non-English speakers. The broader measure also penalizes employers hiring undocumented immigrants, presumes out-of-state non-citizens liable in accidents, and restricts other licenses for unauthorized aliens.

Federal authorities launched a criminal investigation into whether two ICE officers lied under oath about a January 14, 2026, shooting of Venezuelan national Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis, after video evidence contradicted their accounts of being assaulted with a shovel or broom. ICE Director Todd Lyons confirmed the officers were placed on administrative leave pending DOJ review, potentially facing termination or charges for untruthful testimony. A federal judge dismissed assault charges against Sosa-Celis (shot in the leg) and Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna due to “newly discovered evidence” materially inconsistent with the government’s narrative.

Chicago police arrested Evanston/Skokie School District 65 employees Carlos Mendez, 51, assistant principal at Washington Elementary (on leave since Oct. 28, 2025), and Maribel Flores Hernandez, 34, paraprofessional at Joseph E. Hill Early Childhood Center (on leave since Jan. 16), on Feb. 5, 2026, for sex crimes against minors not in the district. Mendez faces aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child, domestic battery, and a Florida warrant for similar abuse; Flores-Hernandez, reportedly his girlfriend, is charged with criminal sexual assault of a family member under 18 after allegedly grooming and coercing victims over two years, including during a Miami…

A brazen armed robbery occurred around 4:23 p.m. on Thursday, February 12, 2026, in Chicago’s Fulton Market when two male suspects approached a 49-year-old man on the 200 block of North Peoria Street, demanding his property at gunpoint before assaulting him and fleeing in an SUV. Social media video captured by @landon20s shows one suspect, a Black male in gray tracksuit and red gloves, pointing a handgun at the victim on the ground while a second in black jeans with ripped knees and hooded jacket over graphic tee takes his belongings; additional people may have aided the getaway. The victim…

Chicago police charged 30-year-old Jonathan Smith with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle, and aggravated battery with a firearm for a January 24, 2026, shooting in the 4800 block of South Elizabeth Street in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. Smith allegedly wounded a 23-year-old man and fired shots at a nearby car carrying a 28-year-old man and a 4-month-old infant, neither of whom was struck. He was arrested on February 10 in the 0100 block of East 75th Street, with his next court date scheduled for Friday.

Tom Homan, President Trump’s border czar, announced on February 12, 2026, the conclusion of Operation Metro Surge, a December-launched immigration enforcement targeting undocumented individuals with criminal records in Minnesota’s Twin Cities.The operation apprehended over 4,000 public safety threats, including those with rape and sexual offenses, involving thousands of ICE and Border Patrol agents despite protests and two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by officers.Homan hailed it as reducing Minnesota’s “sanctuary state for criminals” status through improved local cooperation, with a major drawdown of 700 officers beginning immediately.

Senate Democrats blocked a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, with a procedural vote failing 52-47—short of the 60 votes needed—amid disputes over immigration enforcement and ICE changes.Current DHS funding expires Friday night, potentially triggering a partial shutdown at 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday without a last-minute agreement.Nearly all Democrats voted against advancing the measure, escalating tensions as the agency faces operational disruptions.