WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (ZFJ) — The Supreme Court denied President Donald Trump’s emergency appeal to allow him federalize the Illinois National Guard (ILNG) and deploy soldiers to Chicago on Dec. 23, 2025.
Trump has sought to deploy the National Guard to Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; Chicago; Memphis, Tennessee; and Portland, Oregon. In the cases of D.C. and Memphis, he said such a deployment was necessary to stop rampant crime. In the cases of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland, he said it was needed to protect federal immigration operations, which have encountered significant public backlash due to federal officers’ violent tactics.
EDISON, N.J., Jan. 11 (ZFJ) — A 17-year-old juvenile male has been arrested for the murder of a 17-year-old female in Edison, N.J., on Saturday, Jan. 10.
On Saturday, at 1:19 a.m., the Edison Police Department (EPD) received a 911 call reporting a shooting at a residence on Grove Avenue.
Responding officers found the female with a gunshot wound at the location, and she was pronounced deceased at the scene.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (ZFJ) — President Donald Trump’s attempt to deploy National Guard soldiers to Portland, Oregon, has been blocked by the federal courts.
Trump has had longstanding grievances with Portland, labeling it a “sanctuary jurisdiction” due to Oregon state law prohibiting local and state law enforcement assistance in federal immigration operations.
From June through September 2025, demonstrations took place outside of a facility belonging to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Southwest Portland following increased federal immigration enforcement activity in the city.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (ZFJ) — President Donald Trump’s attempt to deploy National Guard soldiers to Chicago has been blocked by the federal courts.
Trump has had longstanding grievances with Chicago, labeling it a “sanctuary jurisdiction” due to Illinois state law prohibiting local and state law enforcement assistance in federal immigration operations.
Following the deployment of National Guard soldiers to patrol Washington, D.C., Trump posted on Truth Social throughout August and September to criticize the handling of crime by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, an outspoken critic of the D.
METUCHEN, Jan. 7 (ZFJ) — Peter Fragoso, 29, of New Brunswick, N.J., has been charged with the attempted murder of a 23-year-old man from Long Branch, N.J., on Dec. 3, 2025.
On Dec. 3, at about 7:34 p.m., the Metuchen Police Department received a 911 call reporting an altercation between two men involving a knife at a residence on Durham Avenue.
Responding police officers found the victim with stab wounds. He was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries.
EDISON, N.J., Jan. 7 (ZFJ) — Jordan D. Jackson-Small, 35, of Edison, N.J., has been charged with the murder of Imani Smith, 26, of Edison on Dec. 21, 2025.
On Dec. 21, at 9:18 a.m., the Edison Police Department received multiple 911 calls, including one by Jackson-Small, reporting a stabbing that occurred in the Robert E. Holmes Gardens public housing complex on Grove Avenue.
Responding police officers found Smith with a stab wound to her neck, Jackson-Small, and a three-year-old child.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (ZFJ) — The federal government has been unconstitutionally targeting pro-Palestinian foreign students for deportation for protected speech, ruled a district judge on Sept. 30, 2025.
U.S. District Judge William G. Young, a Ronald Reagan nominee, came to the conclusion that Secretaries Kristi Noem and Marco Rubio of the departments of Homeland Security and State “acted in concert to misuse the sweeping powers of their respective offices to target non-citizen pro-Palestinians for deportation primarily on account of their First Amendment protected political speech” after a nine day bench trial in Massachusetts.
COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec. 27 (ZFJ) — Baltimore County has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to cooperate on immigration enforcement.
On Oct. 31, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Baltimore County’s removal from the department’s list of “sanctuary jurisdictions.”
“Despite restrictions from state leadership, Baltimore County has shown a willingness to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement,” said U.S. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward.
COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec. 27 (ZFJ) — Human remains found in a park in College Park on Nov. 3 have prompted a homicide investigation.
The Prince George’s County Police Department was assisting the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and FBI Cross Border Task Force with a missing persons investigation when it searched Indian Creek Stream Valley Park and found human remains.
The remains were sent to the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which ruled the case a homicide.
METUCHEN, N.J., Dec. 27 (ZFJ) — Metuchen resident Sener Kalkan was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said borough Mayor Jonathan Busch on social media.
Busch said that Kalkan, who is married to Metuchen native Jennifer Poandl, “appeared in Newark for a scheduled immigration hearing as part of his ongoing legal process” in early December.
Kalkan attended the hearing, passed his scheduled interview, received a future court date, and then went out for lunch with his wife.
