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Friday, January 17, 2025

ICE officers prepping for ‘big f–king operation’ in sanctuary cities right after Trump inauguration

 The ICE man cometh.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is preparing to launch a “big f–king operation” across sanctuary cities — including Chicago and New York — immediately after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, multiple sources told The Post.

Starting Jan. 21, multi-day “ground operations” will be launched across cities that have served as safe havens for migrants because the local authorities do not cooperate with the federal government when it comes to immigration issues, sources said.

President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to carry out a historic number of deportations beginning on the first day of his presidency.REUTERS

The massive sweep is likely to target people with removal orders, according to sources. 

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Trump’s incoming border czar Tom Homan has vowed that the mass deportations will begin on Day 1 to focus on illegal immigrants who pose threats to the country.

One source said certain ICE offices have already paused arrests to make room in detention centers for the targets of the upcoming raids.

“We aren’t arresting anyone and bringing them into custody, making room for what may happen next week,” said the source.

The former director of ICE’s Denver office, John Fabbricatore, told The Post that such sweeps were ended under the Biden administration, adding that “the men and women of ICE are looking forward to being able to do their job” again.

As many as 200 ICE officers will be deployed to carry out the Chicago operation alone, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday

An ICE agent monitors hundreds of migrants as they enter the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York City.Getty Images
Trump’s “border czar” pick Tom Homan has vowed to flood ICE officers to sanctuary cities.AFP via Getty Images

A spokesperson for ICE declined to comment and referred The Post to the incoming administration “for any information concerning activities which may take place after the inauguration.” 

The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment. 

In December, Homan told supporters at an event in Chicago that the arrests would start in the Windy City.

“Chicago’s in trouble because your mayor sucks and your governor sucks,” Homan said.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

Homan was asked about reports of a “big raid in Chicago” during an appearance on Fox News Friday evening and signaled that several cities should expect ICE operations after Trump’s inauguration.   

“It’s going to be a big raid all across the country,” the incoming border czar told Fox News host Jesse Watters.

Big Apple Mayor Eric Adams sits down with Trump’s incoming border czar Tom Homan.Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

“Chicago is just one of many places. We’ve got 24 [ICE] field offices across the country. On Tuesday, ICE is finally going to go out and do their job. We’re going to take the handcuffs off ICE and let them go arrest criminal aliens. That’s what’s going to happen.”

Homan added that ICE agents will “enforce immigration law without apology” but “concentrate on the worst first.” 

However, he warned that “no one’s off the table.”

Nearly 230,000 migrants have been housed in taxpayer-funded city shelters since the flood of migrants began in 2022.Robert Miller

“If they’re in the country illegally, they got a problem,” Homan declared.  

Homan also recently met with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and the two discussed sanctuary cities, deporting alleged criminal migrants and tracking down the more than 320,000 missing migrant children, sources previously told The Post.

The incoming border czar also described Adams’ stance on the issues as a “complete 180” from his previous progressive immigration views.

In an earlier interview with The Post, Homan vowed not to spare sanctuary cities that shield illegal migrant criminals from the feds, threatening potential lawsuits and actions to withhold federal funding from those areas of the country.

But Homan also pledged that ICE under the new admin will make arrests in sanctuary cities on their own, saying, “We’ll wait until they get out of jail, then we’ll go out into the neighborhoods and get them.”

Along with the immediate ICE sweeps, there will likely be quick and sweeping changes at the border.

Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, testified during her Senate confirmation hearing Friday that the Day 1 plans include scrapping the Biden administration’s signature CBP One phone app border entry program.

The app has allowed 936,500 migrants to schedule their border crossings, according to federal data.

https://nypost.com/2025/01/17/us-news/ice-officers-prepping-for-big-f-king-operation-across-sanctuary-cities-after-trump-inauguration/

Boehringer drug for brain fog in schizophrenia fails trial

 Boehringer Ingelheim's attempt to develop the first drug therapy for impaired cognitive function in schizophrenia, a core feature of the illness, has suffered what looks like a terminal setback.

The first results from the phase 3 CONNEX clinical programme, which encompasses three clinical trials, have shown that iclepertin – a glycine transporter 1 (GlyT1) inhibitor – was unable to show a statistically significant benefit on the primary endpoint, change from baseline in the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery overall composite T-score at six months, as well as secondary measures.

As a result of the disappointing results, Boehringer said that it was abandoning a long-term extension trial called CONNEX-X, bringing to an end what it said was the largest programme for cognitive impairment in schizophrenia to date, enrolling more than 1,800 patients.

It's a major disappointment for the company, as well as patients and healthcare workers, as cognitive impairment ranks alongside positive symptoms like hallucinations and negative symptoms like apathy and social withdrawal among the debilitating consequences of schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia affects approximately 24 million people worldwide, and cognitive impairment is seen in around 80% of them, making it hard for them to carry out simple tasks – like attending appointments – that can complicate their care.

Iclepertin – which regulates the concentration of glycine in the brain and in turn modulates the activity of NMDA receptors for the neurotransmitter glutamate – was one of two mental health programmes singled out by Boehringer's head of innovation, Dr Paola Casarosa, at an R&D update last year as having the potential to make a major difference to patients and fuel the company's future growth.

The other was a negative allosteric modulator (NAM) of NR2b for mood disorders, codenamed BI 1569912, which is in phase 2 testing as a monotherapy and add-on to other antidepressants in major depressive disorder, and also in earlier-stage development for borderline personality disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Boehringer's most up-to-date pipeline listing does not mention any other potential indications for iclepertin or other GlyT1 inhibitors, although, it does mention a glutamate receptor modulator in early clinical development.

Last year, the privately-held pharma group licensed rights to a portfolio of GPR52 agonists from Sosei Heptares in a €670 million deal, saying at the time the drugs – which affect glutamate and dopamine regulation – have the potential to tackle positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia.

"While these findings are disappointing, we remain dedicated to finding effective solutions for those living with serious mental illnesses," commented Shashank Deshpande, Boehringer's head of human pharma in a statement.

"Our innovative pipeline includes over 20 additional investigative therapies in all stages of development and in different disease areas including schizophrenia and major depressive disorder," he said, adding: "In the near future, more can be expected."

https://pharmaphorum.com/news/boehringer-drug-brain-fog-schizophrenia-fails-trial

Justices agree to hear Maryland case on parents’ rights and LGBTQ books

 The Supreme Court said Friday it would review a case involving a group of Maryland parents who sued their children’s school district over its refusal to allow them to opt out of elementary school classes that use books with LGBTQ themes or characters. 

The parents, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, sued Montgomery County Public Schools in 2023 after the school district said it would no longer honor opt-out requests or notify families if a book referencing gender or sexuality would be read in class. Maryland’s largest school district announced in 2022 that revisions to its curriculum would include a new reading list of storybooks with young LGBTQ characters, part of a broader effort to foster diversity and inclusion. 

The books included “My Rainbow,” about a mother who makes a rainbow-colored wig for her transgender daughter, and “Love, Violet,” a story about a girl who develops a crush on her female classmate. Another book, “Pride Puppy!”, concerns a puppy who gets lost during a gay pride parade. 

Initially, the school board said it would allow parents to remove their children from the classroom when the books were read, but it changed course shortly after, touching off a wave of protests from parents who said the move violated their First Amendment rights. 

Three families sued the school system that May, arguing that preventing them from opting their children out of classes with LGBTQ-inclusive books infringed on their free exercise of religion. They are not challenging the curriculum or asking the school district to stop reading the books to other students. 

The lead plaintiffs in the case, Tamer Mahmoud and Enas Barakat, are Muslims who removed their elementary-aged son from public school after a district court sided with Montgomery County in August 2023. Other plaintiffs are members of the Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox churches. 

The parents, who twice lost their case before appealing to the Supreme Court, believe a person’s gender and sex at birth are “intertwined and inseparable” and “an integral part of God’s design,” according to court documents. They believe that they have a religious obligation to teach their children about the “immutable sexual differences between males and females, the biblical way to properly express romantic and sexual desires, and the role of parents to love one another unconditionally and sacrificially within the confines of biblical marriage.” 

Attorneys for the school district wrote in court filings that the disputed books are age-appropriate and “impart critical reading skills” to young students. They added that the families involved in the lawsuit had not offered any evidence that Montgomery County Public Schools pressured their children “to affirm or disavow particular views” or compelled them to act in violation of their religious beliefs. 

The justices approved the parents’ request to hear the case Friday in a brief, unsigned order.  

Last May, the Supreme Court declined to hear another case involving Montgomery County Public Schools. A separate group of parents sued the school district in 2020 over a policy meant to support transgender students. 

“Cramming down controversial gender ideology on three-year-olds without their parents’ permission is an affront to our nation’s traditions, parental rights, and basic human decency,” Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, said Friday in a statement. “The Court must make clear: parents, not the state, should be the ones deciding how and when to introduce their children to sensitive issues about gender and sexuality.” 

A spokesperson for Montgomery County Public Schools did not immediately return a request for comment. 

The dispute was one of five cases the Supreme Court agreed to hear Friday. It is poised to be the last batch of cases the justices will consider this term unless the court takes up a future case on an expedited timeline.  

The justices said they would also take up disputes involving student disability claims and combat disability payments, among other cases. 

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5092723-supreme-court-review-lgbtq-book-case/