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PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 17th, 2025: U.S. Missile Destroyer Deployed To The Border & Trump Defies Court on Deportations
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Mike Baker
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It's Monday the 17th of March. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll start with an unexpected deployment to the US Mexico border with one that involves the US Navy. A guided missile destroyer has been set to patrol the region with officials citing the need to protect US Territorial integrity, sovereignty and security. We'll give you the details later in the show. Despite a court order, the Trump administration is moving full speed ahead with the deportation of hundreds of members of the violent gang trender Aragua TDA who are being sent straight to El Salvador's mega prison, now deporting criminal gang members. It seems like the sort of thing that every law abiding citizen could support. And yet it's a Trump policy. So of course there's opposition. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. The US Military just took an unusual step in border security, sending a guided missile destroyer to patrol US Waters near Mexico. The USS Gravely, that's a ship that until recently was defending against Houthi missile attacks in the Middle east, is now part of the Trump administration's push to tighten control over the southern border. The USS Gravely left its base in Virginia over the weekend, heading to the U. S. Northern Command's area of operations. And that's a massive zone covering the continental U.S. alaska, Canada, Mexico and surrounding waters up to 500 nautical miles out. According to Pentagon officials, the warship is there to, quote, protect U.S. territorial integrity, sovereignty and security, end quote. But, well, as you might have noticed, that's rather vague in the exact role that the ship will play is still unclear. What we do know is that this deployment marks a shift because normally border related maritime operations fall under the US Coast Guard's jurisdiction. Sending a Navy warship suggests an escalation in how the administration is handling immigration and security along the border. If you're wondering what kinds of weapons the USS Gravely is carrying, well, I'LL tell you it's armed to the teeth. The ship typically carries Tomahawk cruise missiles, surface to air missiles, and advanced naval guns capable of striking targets on land, sea, in the air. It also carries anti submarine warfare systems and close in weapon systems designed to intercept incoming threats within seconds. The ship will also carry a specialized Coast Guard law enforcement detachment teams trained for missions ranging from stopping human trafficking to counterterrorism. Officials say it will help combat threats like smuggling, transnational crime and piracy. Now, this isn't the first time that a US President has sent military forces to the border. Both the military and the National Guard have been deployed in the past to assist the border patrol. More recently, the US Military has also used naval surveillance aircraft to monitor border activity from above. Spy planes equipped with advanced radar and infrared sensors have been flying over key areas, tracking cartel movements, smuggling routes and illegal crossings. But using a guided missile destroyer, well, that's what we would call upping the ante. The border is largely landlocked with rough terrain and narrow waterways, making a warship's role in the operation, well, somewhat unusual. Critics argue that the move is more about optics than effectiveness, pointing out that illegal border crossings are currently at a record low. Others say this is a clear sign that the administration is stepping up enforcement, even if it requires using unusual methods. Coming up next, the Trump administration is moving forward with the deportation of hundreds of Trenda Aragua gang members. The TDA gang. They're being sent straight to El Salvador's mega prison. I'll have those details when we come back.
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Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. The Trump administration executed a mass deportation of nearly 240 members of the TDA gang, the notorious Venezuelan prison gang, over the weekend, invoking the centuries old Alien Enemies act for the first time Since World War II to sidestep immigration courts. Now, for background, the Alien enemies Act of 1798. Yes, I suspect you probably knew it was. 1798 is a rarely used wartime statute that grants the president sweeping powers to detain or expel foreign nationals from enemy nations without trial during war or invasion. Last applied to intern Japanese and German and Italian nationals over 80 years ago. The law remained dormant until now. In an executive order on Saturday, President Trump designated Venezuelan nationals aged 14 and older with ties to TDA as, quote, alien enemies, rendering them subject to immediate deportation unless they hold U.S. citizenship or legal residency. The decision follows through on a campaign promise made at an October rally where Trump vowed to use wartime powers to purge TDA members from the country. Just hours after the deportations, a federal judge oh, you knew this was coming in Washington issued an emergency order blocking further removals and ordering any flights still in the air to turn back. The Justice Department, however, argued the ruling came too late. By the time the decision was handed down, the deportees already exited US Airspace. Two deportation flights ordered to return remain unaccounted for. And it remains unclear whether whether individuals were readmitted to the US Attorney General. Pam Bondi blasted the court's ruling, accusing the judge of siding with, quote, terrorists over the Safety of Americans. The Trump administration has since appealed the decision to the US Court of Appeals. According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the deportations included 23 Ms. 13 gang members, despite the gang not being explicitly named in Trump's proclamation. As we previously reported here on the PDB, the White House formally classified both TDA and MS.13 as Foreign Terrorist organizations in February, setting the stage for expedited removals under national security provisions. El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele confirmed the arrivals on Sunday, releasing footage of 238 TDA prisoners being transferred to his country's high security terrorism confinement center, where they'll be held for at least a year. His government circulated images of the detainees shackled, kneeling, under armed guard, and with shaved heads, all hallmarks of Bukele's gang crackdown. When reports emerged of the US Judge's order halting further deportations, Bukele mocked the intervention on social media, responding with, quote, oopsie, too late, end quote. Huh? I did not see the El Salvadoran president using the word oopsie, but it fits. Rubio disclosed that Bukele had agreed last month to accept deportees of any nationality from the U.S. bukele himself appeared to acknowledge the political trade off. On X posting Sunday, quote, the United States will pay a very low fee for them, but a high one for us, end quote. The Trump administration defended its use of the Alien Enemies act, with Press Secretary Caroline Levitt stating, quote, these heinous monsters were extracted and removed where they'll no longer be able to pose any threat to the American people, end quote. With the deportees now in El Salvador, legal experts raise questions over whether US Courts retain jurisdiction over them. Now, the ACLU and a group called Democracy Forward initially sued to block five Venezuelan men from removal under the Alien Enemies act, but they broadened their legal challenge to encompass all that are covered under Trump's proclamation because, well, why wouldn't you defend the rights of criminal gang members in the country illegally? Basically, the left's reasoning for opposing this deportation, which according to recent surveys, has the support of almost 90% of American survey respondents, is that, well, Trump. The left imagines that Trump will broaden the administration's focus beyond TDA, Ms. 13, or other criminals, and start deporting anyone or anything in the country illegally. Toddlers, nuns, puppies, using the Alien Enemies Act. And so, for the time being, the left finds itself defending the rights of gang members who the vast majority of Americans want gone. It's. It's an interesting political dilemma. A hearing on the lawsuit's merits is scheduled for today, and Trump's decision to invoke wartime authority to bypass the judicial system is expected to come under further legal scrutiny, with additional court hearings set for later this month. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon bulletin for Monday, 17th March. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@the first tv.com and of course, as you've no doubt heard by now, to listen to the show ad free, you can become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief simply by visiting PDB premium.com It's that simple. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. SA.