NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - Thursday, January 23, 2025

Episode Date: January 24, 2025

Trump moves ahead with immigration crackdown; Trump's plan to end birthright citizenship 'blatantly unconstitutional,' judge says; Massive effort knocks down latest big Southern California fire; and more on tonight’s broadcast.

Tonight, President Trump's executive order blocked. The federal judge issuing a temporary pause on the president's effort to limit birthright citizenship. This as the president starts carrying out his long-promised immigration crackdown, giving new authority to federal agencies for deportations and sending more troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. Plus, could there be a setback for the president's nominee to run the Pentagon? Republican senators voting no on Pete Hegseth. The massive battle underway in Southern California. Thousands of firefighters racing to get new flames under control. Police under fire. Seven San Antonio officers wounded in a shootout. Our consumer alert, those texts you may have seen telling you to pay up on

your easy pass bill. Tom Costello on the new scam. Who's behind it? How to protect yourself. This is NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Good evening and welcome. A federal court judge has temporarily blocked one of the centerpieces of President Trump's rapid-fire reshaping of American policy. Today, a Reagan-appointed judge declaring the president's order to end birthright citizenship blatantly unconstitutional and putting a pause on the president's action. It's the first but likely not the last legal challenge to the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration,

which the White House reports is already underway tonight with hundreds of arrests of undocumented immigrants, though in numbers similar so far to those carried out under the Biden administration. Gabe Gutierrez now with the latest from the White House. Tonight, the first legal roadblock for President Trump's new immigration agenda. A federal judge temporarily blocking the president's attempt to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants. The Constitution's 14th Amendment says anyone born in the U.S. is a citizen. Trump believes it's a magnet for illegal immigration. But a judge today calling the president's move a blatantly unconstitutional order.

They put it before a certain judge in Seattle, I guess, right? And there's no surprises with that judge. A legal showdown comes as the White House says its promised immigration crackdown is already underway. ICE agents seen arresting migrants with criminal records in Boston, while the president is sending 1,500 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. They've deployed active-duty U.S. military and National Guard troops to the border to assist in repelling the invasion. It's not the first time. The military says the mission is mostly logistical support.

We were there in 2018 as the first Trump administration sent 5,900 troops to the border. Now the president is dramatically expanding the powers of federal agencies to help with mass deportations. Not only is it going to be ICE engaging these raids, but also they're going to have support from their law enforcement partners in FBI, ATF, DEA, and U.S. Marshals. Trump's border czar says ICE arrested 308 undocumented immigrants nationwide on Tuesday, but those operations are not unique to the Trump administration. This is every day in Boston. As we saw last month firsthand near Boston. In fact,

last September during the Biden administration, ICE arrested an average of 282 migrants a day. They are hunting us, this deported migrant says. Meanwhile, from three sources familiar with the planning, NBC News has also learned the Border Patrol is looking to expand the use of water buoys along the Rio Grande to deter migrants, while President Trump is ramping up his push against Democratic-run sanctuary cities. In a new memo, the Justice Department threatening officials who block the president's immigration policies with prosecution. Tonight, across the border in Juarez, Mexico, authorities are now constructing massive shelters for the expected bottleneck of migrants as President Trump has in effect shut down the U.S. asylum system. And Gabe, I know there's some new headlines regarding the president's cabinet picks tonight. Yes, Lester, two Republicans, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, said they will vote against

Pete Hegseth for defense secretary. Still, the Senate narrowly voted to advance his nomination, putting him on a path to final confirmation tomorrow night. Also today, President Trump's second cabinet pick was confirmed. John Ratcliffe will be the new CIA director. Lester. All right, Gabe, thank you. We want to go deeper now on that decision by a judge that temporarily blocks President Trump's order on birthright citizenship. Senior legal correspondent Laura Jarrett is here. Laura, the president has a steep legal hill to climb here.

Yes, Lester. And that's because the Constitution's 14th Amendment isn't vague on this issue. Citizenship is automatic for anyone born on American soil, no matter the status of one's parents. And the Constitution can't be changed by executive order, only an act of Congress. Now, the judge hearing this case today, a Reagan appointee, has now blocked this executive action for 14 days to maintain the status quo and give both the Democratic state officials who brought this lawsuit in the first place and the Trump administration a chance to make further arguments before the executive order is set to go into effect in mid-February. The Justice Department vowing tonight to defend this executive order, meaning an appeal is likely on the horizon.

A DOJ attorney in court there today making clear the U.S. Supreme Court likely to have to weigh in and have the final say on this, Lester. Okay, Laura, thank you. Now to the still intense firefight in Southern California to get new wildfires under control with tens of thousands still evacuated and a new worry with rain in the forecast. Liz Kreutz reports from Malibu. Tonight, relentless Santa Ana winds sparking multiple new fires across Southern California, forcing firefighters into what seems like a volatile game of whack-a-mole. From Ventura County to San Diego to Los Angeles, where overnight, a brush fire ignited near the famous Getty Center, closing in on one of the city's busiest highways and prompting evacuation

warnings in Bel Air. I can see it spreading in both directions. Crews knocking it down, while also waging a massive air and ground attack to get a handle on the Hughes Fire in North L.A. County, which forced 30,000 people from their homes. We were able to get a lot of personnel and equipment on scene in a relatively short amount of time. Across Southern California, 10 million

people facing dangerous fire conditions with up to 70 mile per hour winds, but rain now in the forecast after months of bone dry conditions. Rain, is it a good thing or a bad thing? Right now, what's predicted looks like a good thing because it's not a lot, but we're not taking any chances. The rain is also bringing concerns about mudslides with unstable land and the burn scars and all this toxic debris. Crews clearing debris, installing concrete barriers, and giving out sandbags to shore up vulnerable areas. If the rain does pound for a significant period of time, there will be a slide. Despite a city on edge, multiple schools near Altadena

reopening for the first time since the Eaton fire. Some of my best friends might have lost their homes. Only no one whose house burned to the ground. So that was a sad thing. An attempt to return to normalcy as the fire threat looms large. Liz, what do we know about President Trump's plans to visit Los Angeles? Well, Lester, we expect that President Trump will visit Los Angeles tomorrow. We expect that he will survey and view some of the damage from these wildfires, some of the communities ravaged by these fires, like here in Malibu from the Palisades fire. You can see this is just an

example of the destruction, these coastal homes all destroyed. Usually you cannot even see the Pacific Ocean here on the Pacific Coast Highway. Meanwhile, state officials here in California say that they have now secured $2.5 billion in state funding, which will be specifically targeted, they say, to cleanup and recovery here in Los Angeles. Lester. All right, Liz Kreutz in Southern California. Thank you. Let's get to that shooting and standoff in San Antonio, a gunman wounding several police officers at an apartment complex there. Priya Sridhar has late details.

Tonight, seven San Antonio police officers are recovering after being injured during an hours-long shootout, responding to a call at this apartment complex. First officer arrived to that call. There was a call from a family member. He arrived on the scene and he wound up being shot. Police say that call was from the family member of the suspect, stating there was a suicide in progress. San Antonio's police chief, William McManus, says when officers arrived, 46-year-old Brandon Scott Poulos opened fire, striking seven of them. As one arrived on the scene, the suspect barricaded himself inside the apartment for several hours. At the end of the event, the suspect was found to be deceased.

The events triggering police to use tear gas, evacuate some members of the apartment complex for safety, and asked others to shelter in place. I was coughing and sneezing and couldn't really tell what it was. Mario Garcia lives in the apartment directly above. He took this video from inside as he heard gunshots and felt the effects of the tear gas. I was worried about possibly being a casualty and I was just trying to find ways to minimize that risk. So I ended up being in my bathroom most of the time, just kind of like furthest away from the windows and the doors.

Police say Poulos had been arrested on Saturday and was facing multiple charges, including violation of a protective order and three assault charges. At the time of the shooting, he was out on bond. Police are still investigating whether he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound or from police gunfire. None of the police officers' injuries are life-threatening. In fact, six of the seven officers who had been hospitalized have since been released. Lester?

Priya, thanks. We will take a break here, and in 60 seconds, perhaps you've gotten one of these texts saying you have an unpaid toll. We're going to have the new warning about the scam aimed at getting your credit card information next. There is newly released body cam footage of the men police linked to a robbery at the home of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. The video shows Ohio State troopers searching the men's car. Inside, they allegedly found tools for breaking glass, an LSU shirt. That's where Burrow played

college ball. And one of the suspects was wearing a Bengals hat. Now to the latest scams that are sweeping the country. Texts telling people they owe money to a state tolling agency. Cyber security pros say it's all meant to get into your bank account. Tom Costello has been looking into this for us. Tom. So I've received several of these text messages telling me I owe $6.99 to Massachusetts Easy Pass. Since I rarely drive there, I was suspicious. When I asked the newsroom if anybody else had received these messages, almost everybody's hands went up.

On its website, Massachusetts Easy Pass warns the overdue toll message is a scam and it's happening across the country. Criminals posing as tolling authorities in Washington State, California, Colorado, Texas, Florida, Minnesota, Virginia, Connecticut, probably every state, and other countries too. When Glenn D. Armand got the message, he clicked on the link. It was awfully odd that I got a reminder that I owe $6.99. Cybersecurity pros say the scam software was built in China and sold to criminal gangs around the world. What they really want is that one-time code from your bank so they can enroll your stolen credit card in Apple Pay or Google Pay. The California Attorney General with this warning, the scam is designed to deceive drivers into entering banking or credit card information into a website. Called a smishing scheme using SMS messaging, cyber pros say it's the latest twist to a scam telling Americans

they owe money for a postal delivery. The expert advice, be suspicious of any message from a tolling agency. Call the agency's published number if you're not sure, and never click on the link or accept a one-time code that could open your bank account. If you are unfortunate enough to have been phished for your debit card payment information, that could be especially hard for you. They could wipe you out. Absolutely. And most importantly, warn your family and friends.

Lester? That is nightly news for this Thursday. Thanks for watching. I'm Lester Holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night, everyone.