The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | January 28th, 2025: Mexican Cartel Gunmen Open Fire On Border Agents & Trump Orders Pentagon To Build US 'Iron Dome'

Episode Date: January 28, 2025

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   First, we’ll begin at the U.S. southern border, where US Border Patrol agents came under fire on Monday from suspected members of a Mexican drug cartel as a group of migrants attempted to enter the U.S. illegally. Then, we’ll discuss President Donald Trump’s plans to build a new comprehensive air defense system for the United States modeled after Israel’s famed "Iron Dome." To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First, we'll begin at the U.S. southern border, where U.S. Border Patrol agents came under fire on Monday from suspected members of a Mexican drug cartel as a group of migrants attempted to enter the U.S. illegally. Later in this afternoon's episode, we'll discuss President Trump's plans to build a new comprehensive air defense system for the U.S. modeled after Israel's Iron Dome system. But first, our afternoon spotlight. With President Trump's crackdown on the U.S. southern border in full swing, the drug cartels

that helped facilitate the migration crisis have started violently lashing out at American border agents. On Monday, four suspected members of a Mexican cartel were captured on video opening fire on U.S. Border Patrol agents who were attempting to stop a group of migrants from entering the U.S. illegally. The incident unfolded in broad daylight around 1.30 p.m. along the southern border near Fronten Island, Texas, which is unofficially known as Cartel Island. That's due to the high level of criminal activity seen in the area, and that's according to a report from Fox News. The suspected cartel members opened fire just as a group of migrants attempted to cross the

real ground. The migrants were reportedly stopped and border agents promptly returned fire on the cartel members, sending the heavily armed gunmen running for cover. The agents subsequently deployed a drone to track the four gunmen, who officials said were spotted, quote, fleeing Mexico due to a military presence and seeking refuge on an island between the U.S. and Mexico. The footage reportedly showed the four men walking along a riverbank and seeking cover from the drone in shrubs. Several were seen repeatedly aiming their weapons directly at the drone. While authorities were unable to apprehend the gunmen, oh, no injuries were reported to the border agents. The incident comes as the Trump administration marches forward with their efforts to curb illegal immigration and fortify the

southern border. Now, as we've been tracking here on the PDB, the Trump administration has already shut down all crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border, effectively suspending access for migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. refugee and parole admissions have also been suspended, and Trump has ended the Biden-era catch-and-release policy that allowed apprehended illegal migrants to go free inside U.S. borders. Border authorities have also been granted expanded enforcement powers under a process called, quote, expedited removal, which allows the deportation without a court hearing of any migrant who can't prove that they've been in the U.S. for longer than two years. Collectively, the aggressive policies are already having a significant effect on illegal immigration.

According to an analysis by Fox News, illegal migrant encounters have dropped by 35% over the first week of the Trump administration when compared to the final days of the Biden administration. Meanwhile, officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, revealed Monday that they've already arrested at least 3,552 migrants living illegally in the U.S., including roughly 1,179, on Monday alone. The targeted arrests are currently unfolding in sanctuary cities across America, with authorities prioritizing illegal migrants with a criminal record or who have been deemed a potential threat to public safety. Coming up, President Trump signed an executive order Monday, ordering the Pentagon to begin building a new comprehensive air defense system for the U.S.

It's modeled after Israel's Iron Dome System. I'll be right back. How many discounts does USAA auto insurance offer? Too many to say here. Multi-vehicle discount. Safe driver discount? New vehicle discount. Storage discount. How many discounts will you stack up? Tap the banner or visit USAA.com slash auto discounts.

supply. Some follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the money, whether it's the funds fueling AI or crypto's trillion dollar swings. There's a money side to every story. Get the money side of the story. Subscribe now at Bloomberg.com. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. On Monday evening, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to begin the immediate development of an iron dome-style missile defense system. The system, modeled after Israel's successful Iron Dome, which, of course, has been instrumental during its conflicts with Iran-backed proxies and, in its direct engagements with Iran, is designed to counter a range of threats, from ballistic to hypersonic to cruise missiles. The system development plans to incorporate space-based and other

intercept technologies, leveraging recent advances in missile defense capabilities. While the U.S. has never faced a missile attack of this nature, the White House argues that the threat has been looming for decades. Citing the 2002 U.S. withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the evolving capabilities of adversaries, the Trump administration framed the initiative as long overdue, as the Executive Order states, quote, official U.S. homeland missile defense policy has remained only to stay ahead of rogue nation threats and accidental or unauthorized missile launches, end quote. Trump's push for an American Iron Dome system builds on promises made during his 2024 campaign,

where he pledged to create a, quote, state-of-the-art missile defense shield made in the USA. Addressing the 2025 House Republican members conference dinner in Florida on Monday, Trump emphasized the urgency of the endeavor, declaring, quote, we protect other countries, but we don't protect ourselves, end quote. This marks a dramatic pivot for U.S. defense priorities. Despite providing over $2.6 billion in funding for Israel's Iron Dome since 2011, the U.S. has not pursued a similar system domestically until now. Trump's directive evokes comparisons to President Ronald Reagan's Cold War-era strategic

defense initiative commonly known as Star Wars. While Reagan's program failed due to technological limitations, Trump asserts that advances in, quote, phenomenal technology, as demonstrated by Israel's system now make a comparable U.S. defense system feasible. During his campaign, Trump vowed that by next term, we'll build a great iron dome over our country, and he framed the project as both a national security imperative and an opportunity to bolster domestic manufacturing. The timing of the executive order, coinciding with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's first day on the job, underscores the Trump administration's commitment to modernizing military capabilities in line with the Republican Party's 2024 platform to, quote, ensure our military is the most modern,

lethal, and powerful force in the world, end quote. While ambitious in scope, the executive order does leave critical details unanswered, including budgetary constraints and project timelines. But despite these uncertainties, Trump's executive order does represent a clear effort to reshape the nation's defense posture. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin. for Tuesday, 28 January. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com.

And don't forget, not that I'd let you, but if you'd like to listen to the show ad-free, well, simply become a premium member of the president's daily brief by visiting PDB premium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Hey, honey, it's mom. Did you know if we switch to Verizon, we can get four phones for zero.

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