The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | September 12th, 2025: ICE Launches Major Crackdown In Chicago & Trump Negotiates Belarus Prisoner Release

Episode Date: September 12, 2025

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: Despite opposition from local leaders, the Department of Homeland Security has launched a major offensive against criminal aliens in the city of Chicago. We’ll have the latest details on Operation Midway Blitz. A deal brokered by the U.S. sees the release of dozens of political prisoners in Belarus. 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 CBDistillery: Visit https://CBDistillery.com and use promo code PDB for 25% off your entire order!BRUNT Workwear: Get $10 Off at BRUNT with code PDB at https://www.bruntworkwear.com/PDB #BruntpodLean: Visit https://TakeLean.com & use code PDB for 20% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Later in the show, a deal brokered by the U.S. sees the release of dozens of political prisoners in Belarus. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. We start today in the city of Chicago, where this week, the Department of Homeland Security, DHS, launched a major immigration enforcement operation called Operation Midway Blitz. The name honors Katie Abraham, a young Illinois woman killed earlier this year in a drunk driving crash caused by an illegal immigrant. According to DHS officials, the 30-day surge is designed to target what they're calling,

quote, the worst of the worst, criminal aliens with convictions for crimes, including sexual assault, armed robbery, domestic violence, and gang activity. DHS Assistant Secretary, Trisha McLaughlin, said the messages from Washington is clear, quote, no city is a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens. If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we'll hunt you down, arrest you, deport you, and you will never return, end quote. Officials say that this is one of the largest coordinated immigration crackdowns that the Midwest has seen in years, with hundreds of agents blanketing the city.

ABC News wrote along as nearly 300 ICE and ATF agents swept through the city's Lawndale neighborhood, arresting suspected members of the Venezuelan-based Trendor-Aragua gang or TDA on gun trafficking charges. Officials say the gang had been moving firearms through Chicago with links to drug and human trafficking networks. Fox News was also embedded with ICE teams documenting dramatic arrests. Among those taken into custody were a 24-year-old immigrant from India convicted of rape, a Mexican national charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child family member and another Mexican citizen arrested for domestic battery and DUI. DHS has released mugshots of some of these individuals, calling them proof that sanctuary policies in Illinois have turned the windy city into a magnet

for violent offenders. Well, it really shouldn't be a mystery that if you're a criminal or have criminal intent, you might be drawn to a soft-on-crime sanctuary city. It's a logical thought. But predictably, the crackdown has sparked backlash from local and state officials, of course. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said the raids are, quote, putting fear in the hearts of residents, particularly in households with mixed immigration status. He argued the operation isn't about fighting crime, but about politics. Oh, really? Chicago's Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city received, quote, no notice of the surge, warning that militarized immigration enforcement risks violating due process and could even ensnare U.S. citizens. I should add that

Brendan Johnson is officially the least popular mayor in America. Perhaps he thinks taking a stand against fighting crime will increase his popularity. Regardless, the Trump administration is pressing ahead. DHS says resources will remain surged in the city for weeks in coordination with the Justice Department partners. Now, Chicago wasn't chosen at random. The city has long been one of the biggest hubs for cartel operations in the U.S. Its central location, massive freight rail yards, interstate highway network, and busy airports

make it a perfect distribution point for narcotics flowing north from the border. For years, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Halisco New Generation, and increasingly trend to Rauagua or TDA, abuse Chicago as a staging ground to move fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and meth across the country. In fact, Chicago's ties to the cartels go back decades. The city's Crime Commission once named Sinaloa Cartel, Kingpin Al Chapo Guzman, public enemy number one, the first time anyone had been given that title since Al Capone. Federal law enforcement is called Chicago a command and control city for Mexican cartels. Local gangs often serve as retail distributors, giving international syndicates an easy way to flood

the streets with drugs while keeping their top leadership insulated. In other words, if you want to strike at the logistical heart of cartel activity inside the U.S., Chicago is a logical spot. All right, before we go to break, a quick reminder. This morning, we launched a brand new podcast series called The Day the World Almost Ended. It's exclusive for our PDB premium subscribers. The series takes you back to those moments in history when the world was just one step away, one decision away from nuclear war, when a single decision could have ended life as we know it.

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Welcome back to the PDB afternoon bulletin. We turn now to Eastern Europe, where Belarus has released 52 political prisoners in a deal with Washington. In its latest sign of a potential fall between Washington and Minsk, a nation often described as one of Russia's closest allies and long considered a pariah in the West. For over three decades, President Alexander Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with an iron grip, crushing dissent and overseeing elections widely seen as rigged. In 2022, he allowed Russian forces to use Belarusian territory as a staging ground for the invasion of Ukraine, drawing harsh sanctions, of course, from both the U.S. and Europe.

But Lukashenko has also shown flashes of pragmatism, when it comes to dealing with the West. He's occasionally released prisoners in the past as bargaining chips, and just last month, he spoke directly with President Trump by phone. Trump hinted afterward that a face-to-face meeting with Lukashenko might even be on the horizon. This latest deal fits that pattern. Among the 52 freed were journalists, bloggers, party leaders, union organizers, and 14 foreign nationals. Ichar Lossick, a journalist with Radio Free Europe, was among them. But perhaps the most dramatic moment came from veteran dissident Mikhailai Stottkovich. Instead of crossing the border into Lithuania,

he stood in no-man's land and tried to walk back into Belarus, refusing to be exiled. Belarusian border guards blocked him from re-entering, leaving him stranded between the two countries and a show of defiance. Human rights groups say that nearly 1,200 political prisoners remain inside Belarusian jails. So what did Lukashenko gain? Washington agreed to lift some sanctions on Belavia,

the state airline, and that means the company can once again purchase and repair airplane parts, including Boeing components. For Lukashenko, it's a meaningful concession. But critics warn, it also creates a backdoor from Moscow. Belarus could resell those parts to Russia, where the aviation industry has been crippled by sanctions. The timing also raises eyebrows. As we've been reporting here on the PDB, a day earlier, Poland said Russian drones, some launched from Belarus, violated its airspace. NATO jets scrambled to shoot them down, and President Trump reacted on truth social,

with a brief, almost cryptic line. Quote, what's with Russia violating Poland's airspace with drones? Here we go, end quote. But ultimately, President Trump can claim a diplomatic win with the release of dozens of prisoners, while Lukashenko gets sanctions relief and a shot at legitimacy. But the question hanging over all of this is whether Belarus is genuinely looking at the West or simply engaging in some Putin-approved transaction.

And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Friday, the 12th of September. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirstTV.com. And of course, as you likely noticed, today is Friday. And that can only mean that a brand new episode of our much-loved, an almost beloved weekend show, the PDB Situation Report, has moved to the launch pad. The new episode airs tonight at 10 p.m. on the first TV. And as always, can be found on our juggernaut of a YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief and podcast platforms everywhere. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back over the weekend with the PDB Situation Report. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me take a moment to talk

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