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'
28 Jan 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
Full Episode
It's Tuesday, 28 January. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Alright, let's get briefed. First, we'll begin at the US 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 US 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 Rio Grande.
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 US 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, 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 US-Mexico border, effectively suspending access for migrants seeking asylum in the US.
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 US 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.
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