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US politics live: Colombia backs down over deportations as immigration raids begin in Chicago

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of US politics. We’ll be bringing you the latest updates as Donald Trump begins the second week of his second term in office.

This morning, the US and Colombia have pulled back from brink of a trade war after Colombia agreed to accept flights carrying migrants deported from the US.

Trump had threatened to impose trade tariffs and sanctions on Colombia after it initially refused to accept the flights.

In a statement late on Sunday, the White House said Colombia had agreed to accept the flights and that the threatened penalties would not go ahead.

Stay with us throughout the day for all the latest developments.

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President Donald Trump listens to California Gov. Gavin Newsom upon arrival on Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025.
California Governor Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump speak to reporters after Trump’s arrival in Los Angeles last week. Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Donald Trump has issued an executive order directing federal government to override California’s water management practices if they are found to be ineffective.

It comes two days after Trump visited Los Angeles to see the damage done by a series of wildfires that have burned more than 35,000 acres and killed at least 28 people.

Trump has falsely claimed that California’s Democratic governor Gavin Newsom and other officials refused to provide water from the northern part of the state to fight the fires.

Demand at the height of the fires caused some hydrants in LA to run dry, but local officials said that was because the system was not designed for such large fires, while Newsom has said no amount of water could have contained brush fires whipped by 100mph winds.

Trump’s order told federal agencies to “immediately take actions to override existing activities that unduly burden efforts to maximize water deliveries”.

It also orders the White House budget office to see whether it can attach conditions to federal aid to the state to ensure cooperation.

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All countries “should be on notice” that they face sanctions if they do not cooperate with US deportation efforts, the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has said.

It comes after Colombia agreed to accept repatriated citizens having initially refused to take two planes of deportees.

“Colombia and all nations should be on notice - Congress is fully prepared to pass sanctions and other measures against those that do not fully cooperate or follow through on requirements to accept their citizens who are illegally in the United States,” Johnson wrote on X.

“President Trump is putting America first, just like he said he would. And Congress will implement policies that reinforce his agenda.”

Colombia and all nations should be on notice - Congress is fully prepared to pass sanctions and other measures against those that do not fully cooperate or follow through on requirements to accept their citizens who are illegally in the United States.

President Trump is putting…

— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) January 26, 2025

Immigration raids begin in Chicago

US federal authorities have begun immigration raids in Chicago, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) statement confirmed on Sunday.

It comes after the White House border czar, Tom Homan, said officials were “reconsidering” the raids to ensure officers’ safety after details were leaked into the press.

Ice said its agents, along with the FBI, ATF, DEA, CBP, and the US Marshals Service, had begun conducting “enhanced targeted operations” in Chicago “to enforce US immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities”.

Homan previously said Chicago would be “ground zero” for immigration enforcement actions.

The Washington Post reports that the Trump administration has directed Ice officials to increase daily arrests from a few hundred to 1,200 to 1,500.

More now on that news that Colombia has agreed to accept flights carrying migrants deported from the US, narrowly averting a trade war between the two countries.

In a statement late on Sunday, the White House said: “The government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay.”

The Colombian foreign minister, Luis Gilberto Murillo, said in his own statement that “we have overcome the impasse with the US government”, adding: “We will continue receiving Colombians who return as deportees.”

Trump had threatened to impose 25% tariffs “on all goods” exported from Colombia to the US, rising to 50% after a week, after Colombia refused to accept two military planes carrying deportees.

In response, Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, announced retaliatory tariffs and said he would only take back citizens “with dignity”, such as on civilian planes.

Murillo’s statement did not specifically say that the agreement included military flights, but it did not contradict the White House announcement.

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of US politics. We’ll be bringing you the latest updates as Donald Trump begins the second week of his second term in office.

This morning, the US and Colombia have pulled back from brink of a trade war after Colombia agreed to accept flights carrying migrants deported from the US.

Trump had threatened to impose trade tariffs and sanctions on Colombia after it initially refused to accept the flights.

In a statement late on Sunday, the White House said Colombia had agreed to accept the flights and that the threatened penalties would not go ahead.

Stay with us throughout the day for all the latest developments.

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