U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have arrived in Puerto Rico as the U.S. steps up its military operations against drug cartels in the Caribbean. The arrival comes more than a week after ships carrying hundreds of U.S. marines deployed to Puerto Rico for a training exercise. Puerto Rico's Gov. Jenniffer González said Hegseth and Caine visited the U.S. territory on Monday to support those participating in the training. The visit comes as the U.S. prepares to deploy 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico for operations targeting drug cartels.

Judges in Texas and New York said they would temporarily bar the U.S. government from deporting Venezuelans jailed in parts of those two states while their lawyers challenge the Trump administration's use of a rarely-invoked law letting presidents imprison and deport noncitizens in times of war. The judges took actions Wednesday after civil rights lawyers sought to protect five men identified by the government as belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang, a claim their lawyers dispute. But the judges said some others in their judicial districts similarly situated would also be protected from the Alien Enemies Act-driven deportations.

The Trump administration is touting a Supreme Court ruling allowing it to resume deportations under the Alien Enemies Act as a major victory, but the immigration fight is far from over. The divided court found that President Donald Trump can use the 18th century wartime law to deport Venezuelan migrants accused of being gang members to a notorious prison in El Salvador, a finding Trump called a "GREAT DAY FOR JUSTICE IN AMERICA!" in a social media post. But the justices also decided people accused of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang have to get a chance to challenge their removals — a finding their lawyers called an "important victory."

It's a local threat to some and a full-on invasion to President Donald Trump. Debates over Trump's hard-line migration policies are focused on the ruthless Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Trump labeled the Tren de Aragua an invading force when he invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 authority that allows the president to deport any noncitizen during wartime. The Trump administration transferred hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador over the weekend even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations. Flights were in the air when the judge issued his ruling.