Homan Ends MN Surge, AG Ellison Grilled on the Hill, El Paso Airspace Laser Mystery： AM Update 2⧸13
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
157.97177
Summary
Operation Metro Surge is ending in the Twin Cities, as ICE Director Tom Homan announces the end of the federal surge into the city, setting new cooperation agreements with local authorities. Temperatures are rising on Capitol Hill as Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison appears before the Senate Homeland Security Committee. The search intensifies in Tucson as investigators cast a wider net in the search for Nancy Guthrie. New reporting reveals what really triggered the El Paso airspace shutdown. And get ready, it involves lasers.
Transcript
00:00:00.120
Martha listens to her favourite band all the time.
00:00:10.080
Martha bundled her flight and hotel on Expedia to see them live.
00:00:13.260
She saved so much, she got her seat close enough to actually see and hear them.
00:00:34.060
I'm Emily Jashinski, host of After Party and the Megyn Kelly Wrap-Up Show on Sirius XM Channel 111.
00:00:40.000
It's Friday, February 13th, 2026, and this is your AM Update.
00:00:47.320
Borders are Tom Homan announcing the end of the federal surge into the Twin Cities,
00:00:52.640
setting newly forged cooperation agreements with local authorities.
00:00:56.020
I should call you a prisoner because you ought to be in jail.
00:00:58.100
Temperatures flaring on Capitol Hill as Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison
00:01:03.020
appears before the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
00:01:08.280
Investigators casting a wider net in the search for Nancy Guthrie.
00:01:12.320
New reporting reveals what really triggered the El Paso airspace shutdown.
00:01:19.400
All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.
00:01:28.800
It's President's Day because they believe wireless service should cost you only a couple of presidents.
00:01:37.480
For just $25 a month, Pure Talk gives you unlimited talk, text, and plenty of data.
00:01:45.260
They'd rather celebrate Benjamin Franklin Day so they can charge your family hundreds every month.
00:01:53.000
Pure Talk is an American wireless company who supports our veterans and invests in a U.S.-only customer service team.
00:02:00.100
So when you call, you're talking to someone right here at home.
00:02:03.360
Pure Talk uses the same towers as the big carriers, so enjoy superior 5G coverage without the inflated price.
00:02:09.520
Just $25 a month for talk, text, and plenty of data.
00:02:15.600
Just dial pound 250 and say keyword Megan Kelly, and you will get 50% off your first month.
00:02:22.200
Again, dial pound 250 and say Megan Kelly to make the switch to Pure Talk.
00:02:28.420
Porters are Tom Homan yesterday announcing the end of Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities,
00:02:36.740
marking the drawdown of roughly 2,000 federal officers remaining in the field.
00:02:42.360
Homan crediting increased cooperation from Minnesota state and local officials,
00:02:47.200
saying new coordination agreements now allow federal agents to safely take custody
00:02:51.980
of criminal illegal aliens directly from local jails, eliminating the need for large-scale surge
00:02:58.620
operations. However, both Governor Tim Walls and the Sheriff's Office in Hennepin County,
00:03:04.360
which runs the largest jail in the state, telling the New York Times there had been no changes
00:03:10.300
in their policies. Homan yesterday, however, says coordination between the federal government
00:03:16.220
and state and local officials has improved and outlined some of the changes.
00:03:21.120
Well, I don't agree with Governor Walsh and Attorney General Ellis on everything.
00:03:25.800
I appreciate the support that Governor gives to state agencies who coordinate with us in a manner
00:03:30.860
intended to promote public safety. And I appreciate the AG having an open dialogue with me.
00:03:36.300
Early on, the first meeting I had, acknowledging that county jails may notify ICE of the release date
00:03:41.680
of an inmate, just as long as they don't hold them past the time they would normally release them.
00:03:45.900
We now have the ability to arrest criminal aliens in the safety and security of jails throughout the state
00:03:53.440
at the time they're being released, like we've done in other states.
00:03:57.820
I've also directed the strategic placement of officers in certain areas throughout the states
00:04:03.700
that can respond quickly to sheriffs that want to release somebody and notify us.
00:04:08.860
We need to be nearby so they don't hold them unnecessarily. So we worked on a strategic plan
00:04:17.360
Homan also making clear the drawdown is not a full retreat, saying ICE officers, including
00:04:22.680
Quick Response Forces, or QRFs, will remain in Minnesota to respond to potential unrest.
00:04:28.940
ICE has had an office here for decades. Before it was called INS, Immigration and Naturalization
00:04:34.720
Service, this footprint will remain here, and they'll continue to do immigration enforcement here.
00:04:40.380
But as President Trump has said from day one, we're going to prioritize the public safety threats.
00:04:46.160
They won't get back to the footprint here, the normal footprint here, but there will be some security teams
00:04:51.740
staying here, the QRFs, until we're assured that those agitators incidents either stay low or further decline.
00:05:00.600
I'm not going to remove everybody, either safety or other officers, but like I said, Operation Metro Surge is ending.
00:05:08.620
Since the beginning of the surge, organized anti-ICE activist networks rapidly deploying to enforcement operations,
00:05:16.000
sometimes warning suspects, disrupting arrests, and confronting federal agents.
00:05:21.680
The trainings from these networks contributing to two fatal encounters with federal officials.
00:05:26.420
The Trump administration previously citing the lack of local police support as the reason thousands of
00:05:33.120
additional federal officers had to be deployed.
00:05:36.260
Holman now saying local law enforcement has committed to protecting federal officers and shutting down
00:05:45.000
I have also received commitments from state and local law enforcement that they will respond if federal law
00:05:52.320
They will shut down unlawful agitator activity, including arresting agitators involved and seeing them follow through.
00:06:00.480
I want to thank Governor Walz for his messages focusing on peace and his support for the Minnesota state troopers
00:06:06.700
to respond to unlawful situations that put federal officers and the public at risk.
00:06:11.720
I also want to thank Mayor Fry for taking a public stance against agitators setting up barricades that block streets
00:06:17.520
and endanger public safety and for directing the police to take those roadblocks down.
00:06:23.440
Additionally, I want to thank Police Chief O'Hara, Sheriff Witt, and various other local law enforcement
00:06:28.520
for their responsiveness and efforts to maintain law and order in the streets.
00:06:32.740
We've seen a big change here in the last couple of weeks, and it's all good changes.
00:06:36.760
Holman also reporting that during Operation Metro Surge, ICE locating 3,364 missing, unaccompanied alien children
00:06:46.460
and arresting more than 4,000 criminal illegal aliens, including violent offenders, sex offenders, and gang members.
00:06:54.960
Minnesota Governor Democrat Tim Walz reacting to the news yesterday.
00:06:59.060
I'm certainly not going to spike the football, but you're not going to hear me express any gratitude
00:07:02.920
for the people who caused this unnecessary, unwarranted, and in many cases, unconstitutional assault on our state.
00:07:09.800
In America, you cannot expect that the people are going to be okay with masked, unidentified people
00:07:20.060
running you off the road and coming to your vehicle at gunpoint like we saw in St. Peter, Minnesota.
00:07:27.680
The Senate Homeland Security Committee yesterday holding back-to-back hearings focused on immigration enforcement in Minnesota.
00:07:34.880
The first panel featuring Minnesota officials, including State Attorney General Keith Ellison.
00:07:41.140
The second panel including Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, and more.
00:07:47.720
Democrat Senator Alyssa Slotkin of Michigan, former CIA officer and participant in the controversial video
00:07:53.700
urging service members to disregard hypothetical illegal orders, veering off topic,
00:07:59.640
pressing Lyons on a Democratic claim that President Trump could deploy ICE agents to polling places.
00:08:06.480
If the President of the United States gets Kristi Noem on the phone and she gets you on the phone and she says,
00:08:12.800
we've heard there's a problem in Georgia or in Michigan or somewhere else,
00:08:17.460
I need you to go and physically deploy around polling locations, you will say no.
00:08:30.240
These are things that the President and his Cabinet have suggested.
00:08:34.320
They've suggested invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow active-duty military to do the very same thing.
00:08:41.960
So this isn't, you know, someone who thinks the sky is falling.
00:08:48.200
So you're going to be the guy standing in the breach.
00:08:53.900
Great. Well, I hope that in the privacy of that meeting, when that comes down,
00:08:57.380
and the President feels like he's going to lose the midterm elections, that you don't buckle.
00:09:03.240
And because I think our democracy literally is dependent on it.
00:09:07.600
But the most heated moments of the hearing coming during confrontations between Republican senators and Minnesota AG Ellison,
00:09:15.260
as lawmakers probed Minnesota's cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
00:09:20.380
Head of the committee, Senator Rand Paul, attempting to clarify how cooperation between Minnesota and ICE actually works.
00:09:28.300
So what happens right now, Mr. Ellison, Attorney General Ellison, if I'm from ICE and I call Minneapolis and I say,
00:09:42.740
Is the local police force going to give them help or do they have to bring in all ICE agents to do it?
00:09:48.260
Certainly targeted enforcement is not the problem, as has been said.
00:09:52.380
But I think that's what has been said of some of your policies and the interpretation is that they don't have to and won't cooperate with ICE.
00:10:00.960
A month ago, if ICE called the local Minneapolis police and said, we want to arrest this person,
00:10:07.200
will the Minneapolis police help ICE to arrest a person?
00:10:13.200
But see, Mr. Chairman, I think most people are arguing that that's not true and that that's a reason for the surge.
00:10:18.060
If it is true, then the local officials need to say they will.
00:10:23.340
A.G. Ellison sidestepping the core question in this exchange with Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio.
00:10:29.440
Do you think that people who are here in this country illegally, meaning they either entered illegally or overstayed a visa, should be deported?
00:10:38.240
If they have a pending asylum petition, I think it should be heard.
00:10:42.520
If you enter the country illegally or you overstay a visa, should you be deported?
00:10:52.580
So if somebody breaks into your home, should they be arrested for breaking entering or does it depend?
00:11:00.520
Because immigration is essentially a civil and breaking into my home is a criminal matter.
00:11:14.000
But you just said that it's a civil matter, so it's different.
00:11:19.440
So if somebody commits a civil infraction, it shouldn't be enforced?
00:11:25.220
No, they should have due process that is associated with their petition.
00:11:30.680
Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri grilling Ellison for nearly seven minutes,
00:11:35.200
accusing Ellison of enabling fraudsters in exchange for campaign donations.
00:11:40.120
Are you the attorney general of the state of Minnesota, yes or no?
00:11:45.480
Are you familiar with the $9 billion in historic fraud out of your state,
00:11:49.600
including the $250 million in the Feeding Our Future program alone?
00:11:55.100
Don't turn to the pages in your book to get your potted answers.
00:12:01.520
Because the people who ran the Feeding Our Futures program came to you in your official office in the state capitol
00:12:07.600
December 11th, 2021, and asked for your help in getting investigators off their backs.
00:12:14.280
So first of all, you're cherry-picking quotes out of there.
00:12:38.840
Well, I should call you a prisoner because you ought to be in jail.
00:12:49.160
as investigators widen the search and make a sweeping new request to the public.
00:12:53.940
And what triggered the sudden El Paso airspace shutdown?
00:12:57.860
New reporting points to a Pentagon anti-drone laser.
00:13:06.500
Relief Factor loves hearing from pain-free customers,
00:13:10.080
and they hope they can help you be one of them next.
00:13:13.200
Let me tell you about Bill and his Relief Factor story.
00:13:16.520
I've been crawling under sinks and working long hours for decades.
00:13:30.040
I could get down on the floor and get back up again without thinking twice.
00:13:36.260
He knows pipes, tools, and long days on the job.
00:13:39.280
What he didn't know is how good life can feel when pain stops tagging along.
00:13:51.520
and it targets the inflammation that causes pain,
00:13:54.040
so you can move better, feel better, and enjoy life again.
00:13:57.320
Try the three-week quick start for just $19.95.
00:14:07.300
84-year-old Nancy Guthrie remains missing as investigators in Tucson intensify their search
00:14:14.780
for answers, expanding efforts across her neighborhood and beyond.
00:14:19.200
The Pima County Sheriff's Department now urging residents to turn over any surveillance
00:14:23.500
or doorbell footage showing vehicles, traffic, pedestrians, or anything unusual between January
00:14:31.100
MK True Crime host Phil Holloway, reporting from Tucson, tells us what investigators may
00:14:38.540
What I draw from the request for video from specific dates, and even the most recent one,
00:14:44.560
the sheriff just said, give us everything you can find going back 30 days.
00:14:50.200
They also might be checking to see what kind of delivery drivers have been in the area.
00:14:55.500
It's not hard to find out what someone's Amazon purchase history is, for example.
00:15:00.220
We saw that in the Coburger case, and so you know when a person might have been expecting
00:15:04.620
a delivery, so you might be wanting to get a bead on just who was in and out of that driveway
00:15:12.080
Since arriving in Tucson, Holloway speaking to several neighbors of Nancy's daughter Annie
00:15:16.620
and son-in-law, Tommaso, he tells us they have theories of their own.
00:15:21.280
The neighbors that I've spoke to were not closely acquainted with that family.
00:15:27.740
They tended to say that, you know, they hadn't been there all that long.
00:15:33.020
They didn't engage very socially with the others in the neighborhood.
00:15:37.980
And, you know, they did express some specific opinions about the case and about the neighbors.
00:15:45.080
And, in fact, I think a lot of them believe that there is a direct connection between that
00:15:53.820
But this is based on their personal observations and, I guess, their opinions based on those
00:16:04.600
The big takeaway is they are not surprised that the investigation is physically focusing
00:16:14.200
Megan will have much more on this case later today on The Megan Kelly Show.
00:16:19.120
Anyone with information is urged to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit tips at tips.fbi.gov.
00:16:28.760
New reporting shedding light on what actually triggered Wednesday's brief shutdown of airspace
00:16:35.200
On Tuesday night, the FAA issuing a Notice to Airmen, or NOTAM, blocking flights in the
00:16:41.700
airspace over El Paso and nearby Santa Teresa, New Mexico, from Wednesday through February
00:16:46.780
21st, citing, quote, temporary flight restrictions for special security reasons.
00:16:52.520
Within hours of issuing the 10-day ground stop, an unprecedented action quickly raising alarm,
00:17:02.100
Secretary Duffy announcing the closure was caused by a cartel drone incursion, but the
00:17:09.960
According to the New York Times, the FAA ordered the abrupt closure after U.S. Customs and
00:17:15.120
Border Protection deployed a high-energy laser weapon provided by the Pentagon, quote,
00:17:20.620
without giving aviation officials enough time to assess the risks to commercial aircraft.
00:17:26.140
The Times reporting multiple people familiar with the situation say CBP officials believed
00:17:30.560
they were firing at a cartel drone, but sources saying it turned out to be a party balloon.
00:17:36.460
Fort Bliss, near El Paso, has for a long time been active in counter-drone testing and operations,
00:17:42.620
particularly along the southern border, where cartel drone activity remains an ongoing concern.
00:17:49.040
Pentagon and FAA officials planning to meet on February 20th to discuss the safety implications
00:17:54.840
of deploying laser weapons near commercial flight paths, reports the Times.
00:18:00.660
As Trump administration officials remain tight-lipped in the fallout, Senate leaders now searching
00:18:07.420
Senators from Texas, Republicans Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, both publicly calling for a classified
00:18:23.220
Catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Channel 111 at noon east on
00:18:29.120
youtube.com slash megynkelly and all podcast platforms.
00:18:42.740
The cords of gym, tan, laundry reverberated north to Canada, where a new type of party animal
00:18:49.760
They move as a herd, migrating to their favorite watering holes, asserting dominance by flexing,
00:18:57.240
Coupling is quick, steamy, and sometimes in hot tubs.
00:19:00.240
When morning arrives, they do it all over again.
00:19:03.220
Canada Shore, new original series, now streaming on Paramount+.