It’s Thursday, October 2. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Jane Goodall’s protégé remembers the “rock star” scientist. Everything you need to know about the government shutdown. Amit Segal on whether Hamas will accept a deal. The Mormons fundraising for the family of the man who shot up and burned their church. What can we learn from the most normal town in America? And more.

But first: A routine green card appointment that turned out to be something very different.

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised a crackdown on illegal immigration. He said he would stop the influx of migrants at the border, tackle the overwhelming backlog of cases clogging immigration courts, and pursue and deport illegal immigrants.

By many measurements, the president has delivered. Illegal crossings on the southern border are at an all-time low, the backlog has shrunk by nearly 450,000 cases, and the Department of Homeland Security announced last week that over 400,000 illegal immigrants have been deported, while 1.6 million have left the United States on their own.

But what the Trump administration has done to achieve these numbers has shocked many Americans. Videos of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents swarming businesses, arresting immigrants en masse, and even tracking them down on the streets or in grocery stores are now a familiar sight.

My piece today tells the story of a woman who was caught up in these seismic and chaotic shifts in immigration policy.

Barbara Gomes-Marques May was born in Brazil, came to the U.S. seven years ago, and married an American man in April. About two weeks ago, she and her husband went to what they thought was a routine meeting about her application for a green card. But it was nothing of the sort.

—Frannie Block

After closing due to a bomb threat on October 1, 2025, the Munich Oktoberfest has reopened. (Armin Weigel/picture alliance via Getty Images)

• Oktoberfest, the famous Munich festival, was briefly closed Wednesday due to a bomb threat in connection with a nearby explosion. After a residential building in the north of the city was set on fire, local police said they discovered an “explosive device” in a backpack near the property, in the possession of a man police said was behind the bomb threat. Special Forces were called in to defuse the device, and the suspect reportedly died by suicide.

• President Trump signed an executive order promising to defend Qatar, treating any attack against the Gulf nation as “a threat to the peace and security of the United States.” The order, dated September 29, 2025, was made public only days later. It comes three weeks after Israel’s strike on Hamas in Doha, and signals a continuous commitment to one of America’s most controversial allies. (For more on the U.S.’s relationship with Qatar, read Frannie Block and Jay Solomon’s latest piece.)

• The U.S. lost 32,000 private-sector jobs in September, according to new data from the payroll processor ADP. While some economists had been expecting an increase of up to 45,000, this month’s fall comes after a revised loss of 3,000 in August.

• The Trump administration withdrew their nomination for E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday. Antoni, the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation and a staunch critic of the BLS, was mired in controversy for a series of social media posts. Many fellow conservative economists viewed him as unqualified for the role.

• China launched its new “K visa” program, designed to bring in the top scientists and tech talent from around the world, this week. The new policy is designed to open China’s doors to skilled workers, just as the U.S. has added a $100,000 fee to its H-1B visa for skilled workers. Read Tyler Cowen’s latest essay: “The Real Debate About Immigration Isn’t How Many. It’s Who.”

• Pope Leo criticized President Trump on Tuesday, describing his immigration policy as a contradiction of the pro-life agenda. “Someone who says I am against abortion but I am in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don’t know if that’s pro-life,” said Leo, the first American pope.

• The Supreme Court rejected President Trump’s attempt to immediately remove Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook. Cook, who the Trump administration alleges has committed mortgage fraud, will stay on the board until the Court hears oral arguments in January.

• Walmart announced that the company will remove synthetic dyes and other artificial ingredients from all its store-brand foods. The ban will cover over 30 ingredients, and signals the influence of Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. and his “Make America Healthy Again” movement.

We have a host of conversations, debates, and live events coming soon. Join us in person, or catch the videos later as a benefit for paid subscribers. Here’s what’s coming up next:

• Anduril Founder Palmer Luckey Live with Bari Weiss
  Washington, D.C. • October 8, 7 p.m. • 🎟️ Tickets on sale here

• Reclaiming Childhood in an Online World with Jonathan Haidt
  New York, NY • October 22, 7 p.m. • 🎟️ Tickets on sale here

Full Schedule