Law enforcement officials arrested two refugees from Iraq who are accused of ties to the Islamic State among other terrorist organizations. One of the men was arrested in California; the other, in Texas, prompted Gov. Abbott to call on President Obama to halt the administration’s efforts to resettle refugees from “countries substantially controlled by terrorists.” Abbott late last year filed suit to bar the resettlement program; on Thursday, he was joined by the governor of Alabama, who filed a similar suit.

On Capitol Hill, a group of some 20 GOP House members signed a letter urging Senate leaders to take up a bill, passed in the House late last year, that would temporarily halt the administration’s Syrian refugee resettlement program.

The White House announced several new measures aimed at battling violent extremism. A newly created interagency task force is aimed at combining efforts across the federal government to crack down on the recruitment, radicalization and mobilization of extremists, and improving cooperation among federal, state and local governments.  The State Dept. also launched a new Global Engagement Center, aimed at lifting up the voices of international partners engaged in the fight against violent extremism, amplifying and supplementing American efforts. Key national security officials also met with Silicon Valley executives to discuss better cooperation in cracking down on jihadist’s use of social media to spread their message and operationalize plots.

A Philadelphia man who shot a police officer said he was motivated by Islam and ISIS, thought it was unclear Friday evening if he had any actual ties to jihadist groups.  The city’s new mayor, Jim Kenney, took pains to say the shooting was perpetrated by an armed criminal and had “nothing to do with being Muslim” or the teachings of Islam.  

President Obama faced some polite opposition at his town hall forum on Thursday, held to promote his executive actions to curb gun violence. He also wrote an op-ed in the New York Times as part of his rollout, announcing he would not campaign for or otherwise support any candidates in 2016 who do not  endorse “common-sense gun reform.” His executive actions drew a favorable response in early polling. A new CNN-ORC survey showed those polled supported the executive actions by a 2-1 margin; 51 percent of Republicans also supported his moves.

Fallout from the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino continued to fuel harsh anti-immigration rhetoric on the Republican presidential campaign trail. Marco Rubio told an audience in New Hampshire that “ISIS understands our legal immigration system and is seeking to exploit it.”  Frequently attacked from the right for his role in trying to broker comprehensive immigration reform in Congress, Rubio now prefers to tout stricter border security measures and closing loopholes in the visa waiver program allowing people from designated countries easy passage across U.S. borders.  

Among other grantee and advocate activities:

--America’s Voice launched a petition drive aimed at further pressuring the Obama administration to stop the immigration raids aimed at deporting families who arrived in the US illegally after 2014 and have lost appeals for asylum before an immigration judge.  The group also circulated quotes critical of the program from leading Democrats and a number of pieces condemning the deportations, including a Washington Post report on how the specter of raids left a number of migrant families in the grip of fear and a New York Times editorial arguing that Homeland Security Secretary Johnson  is wrong to suggest that frightened Central Americans are a border-security threat.” Human Rights First also called on the administration to end the program.

--The Center for Democracy and Technology spoke out against legislation sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein calling on tech companies to report “actual knowledge of terrorist activities.” CDT argued that the companies lack the ability to comply with that particular directive. This bill asks companies to undertake a “fine-grained assessment of political views,” CDT’s Emma Llanso told Bloomberg News.

--The Center for American Progress’ ThinkProgress posted a video showcasing interviews with victims of gun violence who appeared at President Obama’s unveiling of his executive actions.