POTUS to pursue an aggressive executive crackdown on immigration

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reportedly wants to shift funds to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by moving money from its other accounts, Politico reported Wednesday, citing two House aides and a congressional office.
The aides reportedly said that Congressional appropriators are looking at a request to reallocate more funds to ICE.

NBC News reported last year that DHS transferred about $170 million from different government agencies to ICE that year.


More at: https://thehill.com/latino/457497-dh...rcement-report

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Speaking on Fox & Friends on Thursday, Customs and Border Protection Deputy Commissioner Robert Perez said border apprehensions have plunged for the second straight month, and that the Trump administration’s deal with Mexico to help slow the flood of immigrants to the southern border is working.

Perez stated, “It’s absolute proof. Unquestionably, an agreement with the government of Mexico that was literally unprecedented by way of the degree of cooperation, the commitment they’ve made, to enforce and go down in numbers with their National Guard and law enforcement along their border ... [with] Guatemala.” He continued, “Interior enforcement up, as well as enforcement along our southern border — that coupled with the collaboration with the migrant protection protocol and some of the work that we’ve been doing with the northern triangle countries — all combined, you’ve seen those numbers drop now in two months in a row.”
Fox News reported, “The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported a significant drop in apprehensions at the southwest border in June, after an agreement with the Mexican government. For the month of July, DHS reported more than 72,000 apprehensions, down from more than 132,000 in May.”

More at: https://www.dailywire.com/news/50677...l-hank-berrien

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/09/polit...ncy/index.html

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The Mexican government said Friday it is busing migrants who have applied for asylum in the United States to the southern Mexico state of Chiapas.About 30,000 migrants have been sent back to northern Mexican border cities to await U.S. asylum hearings under a policy known as "Remain in Mexico" under which they have to wait for hearings months away.

The migrant agency said the goal of the busing is "to provide a safer alternative for those who do not want to remain on the U.S.-Mexico border." It did not say how many people had been taken by bus to Chiapas so far.
The Associated Press reported that in July, Mexico had begun busing some of the returned migrants out of Tamaulipas to the city of Monterrey, in neighboring Nuevo Leon state.

Officials gave no indication of how the migrants would return to the border from Monterrey for their court dates. That problem would be amplified for migrants bused to Chiapas, nearly all the way back to the Guatemala border.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/mexico-busing...020329309.html

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Federal Court allows Trump to reject asylum seekers at the border

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Trump to Stop Fast-Tracking Work Permits for Migrants to Take U.S. Jobs

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President Trump will move Wednesday to cancel the family “loophole” that’s allowed illegal-immigrant parents and children to pour into the U.S., proposing new rules that would replace the 2015 Flores Settlement court order that created a de facto catch-and-release policy for the families.
According to details provided by an administration official, migrant families could be held in detention together while their cases are heard by immigration judges. That would supersede the 20-day limit imposed by the federal judge in Flores.
If the families can be held in detention, they can be deported, security experts say, and once people in Central America see an increase in deportations, they’ll stop coming.
“Today the administration is closing one of the legal loopholes that has allowed human traffickers and smugglers to exploit our vulnerabilities at the southern border,” a senior official told The Washington Times, previewing the announcement.
“President Trump has made it clear that he’s going to secure America’s border at all cost and this rule plays a vital role in the strategy to restore the integrity to our immigration system and our national security,” the official said.

More at: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news...ent-illegal-i/

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The Trump administration plans to shift at least $155 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster relief fund to support its policy of returning some migrants to Mexico.The Department of Homeland Security has informed Congress it will reprogram and transfer $271 million in total to its immigration enforcement agency from elsewhere in the department, including the FEMA money, according to documents obtained by CNN.

FEMA said in a statement to CNN, "This transfer of funds to support the border emergency will leave a remaining balance of $447 million in the DRF (Disaster Relief Fund) Base account. Based on DHS and FEMA's review of historical emergency spending from the DRF Base account, this amount will be sufficient to support operational needs and will not impact ongoing long-term recovery efforts across the country. The DRF Majors account, which provides funding for ongoing recovery efforts, including those supporting communities impacted by the 2017 disasters, has a current balance of approximately $27 billion and is not impacted by the reprogramming."
It's not uncommon for departments, including DHS, to reprogram funds. DHS, in particular, has previously reprogrammed funds for detention beds, for example.

DHS plans to transfer $23.8 million from the Transportation Security Administration for immigration enforcement, according to a document obtained by CNN.

The latest shift in funds will also pull more money from FEMA -- $3.4 million for detention efforts.
Additionally, $4.3 million will be transferred from DHS' cyber agency.

More at: https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/27/polit...ian/index.html

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Brazil is making it easier for the United States to deport undocumented Brazilians by asking U.S. airlines to board deportees even when they have no valid passports, following pressure from the Trump administration, three Brazilian government sources said.The Federal Police sent airlines a memo in June allowing them to board Brazilian deportees with just a certificate of nationality issued by a consulate if they lack a valid passport, previously needed to travel to Brazil, the sources said.
The move by right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro's government aims to facilitate repatriation of deportees by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and efforts by the Trump administration to speed the removal of undocumented immigrants.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-bra...154509747.html

[Danke]

����*♀️��✈️��

[Swordsmyth]

https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/sta...66644027367425

[RJB]

https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/sta...66644027367425

Why would anyone not want these fine citizens of the world to move into their neighborhood?

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Why would anyone not want these fine citizens of the world to move into their neighborhood?

Racism?

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African migrants are enraged by effective new Mexican migration rules deterring migration to the US. From the article – “I arrived in Tapachula a month ago. I left Cameroon and went directly to Ecuador. From there to Colombia. I climbed mountains, walked through the jungle, to find this $#@!,” Azu expressed. “This $#@!! They don’t feed me. They don’t give me anything. I am very angry with the government of Mexico. This is not normal. This is bull$#@!. We need a solution. We just want to get out of here.” You can see that r-strategist attitude, expecting resources to be free. Imagine going to Mexico, and expecting everyone to feed you. Imagine being enraged when they didn’t.

[Swordsmyth]

How effective have the MPP regulations actually been? New data released Monday by the nonpartisan Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) show that the program has taken off in recent months. Nearly 12,000 people were returned to Mexico in July, compared with about 5,000 in May, and just 15 at the start of the year.

MPP cases make up a small share of the immigration court's total backlog, just 2.7 percent, according to TRAC. But it made up a substantial proportion—22.3 percent—of new cases added to the docket in July. A third of those apprehended traveled from Honduras, 28 percent from Nicaragua, and 22 percent from Guatemala.
The new data support Department of Homeland Security claims that a substantial drop in monthly apprehensions in June and July is partially attributable to the implementation of the MPP. While the protocols have been in place since January, ramped up implementation in May, and their expansion to the Laredo and Brownsville ports of entry, likely drove the dips evident following May's peak.

Notably, the "Remain in Mexico" policy does not work by stopping individuals before they enter at the southwestern border, only returning them back once they cross. This means that to the extent the policy is effective, the MPP reduces immigration by deterring would-be crossers, who may not attempt to enter because they know they are less likely to be able to stay in the country.
The MPP's success suggests two conclusions. One is that at least some individuals migrating north and seeking asylum are doing so explicitly because they know they will likely be able to abscond—a sign that the loopholes in America's asylum rules are known south of the border. The other is that these data supply tentative evidence that immigration reduction policies—such as the administration's now-withdrawn "zero tolerance" prosecution approach—actually work.


More at: https://freebeacon.com/issues/thousa...ration-policy/

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Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan signed a letter of intent with a top Salvadoran official signaling that the countries hope to cooperate on a range of issues.
The areas in which the countries hope to work together are "border security and law enforcement operations," "information sharing," "asylum and protection capacity" and "promoting investment in El Salvador," according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statement.
The letter of intent was signed by McAleenan and Salvadoran Minister of Justice and Security Rogelio Rivas on Wednesday.

More at: https://thehill.com/policy/internati...el-salvador-on

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The Trump administration has started denying pleas by non-citizens who are trying to extend their time in the U.S. in order to treat severe medical conditions.
Letters issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and obtained by ABC News, tell people applying for medical relief that agency offices, "no longer consider deferred action requests," except for members of the military.
A 16-year-old with cystic fibrosis, a 13-year-old with muscular dystrophy and a 4-year-old girl with cerebral palsy are a few of the children whose families received letters denying their applications.


They're represented by Anthony Marino, an immigration lawyer with the Irish International Immigrant Center. He said the administration has effectively ended the program that ensures his clients have access to critical medical services.
"People are terrified and confused," Marino told ABC News. "I don't know how people react to their government telling them to disconnect from lifesaving health care."

[THEIR GOVERNMENT?]


The letters warn that if they don't leave the within 33 days, it could make them ineligible to return to the U.S.
"You are not authorized to remain in the United States," the USCIS field office in Boston wrote in one letter. "If you fail to depart the United States within 33 days of the date of this letter, USCIS may issue you a Notice to Appear and Commence removal proceedings against you with the immigration court."

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/gma/families-s...002300945.html

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At least 25 people were arrested across El Salvador on Thursday, including businesspeople, lawyers and a former police officer, as part of an operation to break up an alleged migrant smuggling network.Authorities said they conducted raids in a number of municipalities and seized 23 vehicles and 14 properties with a collective value of about $1 million. The director of the attorney general's office anticorruption unit said 32 arrest warrants were issued.

Authorities said the alleged smugglers charged migrants $8,000 to $12,000 to take them to the United States, though many were abandoned en route.

The raids came a day after President Nayib Bukele met with U.S. acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan. The two countries announced the signing of a letter of intent to cooperate in combatting irregular migration and transnational criminal organizations.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/el-salvador-a...155137335.html

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The Trump administration has quietly altered its handling of visas granted to immigrants who cooperate with criminal investigations, allowing people to be deported even while they are waiting for their visas.

The change was announced in a revised Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) directive released on Aug. 2.
The directive allows ICE to give permission for people to stay in the country as they await their U visas, which is a class of visa given to people who are cooperating with criminal investigations. But it also allows ICE to deport pending U visa applicants at their discretion.
Applications for U visas can take up to four years. The government issues 10,000 per year but puts no limit on the number of visas that can be issued to spouses and children of applicants or to parents of applicants who are themselves under 21.
The directive reserves the right for the agency to “review the totality of the circumstances, including any favorable or adverse factors, and any federal interest(s) implicated and decide whether a Stay of Removal or terminating proceedings is appropriate.”
ICE adds in the directive that it will “exercise its discretion” in determining whether to grant stay of removal requests, but cautions that the agency “no longer exempts classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement.”
In a statement to The Hill, an ICE spokesperson defended the change as necessary due to the volume of applications.
“As the number of U visa petitions submitted increased, this process became burdensome on both agencies and such determinations didn’t reflect a qualitative assessment of any assistance provided to law enforcement," the spokesperson said.
Blessinger said the new directive piggybacks on another policy change that began about a year ago, when United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ended its practice of waiving fees for U visa applicants. This change cut down the number of people who could even seek out U visas.

While the application itself does not cost any money, applicants with past criminal or immigration violations must pay a $585 fee to apply for a waiver.

More at: https://thehill.com/homenews/adminis...sparks-outrage

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Foreign Trespassers already dropping benefits ahead of new Trump rule...

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Mexico has sent more than 100,000 Central American migrants back across its border with Guatemala since January, a 63 percent rise on the same period last year, the government announced Wednesday.The hike in expulsions came as Washington increases pressure on its southern neighbor to curb illegal immigration from Central America, after tens of thousands of migrants flocked through Mexico to the US border earlier this year.
Mexico sent 54,037 Hondurans, 34,430 Guatemalans, 12,317 Salvadorans and 1,530 Nicaraguans by land to Guatemala, said Alejandra Mena, a spokeswoman for Guatemala's migration authorities.
Mexico tightened controls along its Guatemalan border after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose punitive tariffs on Mexican imports.
Meanwhile, expulsions of Guatemalans from the US increased by eight percent in the first eight months of the year, Mena said.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/guatemala-see...213052110.html

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Immigration officials deported 120 Cubans on a single flight last week — one of the “largest” Cuba repatriation missions in recent history.
Last Friday’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement charter flight from New Orleans to Havana was one of many to come, two federal sources say, noting that officials have been quietly ramping up their efforts to detain and send undocumented Cubans back to the island.
The targeted deportation of Cuban nationals is just a small piece of the Trump administration’s plan to empty out the country of undocumented immigrants, though the successful removals are the fruit of an agreement signed by both the U.S. and Cuban governments under former President Barack Obama in his last days in office.


The fact that the Cuban government actually accepted large numbers of Cuban nationals last week has shocked many in the Miami immigration community.
“The fact that the U.S. didn’t have diplomatic relations with Cuba is what made Cubans largely immune from deportation. However, that has now changed. Cuba is actually saying ‘yes’ and that should be shaking up the Cuban community like right now,” said Tammy Fox-Isicoff, who sits on the board of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Experts say Cuba has historically refused to accept Cuban nationals because of their anti-Castro political views. Another reason: The influx of older Cubans with possible healthcare needs could cause a strain on the country’s economy.
“But that has all changed — everything has changed,” said Miami immigration attorney Juliana Lamardo. “Cuba is welcoming these people with open arms. Before, there used to be what we called a ‘secret blacklist,’ where maybe two or three Cubans were deported, and nobody found out. But now? Now we’re talking entire airplanes. Something has changed the mind of the Cuban government, we just don’t know exactly what.”

More at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/loc...234735842.html

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Eight-and-a-half-months pregnant and experiencing contractions, a Salvadoran woman who had crossed the Rio Grande and was apprehended by the Border Patrol was forced to go back to Mexico.Agents took her to the hospital, where doctors gave her medication to stop the contractions. And then, according to the woman and her lawyer, she was almost immediately sent back to Mexico.
There, she joined the more than 38,000 people forced to wait across the border for immigration court hearings under a rapidly expanding Trump administration policy. And her plight highlights the health risks and perils presented by the "Remain in Mexico" program.


The U.S. government is establishing temporary tent courtrooms in Brownsville and Laredo, Texas, where immigration judges from around the U.S. will hear migrants' cases by video. The hearings will start in those cities later this month.
The woman's notice lists her address as a migrant shelter in Matamoros several miles from the primary international bridge near the camp where she is staying. Goodwin says she has never been to that shelter.
There are at least six cases of pregnant women border-wide who have been sent back to Mexico, according to U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat who recently sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general demanding an investigation into the issue. Goodwin also represents a woman from Peru who was seven months pregnant when border agents allowed her to enter, only to send her back to Mexico the next day.

As their deliveries near, many migrant women aren't sure whether they'll have access to a hospital and if they will need surgery, Villa said. They are worried about their child being born in Mexico instead of the U.S. and what that might mean for their prospects of eventually entering the U.S., she said.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/us-tells-migr...173410692.html

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The Trump administration is considering further cuts to the annual cap on refugees as it diverts caseworkers to handle asylum claims from Central American families at the southern U.S. border, a senior official said on Friday.Since taking office, President Donald Trump, who campaigned on restricting immigration, has slashed the number of refugees allowed into the United States - decisions decried by human rights advocates and national security experts.
Last year, the administration capped the program at 30,000 refugees, down from 45,000 people in 2018, which itself was the lowest ceiling since 1980. In his last year of office, former President Barack Obama had set the cap at 110,000 refugees.
No decisions have yet been made by Trump, the official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity. Top administration officials have not yet met to discuss the cap, which is set each year by the end of September.
But the official said the administration was directing more resources to address the hundreds of thousands of mainly Central American families and children who have crossed the U.S. border with Mexico during the past year, many seeking refuge in the United States.
"Our focus has been on dealing with the asylum influx (at the U.S. border), and prioritizing those cases," the official said.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has already shifted refugee caseworkers to instead work on asylum cases, the official said - and will continue to shift more - reducing the number of refugee files that can be handled no matter where the cap is set. The official did not provide details on how many case officers had been reassigned.
The New York Times reported on Friday that top officials would consider options at a meeting on Tuesday - which could include effectively ending the program, or severely slashing the cap and reserving the spots for a narrow group of countries.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/trump-adminis...231139217.html

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Border Arrests Plummet 60% Since May As Trump Immigration Crackdown Gets Results

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The Trump administration is seeking to strike a "cooperative agreement" with Mexico to help stem the tide of migrants looking to enter the United States to claim asylum, the top U.S. border control official said on Monday."We are reaching across the aisle... to come up with a cooperative agreement," acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan told reporters when asked if the United States was seeking a 'safe third country' agreement with Mexico.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/1-u-still-aim...223401082.html

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The Trump administration is ready to open a tent court on the border to help handle tens of thousands of cases of asylum seekers forced to wait in Mexico, with hearings held entirely by videoconference.The court, or "soft-sided" facility as U.S. officials call it, is scheduled to begin operations Monday in Laredo, Texas. Another is expected to open soon in Brownsville in the Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings.


The administration introduced its "Remain in Mexico" policy in San Diego in January and later expanded it to El Paso, but hearings there are conducted inside large buildings with normal courtrooms, and the judge usually appears in person.
The policy, assailed by critics for making families and young children wait in violent Mexico border cities, has become a key piece of the U.S. response to a large increase in asylum-seeking families, especially from Central America.
Mexico allowed for its rapid expansion in a June 7 pact that spared it, at least temporarily, from threats of tariff increases by President Donald Trump.
Mexico's Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence agreed Tuesday to expand the policy "to the fullest extent possible," according to a summary of their meeting provided by the White House.


The Laredo court will manage as many as 300 cases a day, said Alberto Flores, port director for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said during a tour for journalists on Tuesday that was streamed by reporter Brenda Camacho of KGNS-TV.
Asylum seekers have been told to report to Nuevo Laredo on the Mexico side of the border at least four hours before their court times, Flores said during a media tour of the 30,000-square foot (2,787-square-meter) facility.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/tent-courts-s...002342502.html

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The US Defense Department said Tuesday that it would keep up to 5,500 troops deployed at the Mexican border for the coming year to help combat illegal immigration.A week after announcing it would divert $3.6 billion in funds for the construction of an anti-migrant wall on the frontier, the Pentagon said it had also approved a request from the Department of Homeland Security to maintain a troop presence as well.
The Defense Department "will provide up to 5,500 personnel to provide infrastructure support; operational support; detection and monitoring support; and air support," said Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Chris Mitchell.
The increased military presence on the US side of the border mirrors a significantly expanded deployment by Mexican troops, following pressure from President Donald Trump, including threat of trade sanctions.
Vice President Mike Pence met Tuesday with Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard in Washington and "acknowledged the government of Mexico's meaningful and unprecedented steps to help curb the flow of illegal immigration," the White House said.
However, the statement also echoed repeated demands from US officials this week for Mexico to do still more in the cross-border crackdown.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/pentagon-keep...210120837.html

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The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration a big win Wednesday afternoon, after two injunctions against asylum restrictions were struck down. The ruling means that US Customs and Border Protection can immediately begin denying migrants asylum at the southern border if they haven't first applied for safe haven in a "third country" while the greater legal battle over the issue plays out in the lower courts.

More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/...outhern-border

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El Salvador's government will deploy at least 800 police to its borders with Honduras and Guatemala in a bid to thwart U.S.-bound migrants, officials said on Wednesday.A government statement said the deployment is set to begin on Thursday at La Hachadura, a border crossing with Guatemala near the Pacific coast and where hundreds of Salvadoran migrants have previously attempted to cross as part of large caravans.
The police will be backed up by another 350 immigration officials who will review identification and travel documents of migrants seeking to cross, according to a Salvadoran government official.

El Salvador's new president, Nayib Bukele, and acting U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan agreed late last month to collaborate more closely on migration and security.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/el-salvador-s...235838806.html