Category Archives: US immigration

Mexico immigration chief vows to cut number of people migrating by 60%

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Newly appointed chief, Francisco Garduño, said he hoped to prevent hundreds of thousands of migrants entering the country each year

Mexico’s immigration chief has vowed to slash the number of migrants entering his country by 60% and prevent Mexico from being used as “a trampoline” to the United States, as the Mexican government scrambles to satisfy Donald Trump’s demands to curb migration.

Trump has given Mexico a 45-day deadline – which ends on 22 July – to reduce the flow of undocumented Central American migrants to the United States’ southern border, leaving the Mexican government racing to meet those demands and avert the threat of tariffs.

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Jury deadlocks over activist who gave migrants food and shelter

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Scott Daniel Warren faced up to 20 years in prison in a case aid groups said would have wide implications on their work

A US jury could not reach a verdict Tuesday against a border activist who, defense attorneys say, was simply being kind by providing two migrants with water, food and lodging when he was arrested in early 2018.

Scott Daniel Warren, a 36-year-old college geography instructor, was charged with conspiracy to transport and harbor migrants in a trial that humanitarian aid groups said would have wide implications on their work. He faced up to 20 years in prison.

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‘I’m about to have my baby’: migrants stuck in Mexico face more uncertainty

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Tariff deal calls for expansion of policy forcing Central American asylum seekers to wait in Mexico as their cases wind through US courts

In a cramped San Diego courtroom, immigrant mothers cradled restless babies and toddlers as they waited to go before a judge. After a quick exchange, they were whisked back to Mexico where they face months, or possibly years, before their cases play out in the US.

Hundreds of miles away, a judge in El Paso, Texas, noticed that an infant was fussing and let the child’s mother stand up and burp the baby before shipping her and about a dozen others, including six pregnant women, back to the Mexican border city of Juarez.

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‘All I have done, no credit!’ Enraged Trump defends US-Mexico migrant deal

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President tweets ire at New York Times and opponents as agreement to avoid tariffs comes under scrutiny

The Trump administration was forced to defend its immigration agreement with Mexico on Sunday, amid reports that key provisions in the deal, forged under the threat of trade tariffs, were mostly old commitments agreed to months ago.

Related: Mexican president leads 'celebration' rally after US tariffs dropped

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Mexican president leads ‘celebration’ rally after US tariffs dropped

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Andrés Manuel López Obrador tells crowd in Tijuana he is raising an ‘open hand’, not a closed fist, to Donald Trump

The Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, travelled to the border city of Tijuana to rally the country in “defence of national dignity”, but to also reaffirm friendship with the US people – barely a day after the US cancelled the threat of tariffs.

López Obrador called the rally, which was convened prior to the tariffs being cancelled, a “celebration” of both countries brokering a deal.

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Trump’s Mexico deal is victory for ‘hostage-taking’, ex-WTO head says

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Pascal Lamy said Trump’s actions went against the spirit of diplomacy after Mexico agreed to expand asylum program

The immigration deal imposed on Mexico by Donald Trump under the threat of punitive tariffs is a victory for “hostage-taking” over international rules, a former head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Saturday.

Related: Trump calls off tariffs after US-Mexico deal but Mnuchin says threat remains

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Mexico tightens southern border security as another day passes with no tariff deal

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Under pressure from Trump, Mexico has launched a crackdown on the Guatemala border, arresting activists and holding migrants

As Donald Trump’s deadline for new tariffs on Mexican imports draws near, Mexico has stepped up security along its porous border with Guatemala – deploying police and soldiers to its southern frontier and arresting prominent migration activists.

Trump last week pledged to impose 5% tariffs on Mexican products on 10 June unless Mexico stops Central American migrants from travelling through its territory.

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Trump cancels key services for unaccompanied child migrants – live

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Officials say language classes and recreation programs for immigrant children staying in federal shelters ‘not directly necessary’

Vice President Mike Pence will meet Wednesday with top Mexican officials who are seeking to head off the administration’s threatened tariffs, the Hill reports.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard is representing his country at the talks and expected to argue Mexico is already taking steps to prevent migrants from crossing the US-Mexico border.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says Paul Manafort should not be held in solitary confinement, and nor should anyone else. Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign chair, is reportedly heading for Rikers Island where he’s likely to be held in solitary while awaiting trial on New York state charges.

Yes - released from solitary.

NYT used the term solitary confinement, & that’s what I am commenting on.

“Protective custody” IS a separate practice, but does not necessarily exclude solitary. If he is in fact not being held in solitary, great. Release everyone else from it too.

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Trump warns ‘foolish’ Republican senators in rare clash over Mexico tariffs

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Lawmakers in president’s own party voice firm opposition to threat over Mexico

In a rare confrontation, Republican senators declared deep opposition Tuesday to Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs on all goods coming into the US from Mexico. But it’s unclear they have the votes to stop him, and Trump said they’d be “foolish” to try.

All sides, including officials from Mexico meeting Trump negotiators in Washington this week, remain hopeful that high-level talks will ease the president away from his threat. But with the tariffs set to start next Monday, and Trump declaring them “more likely” than not to take effect, fellow Republicans in Congress warned the White House they were ready to stand up to the president.

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House passes bill offering 2 million migrants a chance at citizenship

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Measure to protect Dreamers and others stands little chance of passing but highlights Democrats’ push for immigration reform

Democrats shunned a White House veto threat and muscled legislation through the House on Tuesday that would bestow a chance for citizenship on an estimated 2 million-plus migrants, a bill that stands virtually no chance of enactment but lets them showcase their efforts on one of their highest-profile priorities.

The measure is just one skirmish in Democrats’ multi-front battle against most congressional Republicans over immigration, an issue that has deadlocked the two parties for decades but intensified under the harsh policies and rhetoric of Donald Trump. It is likely to join a host of other House-passed measures advancing Democrats’ agenda that are running aground in the GOP-run Senate, including legislation on healthcare, gun control, climate change and election security.

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Trans woman seeking asylum dies after pleading for medical help in US custody

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Death of Johana Medina Leon, hospitalized following chest pains, echoes case of Honduran woman a year ago

A transgender migrant has died after becoming sick while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) custody, sparking renewed claims of medical neglect and human rights violations.

Johana Medina Leon, a 25-year-old asylum seeker from El Salvador, died Saturday at a hospital in El Paso, Texas, after she was detained for over a month and complained of chest pains, officials said. Leon had repeatedly pleaded for medical help and was held in poor conditions, advocates who had contact with her and others at the privately run New Mexico detention center said.

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Mexico could tighten migration controls to defuse Trump tariffs threat

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  • Andrés Manuel López Obrador hints at concession to US
  • Talks over US president threat in Washington next week

Mexico’s president hinted on Saturday that his country could tighten migration controls in order to defuse Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Mexican goods. Andrés Manuel López Obrador also said he expected “good results” from talks in Washington next week.

Related: 'No idea too lunatic': how Trump's shock troops attack US democracy

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Donald Trump defends tariffs on Mexico as stock markets reel

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After 5% tariff announced, president tweets ‘Mexico has taken advantage of the US for decades’

Donald Trump has defended his decision to impose new tariffs on Mexico as stock markets worldwide were rattled by fears of an escalation in trade tensions.

“Mexico has taken advantage of the United States for decades,” Trump tweeted. “Because of the Dems, our Immigration Laws are BAD. Mexico makes a FORTUNE from the U.S., have for decades, they can easily fix this problem. Time for them to finally do what must be done!”

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Trump’s ‘merit-based’ immigration plan declared ‘dead on arrival’ by opponents

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President called plan to transform the nation’s green card system ‘pro-American, pro-immigrant and pro-worker’

Donald Trump has announced plans for “merit-based” legal immigration – but before the US president even stepped up to the lectern in the White House Rose Garden on Thursday afternoon, opponents declared the sweeping reforms “dead on arrival”.

Trump appeared to acknowledge as much when he warned that Democrats, who control the House of Representatives, might block the changes – a sign of his political impotence as the next presidential election draws ever closer.

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Trump unveils new US immigration plan including English requirement – video

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President unveiled new immigration strategy including favouring a 'merit'-based system over family ties, as well as making it a requirement that future immigrants learn English and pass a civics exam. Speaking from the White House Rose Garden, Trump said he wanted to increase the proportion of highly skilled immigration from 12% to 57%, adding: 'We discriminate against genius. We discriminate against brilliance. We won't any more.' 

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Easy prey to the middleman: the immigrants toiling in US fields

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For Mexican farmworkers, seasonal employment in the US is an opportunity to earn more – but those who make the journey can be easily exploited by recruiters

The sun is rising and a line of workers dressed in jeans and hoodies is already snaking its way around the block. A few of them started gathering outside the US consulate building as early as 4am.

Monterrey, the third largest city in Mexico, is a little over 100 miles from the US border, and a hub for farmworkers applying for temporary work visas.

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A US city cut ties with its troubled migrant detention center. That could make things even worse

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The decision could mean more business – and fewer rules – for the private company behind the Adelanto, California, site

The immigration detention center in Adelanto, California, is flanked by industrial buildings, power lines and expansive mountain views. At its front entryway, the American flag flies alongside the banner of the Geo Group, the private prison corporation operating the facility for US immigration authorities.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) processing center in this high desert town is home to nearly 2,000 immigrants, many of whom are asylum seekers. There have been numerous allegations of detainee abuse and mistreatment at the facility, prompting investigations from several state, federal and non-governmental agencies.

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Trump condemned for laughing after supporter suggested shooting migrants – live

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The crowd cheered and Trump laughed when an audience member at a Florida rally said the best way to deal with migrants was to ‘shoot them’

Jill Biden said she would like to continue working as a teacher if her husband Joe wins the presidency.

“I would want to make sure that my students were safe, but boy, would I love to do it,” Jill Biden said in an interview with MSNBC.

The plan proposed today by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would cap credit card interest rates at 15%, Bloomberg News reports.

The legislation would also let post offices offer low-cost basic financial services, such as checking and savings accounts and loans.

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US builds migrant tent city in Texas as Trump likens treatment to ‘Disneyland’

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US border agency, which previously forced migrants to sleep under a bridge, says an influx of arrivals demands more shelter space

The US government has begun erecting tents close to the border with Mexico to house detained migrants – even as Donald Trump likened the treatment of undocumented families entering the US to “Disneyland” on Sunday.

Life at the foothills of the Franklin mountains in El Paso, Texas, has been rudely disrupted in the last few days by construction crews coming and going near the adjacent border patrol station.

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