Some 50 Members of Migrant Caravan Reach Mexico, U.S. Border

04/20/2018 The New York Times

MEXICO CITY — A group of 50 Central American migrants who set out from southern Mexico in late March have reached the U.S. border, having endured the long journey despite threats by President Donald Trump to secure the border with National Guard personnel.

Since peaking at around 1,500 people, the so-called migrant “caravan” has dwindled under pressure from Trump and Mexican migration authorities, who vowed to separate those migrants with a right to stay in Mexico from those who did not.

Some of those migrants began arriving in the Mexican border city of Tijuana on Wednesday and have requested asylum in the United States.

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Thousands of immigrants could benefit from Supreme Court ruling, lawyers say

04/18/2018 The Washington Post

A Supreme Court ruling on immigration this week is igniting a new political battle over federal officials’ power to deport foreigners who have been convicted of certain crimes.

The White House and the nation’s top immigration official said the 5-to-4 ruling will make it harder for the Trump administration to deport people convicted of some sexual offenses and kidnapping crimes, as well as burglary in some states, among other offenses.

“It is yet another example of the need for Congress to urgently close the loopholes that allow criminal aliens to avoid removal and remain in the United States,” Thomas Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in a statement.

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Remnants of migrant caravan move toward US-Mexico border

04/18/2018 The Washington Post

The remnants of a migrant caravan of Central Americans that drew the ire of President Donald Trump were continuing their journey north through Mexico toward the U.S. border on Wednesday.

Organizer Irineo Mujica, speaking from the western Mexico city of Guadalajara, said that about 500 migrants had been riding trains north since departing Mexico City last weekend. The caravan that left the Guatemala-Mexico border in late March grew to more than 1,000 migrants who found safety travelling in numbers.

In Mexico City, Mujica had said the capital was the caravan’s last official stop, but many of the migrants feared going solo on the dangerous final leg north and decided to keep travelling en masse. Some who had split off to press on alone reported back about kidnappings and having their papers for safe passage torn up.

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240 House Lawmakers Urge Ryan to Allow Immigration Votes

04/18/2018 Bloomberg

A bipartisan group of 240 U.S. House members have signed on to an effort to persuade Speaker Paul Ryan to let lawmakers debate four competing immigration bills and see which one can get the most votes.

Representative Jeff Denham, the California Republican leading the effort, said getting 190 Democrats and about 50 Republicans together on anything related to immigration should show Ryan and President Donald Trump that most lawmakers and Americans are demanding legislative action on the stalled immigration debate.

“The point of this is: it’s time for a full debate,” Denham told reporters Wednesday at a news conference with a bipartisan groups of co-sponsors.

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Remnants of Migrant Caravan Move Toward US-Mexico Border

04/18/2018 The New York Times

MEXICO CITY — The remnants of a migrant caravan of Central Americans that drew the ire of President Donald Trump were continuing their journey north through Mexico toward the U.S. border on Wednesday.

Organizer Irineo Mujica, speaking from the western Mexico city of Guadalajara, said that about 500 migrants had been riding trains north since departing Mexico City last weekend. The caravan that left the Guatemala-Mexico border in late March grew to more than 1,000 migrants who found safety travelling in numbers.

In Mexico City, Mujica had said the capital was the caravan’s last official stop, but many of the migrants feared going solo on the dangerous final leg north and decided to keep travelling en masse. Some who had split off to press on alone reported back about kidnappings and having their papers for safe passage torn up.

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Despite vow to end ‘catch and release,’ Trump has freed 100,000 who illegally crossed the border

04/13/2018 The Washington Post

The Trump administration has freed about 100,000 immigrants caught at the U.S.-Mexico border in the 15 months since the president took office, newly released government figures show, despite repeated promises to end President Barack Obama’s “catch and release” policies.

Homeland Security officials say they had to release the migrants — more than 37,500 unaccompanied minors and more than 61,000 family members — because of judges’ rulings and federal laws banning prolonged detentions for children, as well as a lack of detention beds.

The number of people caught crossing the border illegally dropped to a 46-year low after Trump arrived in the White House, prompting then-Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly, now the White House chief of staff, to declare that “catch and release” had ended.

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DHS Secretary: Spike In Illegal Border Crossings Shows More Money Needed For Wall

04/11/2018 NPR

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen called a 200 percent spike in illegal border crossings in March compared with a year ago “a dangerous story” as she pressed lawmakers Wednesday to provide funding for President Trump’s proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Nielsen appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security to push for approval of the Trump administration’s $47.5 billion FY 2019 budget request for her department, which includes $18 billion for the border wall.

She said the number of unaccompanied children apprehended at the border was up over 800 percent in March 2018 compared with 2017, and the number of families apprehended increased more than 680 percent. While the increases are dramatic, they are also not unexpected. The number of illegal border crossings has traditionally increased in the spring, and the total for March of this year remains below peak levels, according to Customs and Border Protection.

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