Over 1,800 immigrant children reunited by deadline
Shy children were given a meal and a plane or bus ticket to locations around the U.S. as nonprofit groups tried to smooth the way for kids reunited with their parents following their separations at the U.S. Mexico border. The Trump administration said Thursday that more than 1,800 children 5 years and older had been reunited with parents or sponsors hours before the deadline. That included 1,442 children who were returned to parents who were in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, and another 378 who were released under a variety of other circumstances. But about 700 more remain separated, including 431 whose parents were deported, officials say. Those reunions take more time, effort and paperwork as authorities fly children back to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. On Friday morning, Homeland Security officials said they had reunified all eligible parents with children — but noted many others were not eligible because they have been released from immigration custody, are in their home countries or chose not to be reunited. Updated figures were not made public, but new data was expected to be released Friday at a court hearing in San Diego held by the judge overseeing the reunification process. “The administration will continue to make every effort to reunify eligible adults with their children,” a Homeland Security statement said. Now the federal judge in San Diego who ordered the reunifications must decide how to address the hundreds of still-separated children whose parents have been deported, as well as how much time, if any, reunified parents should be allowed to file asylum claims. Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union representing separated parents, said Thursday it was unclear how long it might take to find the parents returned to their homelands. “I think it’s just going to be really hard detective work and hopefully we’re going to find them,” he said. U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw will also consider the ACLU’s request to give reunified parents at least a week to consider if they wish to seek asylum. The government opposes the waiting period, and Sabraw has put a hold on deporting reunified families while the issue is decided. On a parallel legal front over treatment of immigrant children, U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles will be asked Friday to appoint a special monitor to oversee detention facilities. Children described horrid conditions in a voluminous report filed this month over whether the Trump administration is meeting its obligations under a long-standing settlement governing how young immigrants should be treated in custody. As the deadline neared, small groups of children were led in and out of Lutheran Social Services in Phoenix all day Thursday, sometimes holding hands with a worker from the center. Children and parents wore matching hospital-like identification bracelets and carried belongings in white plastic bags. The men sported shoes without laces that were taken away while in immigration detention. Support worker Julisa Zaragoza said some kids were so afraid of losing their parents again they didn’t want to go to the bathroom alone. “These families have been through a lot,” she said. The federal government was supposed to reunify more than 2,500 children who were separated from their parents under a new immigration policy designed to deter immigrants from coming here illegally, but the policy backfired amid global outrage over crying children taken from their parents. President Donald Trump ended the practice of taking children from parents and Sabraw ordered the government to reunite all the families by the end of Thursday, nevertheless indicating some flexibility given the enormity of the effort. Chris Meekins, the head of the office of the assistant secretary for preparedness and response for Health and Human Services, said the government would continue to reunify families with eligible parents throughout the evening. In most cases the families are released and the parents typically get ankle-monitoring bracelets and court dates to appear before an immigration judge. Faith-based and other groups have provided meals, clothing, legal advice, plane and bus tickets and even new shoe laces. A charitable organization called FWD.US, founded by technology leaders including Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Dropbox founder Drew Houston was paying for the airline tickets, the bus tickets and the lodging for all the families newly reunited in the Phoenix area to get them to relatives living all over the United States, said Connie Phillips of Lutheran Social Services. She said a phone company donated 500 mobile phones for the migrants, each with six months of free service. There were scattered reunions in various locations Thursday, including about 15 in Phoenix, said Phillips. The main immigrant-assistance center in El Paso, Texas, has been receiving about 25 reunified families daily. Some children who had not seen their parents in weeks or months seemed slow to accept that they would not be abandoned again. Jose Dolores Munoz, 36, from El Salvador, was reunited with his 7-year-old daughter last Friday, nearly two months after they were separated, but he said his daughter cries when he leaves the house. “She is afraid,” Munoz said. “Yesterday I left her crying, she is telling me, ‘You are not coming back.’” Those who remain separated from their children include Lourdes de Leon of Guatemala. She surrendered to authorities at the border and was deported on June 7, while her 6-year-old son, Leo, remained in the U.S. De Leon said Guatemalan consular officials told her signing a deportation order would be the easiest way to reunite with Leo. “He is in a shelter in New York,” de Leon said. “My baby already had his hearing with a judge who signed his deportation eight days ago. But I still do not know when they are going to return him to me.” At the Lutheran center, Phillips said the parents and kids have opened up as they go through an assessment process with workers. She said the outpouring of donations has been comforting. “We have seen a lot of people come
National Guard members begin arriving at U.S.-Mexico border
Some National Guard members have started arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border with more expected as federal government officials continue to discuss what they’ll do about illegal immigration. The Republican governors of Texas, Arizona and New Mexico on Monday committed 1,600 Guard members to the border, giving President Donald Trump many of the troops he requested to fight what he’s called a crisis of migrant crossings and crime. The only holdout border state was California, led by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, who has not announced whether troops from his state’s National Guard will participate and has repeatedly fought with Trump over immigration policy. Under the federal law Trump invoked in his proclamation calling for National Guard troops, governors who send troops retain command and control over their state’s Guard members and the U.S. government picks up the cost. Brown’s spokesman, Evan Westrup, said California officials still are reviewing Trump’s troop request. Trump said last week he wants to send 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard members to the border, issuing a proclamation citing “the lawlessness that continues at our southern border.” Trump administration officials have said that rising numbers of people being caught at the southern border, while in line with seasonal trends in recent years, require an immediate response. Apprehensions are still well below their historical trends during the terms of former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, both of whom also deployed the Guard to the border. In Mexico City, a caravan of Central American migrants that had been heading north stopped in the Mexican capital. The caravan had sparked furious criticism from Trump, followed days later by his National Guard border protection deployment plan. Organizers said they never intended to go to the U.S. border. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey told a group of soldiers preparing to deploy from a Phoenix military base that their “mission is about providing manpower and resources” to support agencies on the border and denied that there was a political motive. “I don’t think this is a partisan issue or an identity issue,” he said. “You show me somebody who is for drug cartels or human trafficking or this ammunition that’s coming over a wide-open and unprotected border here.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told San Antonio radio station KTSA that he would add about 300 troops a week until the total number reaches at least 1,000 troops. Some Guard members will be armed if they are placed in potential danger, Abbott said, adding he wanted to downplay speculation that “our National Guard is showing up with military bayonets trying to take on anybody that’s coming across the border, because that is not their role.” There is no end date for the deployment, Abbott said: “We may be in this for the long haul.” New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez’s office said that more than 80 troops would deploy later this week. They will be the first of an expected 250 Guard members from New Mexico to serve on the border. South Carolina Gov. 6 a Republican, offered to send members of his state’s Guard as well. South Carolina sent troops to the border during Operation Jump Start, the border deployment ordered by Bush in 2006. Trump has said he wants to use the military at the border until progress is made on his proposed border wall, which has mostly stalled in Congress. Defense Secretary James Mattis last Friday approved paying for up to 4,000 National Guard personnel from the Pentagon budget through the end of September. Mexico’s foreign relations secretary said his government is evaluating its cooperation with the United States. Luis Videgaray said in a Monday interview with local media that he will give results of the analysis to President Enrique Pena Nieto in coming weeks. The country’s Senate passed a resolution last week saying Mexico should suspend cooperation with the U.S. on illegal immigration and drug trafficking in retaliation for Trump’s move. But Videgaray said “no decision has been taken to reduce or suspend any mechanism or cooperation.” Joel Villarreal, the mayor of Rio Grande City in Texas, said he did not agree with what he characterized as “the militarization of the border.” “It’s not good for business, to be frank with you,” Villarreal said. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Robert Bentley orders Alabama National Guard to protect U.S. border
On Tuesday, Gov. Robert Bentley ordered Alabama National Guard members to assist in protecting the United States border with Mexico at the request of the National Guard Bureau. The state will send UH-72 helicopter and three pilots to Marana, Arizona to assist in this effort. “Securing the U.S. border is an issue that is important to every American, and the Alabama National Guard is supporting the effort to secure the border,” Bentley said in a press release. “The men and women who serve in the Alabama National Guard are some of the most dedicated and professional military service members in the country. I appreciate the Guard’s effort to support the Southwest Border Mission.” The press release goes on to say that the support is “needed immediately and the Alabama National Guard support will remain until the end of September.” The effort will come at no cost to the Alabama National Guard and the mission will provide training opportunities to for Alabama’s volunteer army members. The Southwest Border Mission, also known as Operation Phalanx, has gone since 2010 and has assisted local law enforcement and the U.S. Border Patrol in addressing the issue of illegal immigration into the country. According to Bentley’s statement, the effort has aided “in more than 28,000 apprehensions and countless border turn-backs, as well as seizure of 42,000 pounds of marijuana and additional narcotics.” “The Alabama National Guard will support the Southwest Border Mission by providing one UH-72 helicopter and three pilots through the end of September 2016 in Arizona,” Major General Perry Smith said. “These missions provide enhanced training for our pilots, while at the same time providing strengthened borders to protect the Nation. I appreciate Governor Bentley’s long-standing and steadfast support of the Alabama National Guard.” The announcement of Alabama guardsmen being sent to the border comes on the heels of an announcement by Bentley that he is supporting a Texas lawsuit calling executive immigration actions by President Barack Obama an “overreach” of power.
Donald Trump’s latest book is on shelves, features his frowny face
Donald Trump is out with a new book that reads like a campaign manifesto, boasting success stories but offering few details on how he would implement his policy goals as president. But in the book, entitled “Crippled America,” the billionaire businessman, former reality TV star and Republican White House hopeful does provide insights into how he uses the media to his advantage. The book speaks directly to voters, making the case that Trump has the experience and business savvy to accomplish things that traditional, all-talk, no-action politicians can’t. It comes as Trump is continuing to adjust to a new phase of the campaign in which the once undisputed front-runner is now facing heightened competition from a number of his GOP rivals. “This book is designed to give the reader a better understanding of me and my ideas for our future,” Trump writes. “I’m a really nice guy, but I’m also passionate and determined to make our country great again.” Many presidential candidates write books aimed at getting their stories before the public, and almost all of them feature cover photos of the candidates looking friendly, poised, competent and, well, presidential. Trump’s cover features him with furrowed brows and a deep scowl, in keeping with his often irascible demeanor. “I’m sitting there with an angry face and everybody said that’s really got to be the picture because the book is explaining all that’s the wrong in the country,” Trump said Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” In many ways the book is an exhaustive version of the stump speech Trump has been delivering at rallies across the country, laying out what he sees as the biggest challenges facing the country and how he plans to solve them. And it is signature braggadocios Trump, complete with a 14-page biography and a list of some of the properties he has developed, managed and licensed over the years. The book also includes a note declaring that Trump’s net worth has increased since he launched his campaign. Trump also talks at length about his relationship with the news media, which he has used deftly to promote his campaign, saving him millions in television advertising. “I use the media the way the media uses me — to attract attention,” he writes, explaining that he, “learned a long time ago that if you’re not afraid to be outspoken, the media will write about you or beg you to come on their shows.” The book includes chapters on favored Trump subjects including the dangers of illegal immigration and his commitment to Second Amendment rights for gun owners. And it delves into more details in some areas, particularly on how he plans to force Mexico to pay for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, his signature campaign promise. “We could increase the various border fees we charge. We could increase the fees on temporary visas. We could even impound remittance payments derived from illegal wages,” Trump offers. “Foreign governments could tell their embassies to start helping, otherwise they risk troubled relations with America.” On education, he falls short of a call for a reinstatement of corporal punishment, but said says schools need stricter discipline, with trained security officers to enforce the rules. But Trump also makes no apologies for his often hazy plans. “People say I don’t provide specific policies that some pollster has determined what people want to hear. I know that’s not the way the professional politicians do it — they seem to poll and focus-group every word. But there’s nobody like me,” he writes, with dramatic line breaks. He also works to try to push back on potential weaknesses, providing a list of conservative credentials to present to those who accuse him of being too liberal, and assurances that he is a practicing Christian. “God is in my life every day,” he says. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
