EL PASO, Texas — About 50 asylum seekers stood this week in a circle near a bridge between the U.S. and Mexico to hear an American attorney explain what would happen to them when they entered U.S. custody. The attorney, Jodi Goodwin, told them they would probably end up at...
Pentagon Chief Wonders When US-Mexico Border Mission to End
WASHINGTON — Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told Congress Wednesday that the military needs to return to its traditional missions, and he wants to know how much longer troops will be needed at the U.S.-Mexico border. In testimony to a House Appropriations subcommittee, Shanahan said he needs to determine how...
ICE 'Overwhelmed' Yet Family Detention Space Goes Unused
HOUSTON — President Donald Trump has warned that Central American families are staging an "invasion" at the U.S.-Mexico border. He has threatened to take migrants to Democratic strongholds to punish political opponents. And his administration regularly complains about having to "catch and release" migrants. At the same time, his administration...
Border Is Overwhelmed, Resulting in Quick Release of Families
WASHINGTON — The number of migrant families and children entering the U.S. from Mexico is so high that Border Patrol is immediately releasing them instead of transferring them to the agency responsible for their release, forcing local governments to help coordinate their housing, meals and travel. "We need to work...
Cradling Children, Migrant Families Cross Border in Waves
MCALLEN, Texas — A mother cradled a crying toddler as she waited in line with 20 other women to shower. Dozens of fathers quietly held their children's hands in an enclosure made of chain-link fencing. While these families were held at an overcrowded Border Patrol processing center, a fresh wave...
Humane Enforcement of U.S. Border Laws is Possible
The Trump administration's reversal of its family separation policy for immigrants crossing the border illegally is less than meets the eye, according to a June 22 opinion published in the New York Times. "On Wednesday, President Trump said in an executive order that he planned to keep families together by jailing parents...
Zakaria: Trump Misleads on Immigrants to Stoke Fear
Illegal migration into the United States is at the lowest level on record, according to a 2017 report from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Despite this fact, Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria says President Trump is manufacturing a border control crisis to stoke fears within his base ahead of the...