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Mayors from Libyas desert south to its northern shores fear a deal between Tripoli and Rome to fund migrant holding centres in this north African country will simply shift Europes migration crisis onto Libyan soil.

The Mediterranean Sea between Libya and Italy has become the main crossing point for asylum seekers and economic migrants seeking a better life in Europe. Last year, Italy recorded its record number of arrivals and many migrants drowned at sea.

The deal foresees European Union money for holding centres in towns and cities along the main human trafficking routes criss-crossing Libya, as well as training and equipment to fight the smugglers.

Our priority is to support our own sons instead of allowing for illegal migrants in centres, said Hamed Al-Khyali, mayor of the southern city of Sabha, a migrant smuggling hub.

If the Europeans want to allow them to stay, they can have them in their own lands, which are larger, but not in Libya, because we have our own problems to take care of.

Libya descended into chaos after the 2011 toppling of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi, enabling smuggling gangs to develop entrenched networks.

Smugglers typically demand thousands of dollars from migrants for a risky journey across the desert before cramming them onto ill-equipped boats for a perilous crossing of the Mediterranean. An estimated 4,500 migrants drowned in 2016.

The agreement will depend heavily on the cooperation of local authorities along the smuggling routes because the UN-backed government in Tripoli exerts little effective control over much of the country.

Several mayors said they were not notified of the accord before it was struck.

The agreement, which has the backing of EU leaders, pledges support for reception camps where migrants can be held until their deportation or their voluntary return to their countries of origin.

Some migrant detention centres already exist in Libya. A UN report in December said migrants in Libya were exposed to widespread abuse in the centres, which are generally controlled by armed groups, although some have official status. The report also said some local officials were collaborating with the smugglers.

Dangerous step

Hussein Thwadi, mayor of the western coastal city of Sabratha, the departure point most frequently used for Mediterranean crossings by smugglers in Libya right now, said keeping migrants in Libya would be a dangerous step.

The idea of allowing illegal migrants to stay in Libya and providing good conditions for their livelihood is rejected by Libyans and by the authorities too, Thwadi said.

The migrant crisis was too great for Libyan authorities to handle, the mayor said. The problem of illegal migration must be solved internationally.

Most migrant-smuggling boats launch from western Libya.

Mayors in the southern towns of Kufra, Murzuq and Ghat also told Reuters by telephone that they were against the agreement for similar reasons.

Authorities in eastern Libya, who oppose the UN-backed government and hold sway over swathes of the south used by the human traffickers, this week rejected the Italian-Libyan deal.

Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano on Thursday said this came as no surprise.

We got ourselves a good deal, but its not a magic wand, it doesnt mean that tomorrow morning all the problems will be resolved, Alfano told reporters in Rome.

This week the EU said it would try to protect migrants in Libya and increase voluntary repatriations through closer cooperation with the UN refugee agency and the International Organisation for Migration.

Both agencies have said that Libya should not be considered a safe country to hold migrants and process asylum requests.

The two agencies heads, together with the UN human rights chief and the UN Libya envoy, called on Friday for a comprehensive approach to tackling migrant and refugee flows in Libya, stressing the need to look at driving factors behind the crisis while improving regular pathways for migrants.

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Libya mayors say EU migrant crisis should not be dumped on them - Middle East Monitor

posted at 8:31 am on February 11, 2017 by Jazz Shaw

The mainstream media is making great progress in their current campaign to repeal President Trumps travel ban (rather than reporting on it) but the effort was in serious need of a poster child in order to be successful. Stories about criminals being deported would never produce the required amount of sympathy with the public. Now, however, they seem to have found the ideal star to play the lead in this drama. Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos checks all the right boxes and is now being featured in a nearly continuous loop on cable news. (CNN)

Mexico warned its citizens living in the United States on Friday to take precautions and remain in contact with consular officials a day after the deportation of an undocumented mother following a routine visit with US immigration authorities.

Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, 35, was deported Thursday after she checked in with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Phoenix, Arizona, a day earlier. The action sparked protests by supporters of Garcia de Rayos and drew praise from proponents of stricter enforcement of immigration laws.

The case involving Mrs. Garcia de Rayos illustrates a new reality for the Mexican community living in the United States, facing the most severe implementation of immigration control measures, Mexicos Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday.

Mexican consulates have intensified their work of protecting fellow nationals, foreseeing more severe immigration measures to be implemented by the authorities of this country, and possible violations to constitutional precepts during such operations and problems with due process, the statement said.

Its a truly heartwarming story, isnt it? You guys get it, right? Shes a mom. She has a daughter. Shes been in the country for 22 years trying to make a better life for her family. Its straight out of a Hallmark movie of the week.

Of course you have to sort through a lot of the associated coverage and dig down pretty far to find the pertinent details of the story. Its true that Garcia de Rayos is a mother and has been raising her daughter in Arizona. It is also true that she has been involved with immigration law enforcement in the past without being deported. What seems to be less frequently mentioned is that she had already been found to have falsely used someone elses Social Security number. The entire time she has been in the country, she has been living here illegally. If you, assuming you are a legal, American born citizen, were found to be committing identity theft of this type you would quickly find yourself with an appointment to see a judge.

Now Mrs. Garcia de Rayos has been deported and is back in Mexico. Her sad story is being told on CNN and other networks complete with much wringing of hands and frightened questions about what is to become of her and her daughter. But in reality, ICE was simply doing their job. This woman had a more than two decade long career of breaking the law in a number of areas and had no right to be in the country at any time. The fact that her daughter, an American citizen by birth, was swept up in her misdeeds and now finds herself outside of the country is neither the fault of immigration enforcement nor of the White House. The fault lies with the mother who made the conscious decision to break the law and bring a child into this world under these circumstances.

Its the same as with these other reports of sweeping immigration raids catching headlines. They could have just as easily said, law enforcement enforces law. Still, thats not the story youre going to be seeing on CNN nor in the pages of the Washington Post. Its all about the horrible, uncaring nature of the new president and his hateful policies. There was a time in this country when reporting on a story about our laws being enforced would have seemed irrelevant. Sadly, it is now so remarkable as to be front page news.

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The media has found their perfect illegal immigrant for the narrative - Hot Air

Dawn Buckingham, in red in this January 2017 photo taken after state senators were sworn in, made an incorrect claim about "illegal immigrants" released by Travis County (Ralph Barrera, Austin American-Statesman).

Physician Dawn Buckingham, Travis Countys newcomer in the Texas Senate, touted her co-authorship of a Senate-approved measure to ban so-called sanctuary city policies statewide by using her home county as an example.

The Republican from Lakeway, elected in 2016 to represent Senate District 24, said in a Feb. 8, 2017, email blast: "I believe in a safe Travis County and a safe Texas, and actions recently taken by the Travis County Sheriff's Office have endangered our community and our state."

Buckinghams email continued: "Hundreds of illegal immigrants subject to detainers were released in the last week since the new sanctuary policy was adopted by the Travis County Sheriff's Office, and I am proud the Senate has acted quickly in response."

Curious, we put Buckinghams numbers to the Texas Truth-O-Meter.

Travis County's new policy

The policy mentioned by Buckingham refers to Travis Countys new Democratic sheriff, Sally Hernandez, announcing in January 2017 that the office no longer would automatically honor federal "detainer" requests to hold individuals of interest to immigration authorities for 48 hours.

"The public must be confident that local law enforcement is focused on local public safety, not on federal immigration enforcement," Hernandez said in an online video in which she also said that, previously, inmates handed off to immigration authorities were deported after posting bond and without resolving local criminal charges.

Under the policy, Hernandez said, the office would honor detainer requests only if an inmate were charged with murder, sexual assault or human trafficking or if federal agents obtained a court order or arrest warrant for a suspect. Otherwise, she said, inmates would be allowed to post bail and be released, no matter their immigration status.

Buckingham's backup sought

We asked Buckingham how she determined hundreds of immigrants were subsequently released. By email, her spokesman Keith Elkins provided a statement from Buckingham lacking information about her declared "hundreds." Rather, Buckingham said county residents need to know the sheriffs office "has ignored hundreds of requests to detain inmates" in the country illegally.

Latest count: 45 released individuals in eight days

According to the sheriffs office, we confirmed, 40 individuals were released on bail by the county the first few days after the sheriffs policy took effect. When we followed up, a sheriffs office spokeswoman, Kristen Dark, emailed us additional information indicating that through the day Buckingham made her claim, 45 individuals for whom detainer requests were denied by the office had been released--leaving others (more than 150 inmates by our calculation)still in custody, Dark said, for not making bond or because their charges had not yet been disposed.

Much of this detail was public before Buckingham spoke.

Citing information attributed to Dark, the Austin American-Statesman reported Feb. 2, 2017, that the new policy had "paved the way for the release of 37 suspected unauthorized immigrants" the day before. On the policys first day, the newspaper reported, the sheriffs office declined requests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to place holds on 196 suspected undocumented immigrants--while the office honored 30 detainer requests.

"Once the so-called ICE detainers were removed, 37 people were able to bail out Wednesday," the newspaper reported. "Had the detainers remained in place, inmates would still have been able to post bail, but they would have been released into ICE custody for possible deportation."

A subsequent American-Statesman news story, posted online Feb. 6, 2017, said the county had denied 203 detainer requests and released 40 such individuals since the policy took effect.

Meantime, the story said, immigration agents adjusting to the countys policy had hustled to obtain arrest warrants for 42 booked individuals who also were suspected of living in the country without legal authorization. By the time the warrants were served, the story said, eight of the inmates had posted bail and been released, requiring agents to find and arrest the suspects again. Hernandez told the paper the others named in the warrants would be released to federal agents.

The story quoted Daryl Fields, a spokesman for the U.S. attorneys office, saying federal officials had stepped-up reviews of newly arrested Travis County residents so warrants could be sought for suspects -- avoiding reliance on the sheriffs office to comply with detainer requests. The story further said Immigration agents became aware that the suspects had been booked into jail by mining a federal law enforcement fingerprint database thats routinely updated by county jail staff.

Our ruling

Buckingham said hundreds of illegal immigrants were released in the week after the sheriffs policy was adopted.

According to Travis County, 45 such individuals--not hundreds--were released in the eight days after the policy took effect.

Additional releases seem likely due to the sheriffs office not automatically honoring all detainer requests. But it also seems possible that stepped-up federal efforts to obtain warrants for jailed individuals will reduce the release rate.

We rate Buckinghams claim False.

FALSE The statement is not accurate. Click here for more on the six PolitiFact ratings and how we select facts to check.

https://www.sharethefacts.co/share/136fe01e-b1ca-4b4f-9e30-17864f3b6c6c

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Dawn Buckingham incorrectly says hundreds of illegal immigrants released by Travis County - PolitiFact

U.S. immigration authorities arrested hundreds of undocumented immigrants in at least a half-dozen states this week in a series of raids that marked the first large-scale enforcement of President Trumps Jan. 25 order to crack down on the estimated 11 million immigrants living here illegally.

Officials said the raids targeted known criminals, but they also netted some immigrants without criminal records, an apparent departure from similar enforcement waves during the Obama administration. Last month, Trump substantially broadened the scope of who the Department of Homeland Security can target to include those with minor offenses or no convictions at all.

Trump has pledged to deport as many as 3 million undocumented immigrants with criminal records.

Immigration officials confirmed that agents this week raided homes and workplaces in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, the Los Angeles area, North Carolina and South Carolina, netting hundreds of people. But Gillian Christensen, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said they were part of routine immigration enforcement actions. ICE dislikes the term raids, and prefers to say authorities are conducting targeted enforcement actions, she said.

Christensen said the raids, which began Monday and ended Friday at noon, found undocumented immigrants from a dozen Latin American countries. Were talking about people who are threats to public safety or a threat to the integrity of the immigration system, she said, noting that the majority of those detained were serious criminals, including some who were convicted of murder and domestic violence.

[For years, immigration authorities gave this Arizona mother a pass. Now she has been deported.]

Immigration activists said the crackdown went beyond the six states DHS identified, and said they had also documented ICE raids of unusual intensity during the past two days in Florida, Kansas, Texas and Northern Virginia.

That undocumented immigrants with no criminal records were arrested and could potentially be deported sent a shock wave through immigrant communities nationwide amid concerns that the U.S. government could start going after law-abiding people.

This is clearly the first wave of attacks under the Trump administration, and we know this isnt going to be the only one, Cristina Jimenez, executive director of United We Dream, an immigrant youth organization, said Friday during a conference call with immigration advocates.

ICE agents in the Los Angeles area Thursday took a number of individuals into custody over the course of an hour, seizing them from their homes and on their way to work, activists said.

David Marin, ICEs field director in the Los Angeles area, said in a conference call with reporters Friday that 75percent of the approximately 160 people detained in the operation this week had felony convictions; the rest had misdemeanors or were in the United States illegally. Officials said Friday night that 37 of those detained in Los Angeles had been deported to Mexico.

Dangerous criminals who should be deported are being released into our communities, Marin said.

Spanish language radio stations and the local NPR affiliate in Los Angeles have been running public service announcements regarding the hourly Know Your Rights seminars the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles scheduled for Friday and Saturday. By the time the 4 p.m. group began Friday, more than 100 others had gathered at the groups office in the Westlake neighborhood just outside downtown.

A video that circulated on social media Friday appeared to show ICE agents in Texas detaining people in an Austin shopping center parking lot. Immigration advocates also reported roadway checkpoints, where ICE appeared to be targeting immigrants for random ID checks, in North Carolina and in Austin. ICE officials denied that authorities used checkpoints during the operations.

[The sanctuary city on the front line of the fight over Trumps immigration policy]

Im getting lots of reports from my constituents about seeing ICE on the streets. Teachers in my district have contacted me certain students didnt come to school today because theyre afraid, said Greg Casar, an Austin City Council member. I talked to a constituent, a single mother, who had her door knocked on this morning by ICE.

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.) said he confirmed with ICEs San Antonio office that the agency has launched a targeted operation in South and Central Texas as part of Operation Cross Check.

I am asking ICE to clarify whether these individuals are in fact dangerous, violent threats to our communities, and not people who are here peacefully raising families and contributing to our state, Castro said in a statement Friday night.

Hiba Ghalib, an immigration lawyer in Atlanta, said the ICE detentions were causing mass confusion in the immigrant community. She said she had heard reports of ICE agents going door-to-door in one largely Hispanic neighborhood, asking people to present their papers.

People are panicking, Ghalib said. People are really, really scared.

Immigration officials acknowledged that as a result of Trumps executive order, authorities had cast a wider net than they would have last year.

The Trump administration is facing several legal challenges to his executive orders on immigration. On Thursday, the administration lost a court battle over a separate executive order to temporarily ban entry into the United States by citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries, as well as by refugees. The administration said Friday that it is considering raising the case to the Supreme Court.

[Federal appeals court rules 3 to 0 against Trump on travel ban]

Some activists in Austin and Los Angeles suggested that the raids might be retaliation for those cities sanctuary city policies. A government aide familiar with the raids said it is possible that the predominantly daytime operations a departure from the Obama administrations night raids meant to send a message to the community that the Trump deportation force is in effect.

Frank Sharry, executive director of Americas Voice, an immigrant advocacy group, said that the wave of detentions harks back to the George W. Bush administration, when workplace raids to sweep up all undocumented workers were common.

The Obama administration conducted a spate of raids and also pursued a more aggressive deportation policy than any previous president, sending more than 400,000 people back to their birth countries at the height of his deportations in 2012. The public outcry over the lengthy detentions and deportations of women, children and people with minor offenses led President Obama in his second term to prioritize convicted criminals for deportation.

A DHS official confirmed that while immigration agents were targeting criminals, given the broader range defined by Trumps executive order, they also were sweeping up noncriminals in the vicinity who were found to be lacking documentation. It was unclear how many of the people detained would have been excluded under Obamas policy.

Federal immigration officials, as well as activists, said that the majority of those detained were adult men, and that no children were taken into custody.

Big cities tend to have a lot of illegal immigrants, said one immigration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly because of the sensitive nature of the operation. Theyre going to a target-rich environment.

Immigrant rights groups said that they were planning protests in response to the raids, including one Friday evening in Federal Plaza in New York City and a vigil in Los Angeles.

We cannot understate the level of panic and terror that is running through many immigrant communities, said Walter Barrientos of Make the Road New York in New York City, who spoke on a conference call with immigration advocates.

Were trying to make sure that families who have been impacted are getting legal services as quickly as possible. Were trying to do some legal triage, said Bob Libal, the executive director of Grassroots Leadership, which provides assistance and advocacy work to immigrants in Austin. Its chaotic, he said. The organizations hotline, he said, had been overwhelmed with calls.

Jeanette Vizguerra, 35, a Mexican house cleaner whose permit to stay in the country expired this week, said Friday during the conference call that she was newly apprehensive about her scheduled meeting with ICE next week.

Fearing deportation, Vizguerra, a Denver mother of four including three who are U.S. citizens said through an interpreter that she had called on activists and supporters to accompany her to the meeting.

I know I need to mobilize my community, but I know my freedom is at risk here, Vizguerra said.

Janell Ross in Los Angeles and Camille Pendley in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Read the rest here:
Federal agents conduct immigration enforcement raids in at least six states - Washington Post

"They're not rounding anyone up," Kelly said at the San Ysidro Port of Entry between San Diego and Tijuana. "The people that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) apprehend are people who are illegal, and then some."

Kelly said he went on two "knock and talk" visits to homes before 6 a.m. Friday, during which authorities apparently took into custody three people, including "a particularly bad individual."

Kelly's comments followed growing fear and confusion for some immigrants and their families and advocates.

The fears and warnings come amid court battles over President Donald Trump's proposed ban on immigrants from seven majority-Muslim nations. Trump has also vowed to deport some 3 million undocumented immigrants who have criminal records.

He has famously promised to build a wall at the US-Mexico border to block illegal immigration.

The action sparked protests by the mother's supporters and drew praise from proponents of stricter enforcement of immigration laws.

ICE said most of the people targeted this week -- in homes and workplaces from Southern California to Atlanta and other cities -- are criminals.

In Los Angeles, ICE said Friday that it had arrested about 160 people from a dozen countries during a five-day, five-county operation aimed at undocumented criminals, immigration fugitives and people who re-entered the United States illegally after deportation.

About 150 of the suspects have criminal histories, including felony convictions for serious or violent offenses, according to an ICE statement. There were 10 people with no criminal history but five had orders of removal or had been previously deported.

The ICE statement said the arrests were part of what it called a regular "enforcement surge." It denied reports about ICE checkpoints and random sweeps, calling them "false, dangerous, and irresponsible."

"These reports create panic and put communities and law enforcement personnel in unnecessary danger," the statement said.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a statement Friday night asking ICE for "greater transparency about ongoing operations" within the city.

ACLU Texas Executive Director Terri Burke told CNN that "raids" had been happening in Austin "the last few nights."

"It is not unlike some of the things Obama did, but it's ramped up and worse," Burke said.

Roger Rocha, the national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said, "It appears that ICE has started its effort to make good on campaign promises regarding mass deportations of undocumented individuals whose only crime is a lack of status."

"The case involving Mrs. Garcia de Rayos illustrates a new reality for the Mexican community living in the United States, facing the most severe implementation of immigration control measures," Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday.

Mexican consulates "have intensified their work of protecting fellow nationals, foreseeing more severe immigration measures to be implemented by the authorities of this country, and possible violations to constitutional precepts during such operations and problems with due process," the statement said.

On Wednesday, Garcia de Rayos went for her routine check-in with immigration authorities, her eighth visit since her 2008 arrest and conviction for using a fake Social Security number.

After each previous meeting, the married mother of two was released and went back to her family, but this week she was detained and deported within 24 hours to her native Mexico. Her attorney said the deportation was a direct result of President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration.

US immigration officials said there was nothing special about her case -- she committed a crime and her deportation order was enforced.

The Mexican Foreign Ministry statement said, "It is important that fellow nationals familiarize themselves with the different scenarios they might encounter and know where they can go to receive new information and know all their rights."

The statement said consular officials from Nogales, Arizona, were present when Garcia de Rayos was deported to Mexico on Thursday to ensure it was done in a "dignified and safe" manner.

Activists have said some unauthorized immigrants, fearing deportation, may skip routine check-ins with US immigration authorities.

Activists and Garcia de Rayos' attorney said they warned her she could be deported under Trump's policy. They offered sanctuary at a church, but she decided to check in with immigration authorities anyway.

In an interview Friday, Garcia de Rayos' husband, who asked that his name not be used, told CNN that unauthorized immigrants need to know the risk they face when reporting to ICE.

"They have the choice of showing up and take a chance, take a risk of being detained just like my wife was detained and deported," he said. "They also have the option of sanctuary. Or they have the option of not showing up. ... I would tell them to look for a lawyer, to look for a human rights organization."

Most of the policies revolve around not cooperating with federal law enforcement on immigration policies. Many of the largest cities in the country have forms of such policies.

There are about 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center.

The center estimates 5.8 million unauthorized immigrants from Mexico were living in the United States in 2014, down from 6.4 million in 2009.

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Undocumented migrants arrested; Kelly denies 'rounding up' - CNN