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in News 19-06-2020 01:00:00 6 Comments

Over the past six months the Algarve region has seen 48 illegal immigrants from North Africa entering the country, with the last case recorded on 15 June in Vale do Lobo, when a vessel with 22 Moroccan migrants was intercepted.

In December 2019, a group of eight immigrants arrived on the Algarve coast and in January this year 11 Moroccan citizens were detected off the island of Armona, in the municipality of Olho.

On 6 June, seven migrants from North Africa were detected off Olho, and on 15 June a vessel with 22 men, allegedly of Moroccan origin, was intercepted when the crew prepared to disembark at Vale do Lobo beach.

In light of this new emerging trend, the Minister of Internal Administration, Eduardo Cabrita, said in January this year that it was premature to consider that this was a new migration route to Portugal.

It is very premature. There were tens of thousands of arrivals in Spain and we will not be able to draw any conclusions from the most recent arrivals in Portugal. We are attentive, I am in talks with Spanish and Moroccan authorities, and I hope to establish, in the coming weeks, a direct meeting with my Moroccan counterpart on several topics, including this one, said Eduardo Cabrita.

Eduardo Cabrita underlined that, at the moment, Portugal has three legal migration agreements pending with Morocco, India and Moldova.

What we want with Morocco is to open a mechanism for legal and prepared migration, he said, arguing that illegal immigration should be the object of investigation and legal treatment.

We have to be attentive. We have to be very attentive to that possibility because it is not very different to go to Spain or to go to the Algarve, it is just a matter of choice, he said.

In that sense, he added, it is necessary that the police authorities -SEF, the Maritime Police and the Republican National Guard, namely through the Coastal Control Unit - maintain the monitoring of such phenomena, as well as border surveillance.

In turn, the Mayor of Olho, Antnio Manuel Pina, revealed his concern for this growing trend and called for a correct framing of the situation, which, in his opinion, should not be attributed to the status of refugee.

It is true that we have to be welcoming, we are humans just like these Moroccan citizens, but we also should not confuse, in my opinion, these cases with citizens and migrants in the Mediterranean, in Syria, in Libya, where there are, in fact, fleeing from war and deplorable life situations, with these situations, said the mayor of Olho.

As long as they are not considered illegal immigrants and returned to their countries, groups of migrants will continue to try to reach the Algarve coast in boats, said Pina who is also the president of the Intermunicipal Community of the Algarve (AMAL).

Antnio Miguel Pina said that the various cases of small boats that have arrived in the Algarve with migrants on board since last year, and the interception of the latest vessel with 22 migrants, allow us to think that there is an organised structure for illegal immigration to the south coast of Portugal.

This new arrival only reinforces our concerns, which have already been expressed to the Minister of Internal Affairs, because those who arrived a week ago were from the same location as the others from the previous year.

Antnio Pina said he disagrees with the possibility of these young people being considered exiles or political refugees, because the situation in Morocco, the country from which they say they come from,is different from the situation in the Mediterranean, with people from countries where there is war, such as Syria or Libya.

Antnio Pina has called for an appropriate response to be quickly given to cases of illegal immigration, which is their return to their country of origin, instead of the granting of refugee or exile statutes that allows these citizens to remain in Portugal.

As long as this is not done, it gives the signal that this is possible, because nothing happens. These 22, in our opinion, even begin to configure some possibility of extra aid. This very small vessel, with 22 people, is the same size as the one in which seven people came in previously and this raises the concern that a more fixed route to help illegal immigration may have already been created here, he said.The President of AMAL has now called on the Government to give a clear signal to these citizens that they may not be considered exiles and will be returned to their countries of origin, because only in this way will it be possible to give an adequate response to discourage others from also trying to cross in the future, he defended.

Asked if the appearance of the 22 migrants intercepted on Monday in court could be a sign of the change in attitude of the Portuguese authorities, Antnio Pina replied that he will wait to understand what the final outcome of the case will be.

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Illegal migrants crossing to the Algarve increasing - The Portugal News

The Tarrant County Commissioners Court voted 3-2 on Tuesday to allow law enforcement to continue its partnership with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to question and possibly detain illegal immigrants who have been arrested and brought to the Tarrant County Jail.

Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act authorizes agreements between ICE and local law enforcement agencies to perform limited immigration law enforcement functions after receiving appropriate training, according to the ICE website.

Tarrant County engages in the Jail Enforcement Model which involves identifying and processing removable aliens who are arrested and being booked into the Tarrant County jail. It does not involve seeking out illegal immigrants in the community.

Sheriff Bill Waybourn said the agreement gives us a solidified policy of how we are going to deal with immigration and those investigations are not taking place in the field. Tarrant County currently has seven officers trained under the 287(g) program.

25 counties in Texas have entered into 287(g) agreements with ICE. Tarrant County is the most populous of those.

In its presentation to the commissioners court, the Tarrant County Sheriffs Office (TCSO) submitted that 52,388 people were booked in the county jail from June 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020.

Of those, over 1,400 inmates had immigration detainers by ICE, most of which were applied by other law enforcement agencies. Out of the total number booked in that year, 309 inmates (0.59 percent) had immigration detainers placed on them by the TCSO officers in the jail trained by ICE.

TCSO released 236 inmates to ICE during the year. Of those, about 70 were deported and 61 voluntarily returned to their country of origin.

According to the TCSO, the 287(g) program costs about $18,000 per year.

Of the current 3,807 inmates in the jail, 264 have immigration detainers, most from other agencies. Detained inmates based on the 287(g) program amount to 56 of the total jail population.

Current inmates with detainers have been arrested for a variety of charges such as robbery, sex offenses, assault, burglary, DWI, drug offenses, and even homicide. Felonies and class A & B misdemeanor offenses are subject to 287(g) inquiries. Those who commit Class C misdemeanor offenses in Tarrant County are not subject to 287(g) immigration inquiries.

A representative from the Tarrant County District Attorneys office explained that even without a 287(g) agreement, the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure legally obligates county law enforcement to honor ICE detainers. The Penal Code makes failure to comply with an immigration detainer a Class A misdemeanor for which the sheriff could be removed from office based on Local Government Code section 87.031.

Additionally, the Texas Legislature passed a law in 2017 that prohibits law enforcement agencies from interfering in the enforcement of immigration laws.

Its important to note that ICE would still be in the jail even without a 287(g) agreement, the district attorneys representative pointed out.

Dozens of persons appeared before the commissioners court to express their position on the 287(g) agreement, most in opposition. The commissioners only received in-person comments on the June 16 agenda items rather than allowing call-in remarks as has been the courts habit since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Those in opposition expressed concerns about separating families, wasting taxpayer dollars, straining relations with minority communities, and violating rights of those detained if the officers are not properly trained. Some also accused the commissioners and sheriff of racism and promoting white supremacy.

Those who supported the continuation of the program spoke about the importance of the rule of law and holding those whove broken the law accountable.

Judge Glen Whitley (R) along with Commissioners Gary Fickes (R) and J.D. Johnson (R) voted for the agreement while Commissioners Roy Charles Brooks (D) and Devan Allen (D) opposed it.

In expressing his opposition to the 287(g) agreement, Commissioner Brooks said he found the agreement unnecessary as he believed that immigration status inquiries would take place in the jail without it. He also is concerned that it allows people to be transferred to ICE without due process.

Commissioner Johnson pointed out that Brooks voted for the 287(g) agreement two years earlier.

Judge Whitley supported the agreement, saying he knew it was something that many of the speakers would not be happy about. But if it stops one person from being assaulted, Im glad I did it.

After the vote, the crowd chanted for the removal of the sheriff and commissioners who voted in favor of the agreement for several minutes.

Disclosure: Unlike almost every other media outlet, The Texan is not beholden to any special interests, does not apply for any type of state or federal funding, and relies exclusively on its readers for financial support. If youd like to become one of the people were financially accountable to, click here to subscribe.

A free bi-weekly commentary on current events by Konni Burton.

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Tarrant County Continues with ICE Agreement for Immigration Enforcement - The Texan

Nearly 2.3 million Americans have been infected with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and about 120,000 of them have died. With stay-at-home orders beginning to ease, the number of new cases confirmed each day is rising in some of the nations most populous states, including California, Texas and Florida.

Yet the vice president of the United States thinks the country is doing a great job managing the pandemic.

In an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal this month, Mike Pence wrote that America was winning the fight against the virus, thanks to the leadership of President Trump.

Pence, who leads the White House coronavirus task force, made an array of claims to bolster his case: The national public health system is stronger now than when the outbreak began, he said, more tests are being given than ever before, and were on track to have a vaccine this fall.

The L.A. Times asked Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Assn., and Julie Swann, an expert in healthcare systems at North Carolina State University, to assess Pences statements and put them in context. Heres what they said.

There isnt a coronavirus second wave.

Swann agreed with Pences contention that were not facing a second wave of the coronavirus but thats because most states are still in the midst of their first wave of the outbreak, she said.

I expect many more cases and deaths in the weeks and months to come, Swann said.

Places that have have already weathered significant outbreaks are certainly vulnerable to a second wave of infections, just as Beijing is currently experiencing, she added.

Our public health system is far stronger than it was four months ago.

No, its not, Benjamin said.

While were working hard to address COVID-19, we are nowhere near where we need to be in terms of contact tracing and testing capacity, he said. We still have shortages of PPE [personal protective equipment], we still have supply lines that dont work, and when the next disaster hits on top of this one most likely severe storms we are going to be up the creek.

He added that COVID-19 was not the only health crisis the country was facing. Sexually transmitted diseases continue to plague Americans, as do opioids, obesity and gun violence. Maternal mortality is up, as are deaths from cardiovascular disease.

We are winning the fight against the invisible enemy.

The mortality and morbidity numbers show otherwise, Benjamin said.

Swann agreed, saying the nations death toll would likely rise by many thousands more in the coming months. She noted, however, that many governors, universities and companies took swift action that led to greater physical distancing and ultimately slowed the coronavirus spread in the U.S.

We have not conquered SARS-CoV-2, she said, but I hope the distancing measures have given our health systems the time to prepare for the many challenges yet to come.

More than half of states are actually seeing cases decline or remain stable.

This is correct, according to the most recent data. That may change, however, as the country continues to open up, Swann said.

For the most part, states that opened early like Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas are already starting to see a rapid increase in cases, she said, which are likely to grow over the coming weeks.

Every state, territory and major metropolitan area, with the exception of three, have positive test rates under 10%.

As of Friday, there were four states Arizona, Alabama, Washington and South Carolina where more than 10% of diagnostic tests came back positive, according to data collected by researchers at Johns Hopkins University.

But the experts agree thats nitpicking. Benjamin says hes more concerned about whether positive test rates will remain that low as businesses continue to open up.

In the six states that have reached more than 1,000 new cases a day, increased testing has allowed public health officials to identify most of the outbreaks in particular settings prisons, nursing homes and meatpacking facilities and contain them.

Testing has helped health officials spot outbreaks like these, Benjamin said, but he is not yet convinced that the U.S. has been able to contain those outbreaks.

And the real problem, he said, was that the outbreaks were not prevented in the first place.

Cases have stabilized over the past two weeks, with the daily average case rate across the U.S. dropping to 20,000 down from 30,000 in April and 25,000 in May.

This may have been true when Pence wrote the piece, Benjamin said, but we are now seeing the number of cases going up.

Besides, he added, the figures Pence cited were averages that because they hide peaks and valleys in regional areas could be deceiving.

We know we are now getting new hotspots around the country, he said, which will impact that number, and some of those hotspots are in places that have pretty dense populations.

In the past five days, deaths are down to fewer than 750 a day, a dramatic decline from 2,500 a day a few weeks ago.

This also could have been true at the time of Pences writing, Benjamin said, but deaths are a lagging indicator of how the virus is spreading in a population.

If you have a dramatic increase of cases like were seeing, he said, we would expect that two weeks later we would start seeing a rise in deaths.

Today less than 6% of Americans tested each week are found to have the virus.

Benjamin and Swann say this is likely true.

Swann noted, however, that although just 6% of the population might be infected at any given moment, over time we can expect 50% to 80% of the population to get sick from the virus unless there is a vaccine.

We are not anywhere close to that now, she said.

We are performing roughly 500,000 tests a day, and more than 23 million tests have been performed in total.

Those figures may be accurate, but theyre not as impressive as they might seem, Benjamin said.

Half a million tests per day is nowhere near the number the Rockefeller Foundation had estimated that we need to manage this virus, he said. We need to be at 1 to 2 million, maybe even 3 million a day.

The Strategic National Stockpile hadnt been refilled since the H1N1 influenza outbreak in 2009.

Pence was correct that the Strategic National Stockpile hadnt been refilled since the H1N1 influenza outbreak, Benjamin said. Still, he said, it was the federal governments responsibility to restock it, and they didnt.

That means that, when the pandemic hit, healthcare providers were getting equipment that was out of date and dysfunctional.

No American who required a ventilator was ever denied one.

Swann and Benjamin say that, as far as they know, this statement is correct.

Benjamin said, however, the reason no American was denied a ventilator was that healthcare workers jury-rigged DIY ventilators when they needed them.

Swann added that the decision of some governors to issue shelter-in-place directives helped limit the need for ventilators in the first place.

We are well on our way to having a viable vaccine by the fall.

This statement is off by about four or five months, Benjamin said.

We are more on our way to having viable vaccine by early winter, maybe late winter, he said. But we are well on our way to having a vaccine. He is correct about that.

Weve slowed the spread, weve cared for the most vulnerable, weve saved lives, and weve created a solid foundation for whatever challenges we may face in the future.

Pence attributed these successes to the Trump administrations whole-of-America approach to getting the outbreak under control. Benjamin challenged the notion that Washington, D.C., deserved the credit.

Theyve had the most dysfunctional inter-government process Ive ever seen in my life, he said.

The federal government, he said, has not slowed the spread of the disease the governors have slowed the spread of the disease.

He added that the federal government certainly saved lives, but they could have saved more.

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Fact-check: Pence says U.S. is winning the COVID-19 fight - Los Angeles Times

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, reportedly voted by mail in Indianas June primary election using an address they have not lived at since 2016. Their April 13 ballots recorded the Indiana governors mansion as their residence for voting purposes, despite their having moved out of the house after Pence became the vice president elect. Though it is legal for the two to vote from a previous address so long as they do not register to vote in Washington, D.C., the move subverts President Donald Trumps attacks on the vote-by-mail system.

The president has repeatedly claimed that voting by mail is susceptible to fraud, despite a dearth of evidence supporting his statements. Trump himself voted in the Florida GOP primary this spring using a mail-in ballot, after changing his address from New York to Florida.

Continued here:
Vice President Mike Pence and Wife Voted by Mail in April Using Old Indiana Address - The Daily Beast

WASHINGTON Vice President Mike Pence twice refused to say that black lives matter during an interview on a Philadelphia television station on Friday, insisting instead that all lives matter in a very real sense.

Mr. Pence also claimed during the interview with 6ABC Action News that Americans had cherished the idea that everyone is created equal from the founding of this nation, an assertion that ignores the institution of slavery during the first 100 years of the countrys history.

The vice presidents comments came on Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in America. And he refused to specifically say that black lives matter at a time when the country is convulsing in outrage about racial injustice at the hands of the police following George Floyds death in Minneapolis last month.

President Trump has been under fire for weeks for his response to protests in cities across the nation in the wake of Mr. Floyds death. His tweets calling for aggressive action by the police to quell violence have angered activists. And earlier this month, his administration ordered the police to clear protesters from streets near the White House before Mr. Trump held a photo op at a church.

In the interview, Mr. Pence called Mr. Floyds death a tragedy, but his insistence that all lives matter is likely to be seen as a provocation by activists and others who say that phrase dilutes the issue and fails to acknowledge the specific threats that African-Americans still face at the hands of police officers in the United States.

Brian Taff, the news anchor, pressed Mr. Pence on that point: People are saying, of course all lives matter, but to say the words is an acknowledgment that black lives also matter at a time in this country when it appears that theres a segment of our society that doesnt agree. So why will you not say those words?

The vice president said he did not accept that theres a segment of American society that disagrees, in the preciousness and importance of every human life. He again refused to say that black lives matter.

And yet, one final time, you wont say the words and we understand your explanation, Mr. Taff said.

Mr. Pence is due to arrive on Saturday in Tulsa, Okla., to join Mr. Trump for a Make America Great Again! rally that evening. Tulsa was the site of one of the nations worst examples of racial violence when a white mob laid siege to a prosperous black neighborhood, killing hundreds of people in 1921.

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Pence Wont Say the Words Black Lives Matter in an Interview - The New York Times