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WASHINGTON, D.C., Fri. March 26, 2021: (Reuters) The U.S. government plans in the next 90 days on going after smuggling and trafficking organizations that Washington accuses of manipulating migrants into heading for the U.S.-Mexico border, a senior Biden administration official said on Thursday.

The official, who briefed reporters on meetings by U.S. envoys in Mexico City earlier this week, forecast a continuing surge of migrants on the way in spring caravans.

The U.S. and Mexican officials discussed ways to improve U.S.-Mexico border enforcement as well as making sure Central American governments have the resources to help secure Mexicos southern border, the official said on condition of anonymity.

We see a convergence of interests, the official said.

The official added a particular emphasis for the U.S. government in the next three months was going after trafficking organizations and smuggling organizations. You have organizations that are miscommunicating the immigration policies of the United States and for a profit.

President Joe Biden said he would not apologize for rolling back the hardline immigration policies of his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, and brushed off criticism that migrants were making the journey because they perceived him to be a nice guy.

Speaking at his first White House news conference, Biden defended his handling of rising migration. While he mostly struck an empathetic tone, he said the United States was expelling the vast majority of migrants under a COVID-19 public health order but that some families had been allowed in because Mexico would not accept their return.

He said the United States was in talks with Mexico for that country to take back more migrant families, many of whom are fleeing violence and poverty in Central America.

Asked to expand on Bidens comment, the administration official did not cite any specific progress made on Mexico accepting more migrant families, but stressed that the two countries were working together on the issue.

El Salvadors Congress, meanwhile, approved a special law against human trafficking later on Thursday, establishing harsher prison sentences for smugglers known as coyotes of between eight and 12 years, compared with six to ten years previously.

The law also marks the first time the Central American country would punish the organizers of migrant caravans bound for the United States, making it a crime that carries a prison sentence of up to eight years.

U.S. administration officials said a visit to Guatemala by White House senior Latin America adviser Juan Gonzalez and Northern Triangle envoy Ricardo Zuniga, which was called off this week due to a volcanic eruption, would be rescheduled and they would soon hold a virtual meeting with Guatemalan leaders.

Biden on Wednesday named Vice President Kamala Harris to lead U.S. efforts with Mexico and Central Americas Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to try to stem the flow of migration to the United States.

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Steve Holland; additional reporting by Nelson Renteria in San Salvador; writing by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Leslie Adler, Peter Cooney and Ana Nicolaci da Costa)

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US To Target Smuggling, Trafficking Organizations On Illegal Immigration - Caribbean and Latin America Daily News - News Americas

Here we go again. Its another tough immigration statement from the Home Secretary, Priti Patel. This was the latest in a line of orationsshes made on this subject since assuming her post in July 2019. By my calculations, her rhetoric has been ramped up roughly in proportion to the number of illegal entrants to Britain. From advanced drone technology in the English Channel to life prison sentences for traffickers, every utterance has been met with applause from Conservative commentators. Yet the fact is that nothing ever changes. Todays statement promised action on deportations and a firm but fair way for genuine asylum seekers to enter the United Kingdom. Has a solution been found at last?

The trade in trafficked people crossing the Channel in inflatable dinghies has soared over the last few years. Last year, at least 8,400 people made the trip and these are just the ones who were caught. Though it has not attracted a great deal of publicity so far this year, 2021s numbers are on course to exceed last years. Indeed, more illegal immigrants came into Dover on March 21 than arrived in the whole of March last year.

There are some notable differences. The first is that many more illegal immigrants this year have come from Vietnam. Perhaps they were shocked by the appalling deaths of the 39 people found in a refrigerated lorry trailer at Tilbury Docks in Essex in October 2019 and now believe the Channel route to be safer. The second most significant change is in the boats themselves. Last year there would be on average about 12 people to a vessel. Now, there are often 20 or even 30 people per raft. The boats appear to be getting bigger with every month that passes.

Will the threat of being denied the right to remain in Britain and being refused 38 a week courtesy of British taxpayers deter illegal immigrants from coming? Personally, I doubt it. Those who do arrive know they will still be housed and fed and given access to NHS treatment if required. They also know they will be able to enter the illegal economy pretty easily. Deportation would only be a disincentive if those paying the traffickers thought that the number being sent back would rise above its current tiny percentage.

There has been some talk lately about stopping lefty lawyers from disrupting the removals process at the last moment. What the Home Secretary did not mention today is that despite Brexit, the UK remains subject to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. For as long as the European Convention on Human Rights continues to have legal force in this country, these last-minute legal challenges will be made and will probably succeed. I dont doubt Patel would like to tackle this particular issue, but I dont envisage her managing to persuade her boss, Boris Johnson, of the urgent need to do so.

Opinion polling suggests that immigration is only half as important to the public in 2021 as it was at the time of the referendum in 2016, something which Patel mentioned at the start of her speech. Yet, if this perception is even accurate, it almost certainly exists only because many voters believe that the referendum result and the loudly trumpeted ending of free movement in Europe somehow solved the problem. The truth is that illegal immigration by dinghy across the English Channel still resonates very strongly with Conservative voters and todays proposals will barely make a scrap of difference.

It is important to add that there is another immigration debate that has not yet been aired fully or frankly. It relates to legal immigration, which continues to rise and may be on the verge of rocketing. The reason for its growth is clear: the very large number of people who live in Hong Kong and who now have a form of a British passport. Applications for these documents opened just a few weeks ago and 27,000 people have already made clear that they want to settle here. The government estimates that 300,000 people will relocate to the UK from the former British colony in the next few years. Others think it could be an even greater number.

The question must be asked: is this wise - or responsible? Our economy has been battered by 12 months of covid restrictions. It is going to take many years to recover, and nobody knows what the lasting damage will be. What is known is that a rapidly rising population tends to lower most peoples standard of living. Inflicting this on the country during a time of such trouble may cost the Conservative Party dear.

The rest is here:
Has a solution to Britain's illegal immigration problem been found at last? I have my doubts - Telegraph.co.uk

The issue of an increasing number of young migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border viewed by many as a crisis has caught voters attention, and appears to be exacerbating concerns about Americas security.

According to the latest Morning Consult/Politico poll, 15 percent of voters identified security issues including border security, terrorism and foreign policy as their top set of federal concerns, up 4 percentage points since President Joe Biden took office in late January. The movement was driven largely by Republican voters, 27 percent of whom now say security is their top priority up 5 points over the past two weeks.

The migrant surge has gained prominence in the national media as the conversation in Washington moved past the haggling over the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief legislation. By the time the March 19-22 survey was conducted, 40 percent of voters said they had seen, read or heard a lot about the increasing number of child migrants arriving at the southern border more than those who said the same of former President Donald Trumps last-hour pardon spree earlier this year, but fewer than the share of voters who heard a lot about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot or Bidens signing of the coronavirus package.

Still, the developments yielded one of the years largest partisan divides on self-reported news consumption where Republicans were more likely to hear about a story, mirroring other immigration-related developments. While Democrats are generally more likely than Republicans to report hearing about a wide array of news events in Morning Consult/Politico polls, the reversal in this case reflects the storys salience among GOP officials and conservative media.

Just a third of Democratic voters said they had heard a lot about the migrant surge, compared with half of Republicans. The partisan split is nearly identical to the salience of news about Dr. Seuss Enterprises decision to pull books from publication due to use of racist imagery a part of the GOPs push to elevate cultural issues as Biden was advancing his popular COVID-19 proposal on Capitol Hill.

While the bulk of Democratic voters say they have not heard a lot about the recent migrant surge which has resulted in a large number of young asylum seekers being held in government facilities just 15 percent said theyve heard nothing at all regarding the negative situation unfolding at the U.S.-Mexico border. Still, as Democratic leaders and the White House resist using the word crisis, opinions on the extent of the problem largely differ between the parties.

A plurality of Democrats (48 percent) said the United States is facing a problem with illegal immigration, compared with 74 percent of Republicans who dubbed the issue a crisis. Overall, half of voters said the United States is facing a crisis, while a third called it a problem.

The divide between the two parties on what to call the issue at the U.S.-Mexico border recalls Morning Consult/Politico polling conducted in April 2019, when the Trump administration was facing its own border challenges. At the time, 44 percent of voters including 19 percent of Democrats and 76 percent of Republicans said the United States was facing a crisis. The 2019 survey was conducted around the time that the Customs and Border Protection data showed the United States was experiencing a surge of migration similar to the size of the one currently facing the country and one that would go on to grow larger into the summer.

Amid the increase in migration, voters are now also increasingly prioritizing congressional action on immigration: 39 percent in the latest poll said passage of an immigration reform bill should be a top priority, up 9 points since a survey conducted at the beginning of March.

But as with other major issues facing the country, Democrats currently have an advantage, albeit a slim one: Their proposals to deal with young migrants and provide a pathway to citizenship for those residing in the United States illegally are generally popular, and when it comes to whom voters trust more on Capitol Hill to handle the issue, Bidens party has a 5-point lead over the GOP, 43 percent to 38 percent.

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Talk of a Border Crisis Is Breaking Through to Voters, Elevating Immigration and Security Concerns - Morning Consult

By PTI

LUMDING: Appealing not to do politics over illegal immigration, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the BJP government, if voted to power, will not allow Bangladeshi infiltrators to enter Assam at any cost.

Addressing an election rally here, he said the BJP government has started electronic surveillance across the Indo-Bangla border in Assam to stop infiltration from the neighbouring country.

"We will not allow Bangladeshi infiltrators to enter Assam at any cost. We will not allow politics to play over illegal immigration problem," Singh said.

He said BJP has governments in Assam and Tripura, while it will come to power in West Bengal this time and then the infiltration problem from Bangladesh through these three states will be solved.

The BJP leader also said that misinformation is being spread by the opposition that the saffron party is attacking and destroying the civilisation, culture and identity of Assam.

"BJP simply cannot think of doing so. Today I can say that we will not allow anyone to touch Assamese identity. If we had any bad intention, we would have not conferred Bharat Ratna award on Dr Bhupen Hazarika. We respect Assamese culture," he added.

The Defence Minister also said that misinformation is being spread regarding the BJP's role with the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Talking about the perennial flood problem, Singh said the BJP government, once it is back to power again, will do everything possible in this regard and make Assam a "flood- free" state.

"Today we have also released our manifesto. We will give government jobs to two lakh youths, while eight lakh private jobs will also be created," he added.

Stating that only BJP has worked for the development of Assam, Singh said he has a "long list" of achievements of chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and his government.

He further said government education till Class VIII will be completely free and land pattas will be handed over to all the landless people.

"By 2022, there will be not a single person in Assam who will not have a concrete roof above his head. We will give free cycles to students," Singh said.

To eliminate the middlemen in distribution of the welfare schemes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened bank accounts for the poor people, the senior BJP leader asserted.

"Assam has a proud sprinter Hima Das. If BJP comes to power, then the speed of development will be even faster than the running of Hima Das," he added.

Singh said Congress could have made Assam among the top states in India had the party "even partially" fulfilled its election promises.

"Politics is not only to enjoy and grab power. Politics is done for the country and to make peoples' lives easy," he added.

Talking about the India-China standoff, the Defence minister said the country is proud of the courage and valour of the soldiers in protecting the borders.

"Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a 56-inch chest. India has now emerged as one very strong country in the world. No one can dare to look at us today," he added.

Continue reading here:
Will not allow politics over illegal immigration in Assam: Rajnath - The New Indian Express

"It's going to get nothing but worse," - U.S. Senator John Cornyn on the migrant children situation.

MIDLAND, Texas Members of Congress are agreeing that what's happening at the border is a humanitarian crisis especially given that there's a need for more holding facilities.

The question that remains is what happens next? How does the government stop the massive influx of people illegally crossing into the U.S.? Members of Congress said that it all starts at the border.

However, right now, the number of migrant children coming over is on the rise. U.S. senator John Cornyn believes that it isn't getting better soon.

"Its going to get nothing but worse," Cornyn said.

He said that getting ahead of the curve at this point is impossible.

"Border patrol has told me you cannot build enough capacity to get ahead of the flood of people that are going to come in. I think if the administration believed they had this under control, they are sadly mistaken," Cornyn said.

U.S. representative Tony Gonzales said that in order for the situation to improve, there needs to be a bi-partisan effort to funnel more resources south.

"Now is the time for Republicans and Democrats alike. Were all in on this together. We have to come together to find a solution. One of those solutions is giving resources to border patrol. We have to have a secure border and we have to do that now," Gonzales said.

Highlighting legal immigration is they key according to Gonzales.

"What worries me is they're just going to continue to expand these facilities unless they have a clear policy shift that can address border security and highlight legal immigration and not encourage illegal immigration," Gonzales said.

However, with the backlog of people waiting for hearing dates during the immigration process, it's something that will take time, but Cornyn believes there is a solution.

"What we need to do is to move the judges to the border, and we need to move the children in particular to the head of the line so they can have the court hearing while theyre being detained there to see who can legitimately stay and who cannot," Cornyn said.

Read more here:
Members of Congress looking to solve border issues - NewsWest9.com