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A Vermont mans alleged weapon of choice during an argument about immigration enforcement with a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent was liquid manure.

Mark Johnson, who says his livelihood in agriculture has been nearly ruined by illegal immigrants working on local farms, is accused of spraying a border patrol vehicle with manure on Aug. 3 at the edge of a farm field about two miles south of the Canadian border.

He is due in court Thursday in North Hero to answer charges of assault and disorderly conduct.

The 53-year-old man, who does custom manure spreading in northern Vermont, told the Lake Champlain Islander, a weekly newspaper, he was unhappy with the lack of serious efforts by the immigration agency when it comes to illegal immigrants allowed to work on local farms.

The Border Patrol, the sheriffs, state police, game wardens cant go onto the farms, Johnson said.

He told the Associated Press that he asked the Border Patrol agent why authorities were not doing more -- and he didnt like the answer.

"I used to go to all these farms, spread liquid manure and help them with chopping and everything else," he said. "Then the illegals started coming in, more and more and more, and every time I see the border patrol I stop and ask them, 'Can you please do something about it?'"

The Islander reported the border patrol agent said Johnson became very agitated and he figured he would get out of the way so Johnson could resume spreading manure on the field.

The officer said in police documents he thinks Johnson tried to spray the cruiser twice, but missed the first time. The second time, the entire right side of the vehicle was covered with manure.

According to documents, the patrol agent believed there was no need to file an accident report because there was no damage to the government vehicle. However, upon his return to the Alburgh Port of Entry, the Grand Isle County Sheriffs Department was contacted.

Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman Stephanie Malin told the AP the manure case is being handled by Vermont authorities. She said the border patrol focuses on the international border.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the primary agency responsible for enforcing immigration laws inside the United States.

Johnson, who said he'd seen a number of border patrol agents parked at different times near where he was spreading manure on Aug. 3, acknowledged he spoke with one of them about his frustrations but thought the agent had left when he turned on the spreader.

He said he didn't realize what had happened until the sheriff's department arrived an hour or so later to cite him.

I thought I was far enough around him. He says I splashed him, Johnson told The Islander. Department of Homeland Security. I thought that was supposed to protect us. How secure do you think I feel with what I have seen?

Grand Isle County States AttorneyDouglas DiSabitotold the weekly newspaper his office is taking the criminal case seriously.

I think it is pretty outrageous behavior. For anybody to intentionally spray manure on anybody or anybodys property is just wrong, DiSabito said.

Johnson said he struggles to keep his business going, but that farmers with illegal immigrants are able to do better because they dont have to pay a proper wage.

I have lost everything because of illegals, he said. Im not the only one that feels this. It is very, very sad.

Many Vermont farms rely on immigrant workers, some of whom are believed to be in the country illegally.

Johnson said he would represent himself in court on Thursday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Border Patrol vehicle sprayed with manure after immigration argument - Fox News

Prominent Democrats were arrested outside the White House on Tuesday as part of rallies to support the Obama-era deportation amnesty for Dreamers.

Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez, Illinois Democrat, and Ben Jealous, a Democrat running to be Maryland governor, were among 25 protesters arrested in front of the White House, as part of a rally organizers said drew 2,000 people.

They were demanding President Trump back the 2012 temporary deportation amnesty, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, thats currently protecting nearly 800,000 young adult illegal immigrants from being targets for deportation.

Millions of immigrants leave for work or school each day unsure whether they will be arrested and detained, Mr. Gutierrez said. I gave up a few hours of my freedom to stand up for them.

He said to expect an escalation of non-violent protest if Mr. Trump doesnt continue DACA.

Tuesday marked the fifth anniversary of the day DACA went into effect.

The program now faces a severe legal test, with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton saying he will expand an existing lawsuit to challenge DACA unless Mr. Trump agrees to phase the program out.

The president has said he will decide personally how to handle the program.

The activists were also demanding that Mr. Trump continue to offer tentative legal status for hundreds of thousands of visitors from Latin American countries who are in the U.S. under temporary protected status and, under the law, are eventually supposed to go home.

Yet some of those with temporary protected status have been here under protections for nearly two decades, and activists said it was cruel to try to make them leave.

Former Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly, who is now Mr. Trumps chief of staff, has said the temporary status must be enforced. But hes also said Congress could come up with a reprieve for those longtime TPS recipients, giving them a more permanent status.

The White House protest was part of a series of marches and events in dozens of cities across the country.

We are showing that we will get arrested today so that we can raise awareness and allow every single one of our DACA youths and TPS recipients to freely work and pursue their dreams, said Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA, a Maryland-based group that helped organize Tuesdays protest.

The protesters were handcuffed, taking to a holding facility, processed and released after paying a $50 fine.

Mr. Gutierrez was also arrested for protesting outside the White House when President Obama was the occupant.

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Democratic congressman arrested during illegal immigration protest at White House - Washington Times

The Trump administration has terminated a program that gave at-risk Central American minors a legal way to temporarily reside in the U.S.

On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security pulled the Central American Minors program, which was under review following anexecutive orderin January mandating stricter immigration parole standards.

The move is part of Trump's crackdown on immigration. But it also may undermine his efforts to stop illegal smuggling.

The program allowed children under the age of 21 in dangerous situations with at least one parent lawfully living in the U.S. to gain temporary legal status.

It applied to children who did not qualify for refugee status.

The program gave parents another legal option to bring their children to the U.S. Advocates believe removing that option could prompt more parents to turn to smuggling and other illegal methods.

The program was launched in 2014, as a surge of unaccompanied children swamped border patrol stations and overloaded immigration court proceedings. The Obama administration said violence and other risk factors for minors were behind the surge.

The Trump administration ended a similar program in June, which was meant to help keep mothers and children seeking asylum out of detention centers while they waited for their claims to be processed.

Cutting the Central American Minors program will cost nearly 3,000 people their conditional approval to enter the U.S.

SEE MORE: A Republican Suggests Cutting Food Stamps To Fund The Border 'Wall'

Meanwhile, forward motion on another effort to control immigration Trump's border wall project is slow. The House of Representatives just approved $1.6 billion for it as part of a spending bill, but that measure might not be well received in the Senate.

Trump's major policy goals might need to be run passed Congress, but his executive power has given Trump plenty of leeway to reshape U.S. immigration.

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Cutting This Immigration Program May Lead To More Illegal Immigration - KERO 23ABC News

TORONTO/MONTREAL (Reuters) - The number of asylum seekers who illegally crossed the U.S. border into Canada more than tripled last month, according to Canadian government data released on Thursday, as migrants worried about the U.S. administration's immigration crackdown head north.

More than 3,100 people walked across the border illegally in July to file refugee claims and were arrested, up from 884 in June, the federal government said.

Ninety-six percent of them went to Quebec, where an influx of asylum seekers, primarily Haitians, is sparking a backlash from opposition politicians and anti-immigrant groups in the primarily French-speaking province.

In the first 15 days of August, an additional 3,800 asylum seekers were arrested crossing the U.S. border into Quebec, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said. More than 1,000 people are living in tents and government facilities at a Lacolle, Quebec border crossing across from upstate New York.

"It's not a crisis. It's a situation that is extraordinary. But it's well-managed," Transport Minister Marc Garneau told reporters in Lacolle on Thursday.

Canada is struggling to house and provide social assistance for the influx of asylum seekers as its refugee system faces the worst delays in years.

The Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), which is responsible for hearing all asylum claims, has redeployed resources to deal with the Quebec arrivals.

"The IRB had to make adjustments to be in a position to respond to the current situation that is clearly unsustainable," spokeswoman Anna Pape said in an email.

Canada has launched a campaign to counter misinformation about the country's refugee policy, which is believed to be one reason for the influx of refugees.

"Asking for asylum in Canada is not a guarantee for permanent residence in Canada, and it's extremely important we stress that," immigration ministry spokesman Louis Dumas told reporters.

Conservative parliamentarian Michelle Rempel, her party's immigration critic, said the government steps are a "band aid" solution.

"This situation started with Prime Minister [Justin] Trudeau's irresponsible tweets and he has a responsibility to fix it," Rempel said in a statement, referring to January tweets Trudeau sent touting Canada's welcome of refugees after a U.S. travel ban was unveiled.

A Trudeau spokesman said the government has been consistent on the issue of refugees: "Canada welcomes immigrants ... that said, there are laws and processes in place for people seeking asylum and our government is sending a clear message."

Many of the most recent asylum seekers arriving in Quebec have been Haitians who face looming deportation from the United States when their temporary protected status expires in January 2018.

Canada ended its own ban on deportations to Haiti last summer. In the first quarter of this year, almost two-thirds of Haitian refugee claims were rejected, according to government figures.

The spike in asylum seekers has sparked protests by anti-migrant groups who say Canada is being soft on law-breakers.

The Montreal suburb of Boucherville has received dozens of messages on social media denouncing the asylum seekers, some of whom are being housed at a former seniors home in the quiet suburb, according to local media reports. Montreal, Quebec's biggest city, opened its Olympic Stadium to house the arrivals.

Sylvain Brouillette, a spokesman for right-wing extremist group La Meute, which is organizing a Quebec City protest on Sunday, said his group is protesting the "policies of the Trudeau government toward illegal immigration."

Reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny and Allison Lampert; editing by Lisa Shumaker and Dan Grebler

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Canada sees 'unsustainable' spike in asylum seekers at US border - Reuters

August 15, 2017 10:12 PM

LAGUNA BEACH (CBSLA.com)A planned alt-right rally against illegal immigration is causing friction.

The America First Rally is set for this Sunday evening on Main Beach in Laguna.

Emotions are still raw after the violent clashes at a rally of white nationalists in Virginia last weekend. Locals wonder if any kind of rally related to Trump is a good idea.

I can see there being a pretty big community backlash in Laguna Beach specifically, said Thomas Cota, who works in Laguna.

I think its a terrible idea, said Tustin resident Sara McKay.

On Tuesday lawmakers in Northern California called for the National Park Service to rescind a permit issued for a pro-Trump rally scheduled for next week.

Police said it could easily turn violent. Just like it did when pro-Trump supporters clashed with protesters in Huntington Beach last spring. Thats why Laguna Beach officers will keep a close eye on the rally and the Orange County Sheriffs Department is prepared to help if things get ugly.

I dont think anyone should attend, said Huntington Beach resident Joel Chang. I dont know why this is happening.

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Planned Alt-Right Rally Against Illegal Immigration Causing Friction - CBS Los Angeles