Mediaboss Marketing

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.

Continue reading here:
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

See the original post here:
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.

About Us

Advertise

Business Development

Contact Corporate

Mobile

Connect

CBS Television Public File

CBS Radio Public File

See the original post:
Planned Alt-Right Rally Against Illegal Immigration Causing Friction - CBS Los Angeles

An illegal immigrant who returned to the country after being deported to Mexico is accused of raping a 7-year-old girl thousands of times.

Victor Francisco Michel-Lara, 32, of Cedar City, Utah was arrested Sunday and faces first-degree felony charges of rape of a child, according to his arrest report. He was also placed on an immigration detainer.

OHIO WOMAN POSTS SNAPCHAT VIDEO OF ALLEGED RAPE BY STEPGRANDFATHER, COPS SAY

The girl told investigators that Michel-Lara molested her many times in the last six months and had raped her thousands of times, the St. George Daily Spectrum reported.

He admitted to inappropriately touching the girl, but said it happened accidentally when he rubbed lotion on her, the newspaper said. He also allegedly said the rape accidentally happened when the two were rough housing.

PENNSYLVANIA MAN CONVICTED OF ATTEMPTED RAPE WROTE DESCRIPTIONS OF HIS 'PERFECT' VICTIMS

"He stated that she moves around a lot with the lotion making his fingers slippery (and) they accidentally slipped into her vagina," an investigator wrote in a police report, the newspaper reported.

Michel-Lara has been deported from the U.S. twice, Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Fox News -- once in December 2005, through San Ysidro, Calif., and another time in July 2013 through El Paso, Tx.

He is being held on $200,000 bail at the Iron County Jail.

Read more:
Illegal immigrant in Utah who was deported raped 7-year-old girl 'thousands of times,' police say - Fox News

Federal immigration authorities have agreed to allow outside groups more freedom to conduct telephone medical screenings of detained illegal immigrants to help them make their asylum cases.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in an agreement approved by a federal judge Wednesday, said it will not hinder telephone-based mental exams for illegal immigrant women and children being kept at two detention facilities.

ICE also agreed to let a legal assistant working with the illegal immigrants back into one of the facilities in Texas.

The case is the latest battle between Homeland Security and immigrant-rights activists who say illegal immigrants are being treated poorly while stuck in detention awaiting their deportation or asylum case proceedings.

The activists said ICE instituted a new policy in May requiring pre-approval before doctors could administer a telephone mental exam, and used that policy to kick out the legal assistant whod been orchestrating the calls.

ICE denied it was doing anything wrong, but has agreed to restore access for legal assistant, Caroline Perris, and said it would allow telephonic evaluations.

ICE did say authorities wont let a request for a telephone evaluation interfere with a deportation, nor would it guarantee the detainees would always be available.

However, ICE will not take actions for the purpose of interfering with a residents availability to participate in a telephonic medical evaluation, the agency said in the agreement.

Neither ICE nor the managing attorney for the Dilley Pro Bono Project, the lead plaintiff in the case, returned messages seeking comment.

The South Texas Family Residential Center and the Karnes County Residential Center, which is also in Texas, were created to hold the large number of illegal immigrant families that began streaming across the border in 2014.

Usually mothers and children, the migrants were coming from Central America to the U.S., hoping to gain a foothold here amid relaxed enforcement from the Obama administration.

Activists have tried to shutter the facilities, saying those being detained have often fled rough conditions in their home countries and should be treated as refugees in need of care and comfort.

Many of those being held are making asylum claims citing their lives back home, and activists say the mental exams are a critical part of proving those cases.

More here:
Feds agree to mental evaluations for illegal immigrants seeking asylum - Washington Times