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Concerns rise over increase in illegal border crossings in Northern New York – WPTZ

The North Country, serving as a notable port of entry for individuals entering the U.S. from Canada, has been experiencing an alarming increase in illegal border encounters this year, raising concerns among both officials and residents.Heather Baker, who works at Best Friends Family Diner, located right next to the Rouses Point port of entry, has witnessed a surge in migrants coming to the village, with some even stopping by the diner. This influx is deeply concerning to her, especially considering the risks it poses to rescue personnel."It puts a lot of our rescue people in danger. We're constantly having to pull them out of the swamps. As I mentioned, a lot of the immigrants that come through are getting injured and losing their lives in the process," Baker said.Already this year, the Swanton Sector has recorded more than 2,500 individuals caught attempting to cross the border illegally. While there has been only one reported immigration-related arrest in Rouses Point this year, the situation is worrying.The town and villages of Champlain and Rouses Point, located on the border, rely on the county sheriff's department, state police, and U.S. Border Patrol to address any issues, as they do not have local police departments. Christopher Laremore, the Clerk/Administrator of the Village of Rouses Point, highlighted the security concerns arising from increased illegal immigration traffic in the village."Especially with the increased illegal immigration traffic here in the village. And so I do feel that it is a security problem here in the village," Laremore stated.While state leaders insist that immigration issues should be handled by the federal government, local neighbors and officials argue that action should also be taken at the state and local levels."We need to be more in communication with the federal government and the New York State need to be more in communication with each other," Baker emphasized.Laremore echoed similar sentiments, stating, "All law enforcement agencies should step forward, whether it be a local, state, or county or federal."Village officials say there are plans for renovations at the Rouses Point port of entry later this year to address the rise in illegal crossings.

The North Country, serving as a notable port of entry for individuals entering the U.S. from Canada, has been experiencing an alarming increase in illegal border encounters this year, raising concerns among both officials and residents.

Heather Baker, who works at Best Friends Family Diner, located right next to the Rouses Point port of entry, has witnessed a surge in migrants coming to the village, with some even stopping by the diner. This influx is deeply concerning to her, especially considering the risks it poses to rescue personnel.

"It puts a lot of our rescue people in danger. We're constantly having to pull them [migrants] out of the swamps. As I mentioned, a lot of the immigrants that come through are getting injured and losing their lives in the process," Baker said.

Already this year, the Swanton Sector has recorded more than 2,500 individuals caught attempting to cross the border illegally. While there has been only one reported immigration-related arrest in Rouses Point this year, the situation is worrying.

The town and villages of Champlain and Rouses Point, located on the border, rely on the county sheriff's department, state police, and U.S. Border Patrol to address any issues, as they do not have local police departments.

Christopher Laremore, the Clerk/Administrator of the Village of Rouses Point, highlighted the security concerns arising from increased illegal immigration traffic in the village.

"Especially with the increased illegal immigration traffic here in the village. And so I do feel that it is a security problem here in the village," Laremore stated.

While state leaders insist that immigration issues should be handled by the federal government, local neighbors and officials argue that action should also be taken at the state and local levels.

"We need to be more in communication with the federal government and the New York State need to be more in communication with each other," Baker emphasized.

Laremore echoed similar sentiments, stating, "All law enforcement agencies should step forward, whether it be a local, state, or county or federal."

Village officials say there are plans for renovations at the Rouses Point port of entry later this year to address the rise in illegal crossings.

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Concerns rise over increase in illegal border crossings in Northern New York - WPTZ

San Diego County is Sending Illegal Immigrants to You California Globe – California Globe

San Diego County, using federal dollars, is sending illegal immigrants to your community.

San Diego County is currently the epicenter of illegal immigration. With Texas and Arizona clamping down on illegal border crossings, human smugglers are taking the path of least resistance through California, particularly the San Diego border sector. In one week, early April 2024, the San Diego Border sector had 6,997 encounters. That used to be a monthly number; now, its weekly.

Since September 2023, the Federal Government has released over 130,000 migrant street drop-offs in the city of San Diego. The street drop-offs are predominately young male adults ages 18-35.Thousands of Chinese Nationals are also included in the street-drops.

California politicians in Sacramento have rolled out the red carpet for illegal immigration.The Sanctuary State of California promises free health care and will not turn migrants over to Immigration. San Diego County citizens pay for any migrants attorney to keep them from being deported, no matter what the reason or crime.

The 130,000 street drops do not include the dozens of migrants in boats that run ashore on our beaches at a rate of about four boatloads a week.

Last week, in broad daylight, a boat beached itself on our shoreline, endangering surfers and swimmers. Over a dozen individuals disembarked and fled into a neighborhood, where they were promptly whisked away in a waiting SUV. We do not know who these individuals are, where they came from, or where they went.

The worst part of these boat drops is that our local law enforcement cant do a thing. California law enforcement is prohibited from enforcing immigration laws.They could not even go after the vehicle that the migrants jumped into unless they had a traffic violation.Even though they just jumped off a boat, local law enforcement could not ask about their immigration status even if they pulled over the car.

The County of San Diego just received $38 million from the Biden Administration to process migrants when dropped on our streets. Border patrol is their Uber into San Diego County, and San Diego County will be the migrants travel agents. With federal tax dollars, the Countys mission will be to put as many migrants on planes, trains, and automobiles as quickly as possible to other parts of the country.Sorry, America, this is what we have become, and soon, theyll be coming to your town.

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San Diego County is Sending Illegal Immigrants to You California Globe - California Globe

Swing State Dem Wanted Illegal Immigrants To Receive Taxpayer-Funded COVID Relief – Washington Free Beacon

Sue Altman (Facebook)

Before she ran for Congress, Sue Altman (D., N.J.) wanted illegal immigrants to receive taxpayer-funded COVID relief funds. Now, Altman says its Republicans' fault that the border crisiswhich has exploded during President Joe Bidens administrationhasnt been solved.

Altman, the presumptive Democratic nominee for New Jerseys hotly contested Seventh Congressional District, called to make illegal immigrants eligible for financial COVID relief during her time as state director of the progressive New Jersey Working Families Party.

Altman appeared in an October 2020 interview on a show called "Activista Rise Up" with Patricia Campos-Medina, who is now a long shot Democratic candidate for Senate in New Jersey. There, Altman shared her support for illegal immigrants and their children during the COVID-19 pandemic and called on state and federal governments to give stimulus checks to those who were "cut out" of other financial relief programs during the economic shutdown.

"One of the biggest problems with the federal budget and the state budget is that immigrants have been cut out. Immigrants or undocumented people who were paying taxes as workers since, you know, they started working here in the United States or in New Jersey arent getting any aid or any relief from these deals that are going to other folks. These people are the backbone of our economy," Altman said. "We need to be just as serious about helping them recover from this pandemic as we are every other resident of this state and this country."

As a candidate, Altman has taken aim at Republicans for not taking action on the border. In February, she described the southern border as a "crisis" and scolded her opponent Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R., N.J.) and other Republicans for not doing more to solve the problem. Immigration doesnt appear under the "issues" page on Altmans campaign website.

"There was a bill in Congress in the Senate that went through that Tom Kean Jr. did not support because the Republicans didnt support it because theyre not really looking to solve problems. And thats the difference. When I get to Congress, and what Ive done my entire career, is fight for change and fight for things that will make peoples lives better," Altman said in February.

Altman concluded, "Yes, the border is a crisis. Yes its a problem. The solution will need an entire Congress to fix it, and we cant have people being cynically obstructionist because they have political ambitions."

Republicans opposed the bill because it was "riddled with loopholes" and endorsed Bidens "catch and release" policy, according to a statement from House Republican leadership including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.), Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.), and majority whip Tom Emmer (R., Minn.). Republicans argued the bill was a "waste of time" because it would expand work authorization for illegal immigrants, failed to include critical asylum reforms, and left taxpayers with the bill for the flights and housing of illegal immigrants at Federal Emergency Management Agency shelters.

Altman is challenging Kean Jr. in his tight reelection campaign. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in March named Altman to their "Red to Blue Program" that names her race as one of the most competitive in the country.

The Working Families Party also advocated for financial relief for illegal immigrants under Altmans direction. In a July 2020 post, the party touted an encampment formed at the New Jersey state house in protest in favor of "recovery for all" from the pandemic's economic downturn. The party also linked to information for residents to lobby legislators to "bring COVID relief legislation that will provide stimulus-like payments to undocumented immigrant taxpayers for a vote."

"We stand with immigrant families who are fighting for aid. NJ should fund excluded workers, not billionaires," the party wrote.

The party kept fighting for COVID relief for illegal immigrants into 2021.

"We need a #Recovery4All that includes immigrant families & workers. We urge @GovMurphy @NJSenatePres @SpeakerCoughlin to create a pandemic relief fund for ALL. Dont leave immigrants behind!" the party wrote in a February 2021 post. "More than half a million undocumented immigrants and their 128,000 U.S. citizen children have been excluded from any form of COVID aid. No unemployment, no $1,200 stimulus, no $600 stimulus."

Altman was also a critic of the Immigration and Customs Control (ICE) during the pandemic. The party and Altman slammed Hudson County officials who reinstated ICEs contract to hold detainees in its county jails. The contract was slated to bring in $8 million for the county in its first year.

"The Hudson County Board of Commissioners represented New Jersey politics at its worst last night and approved a new contract that continues the countys sorry history of complicity with the worst of our nations immigration policies," Altman said. "The people of Hudson County deserve a local Democratic Party that is in step with the mainstream, national Democratic Party fighting for the interests of immigrants and people of colorand not one that prioritizes profits over the clear will of their constituents."

Altman did not return a request for comment.

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Swing State Dem Wanted Illegal Immigrants To Receive Taxpayer-Funded COVID Relief - Washington Free Beacon

‘France would do well to see foreign students as agents of influence rather than potential illegal immigrants’ – Le Monde

It's a way of measuring France's influence that the French themselves are largely unaware of: Thirty of the world's heads of state or government in power in 2023 studied in France.

The ranking of the most influential states in this respect, drawn up by the Higher Education Policy Institute, a British think tank specializing in university policy, puts France in third place behind the United States (where 65 world leaders were educated) and the UK (58 leaders). Behind France comes Russia, where 10 world leaders were trained, followed by Switzerland, Australia, Italy and Spain.

At a time when questions of sovereignty and attractiveness are being widely debated, the issue of welcoming foreign students to our country is more often than not viewed negatively as an "immigration" issue rather than recognized as a means of extending our influence and enhancing our global appeal.

Following in the footsteps of the far right, who tend to see every foreign student as a potential illegal immigrant, Senator Roger Karoutchi (Les Rpublicains, right wing) succeeded, in fall 2023, in pushing through an amendment to the immigration law bill mandating foreign students to pay a deposit to obtain a residence permit for study. This sum is refundable upon the student's departure from the country. The measure was a bait to attract right-wing and far-right voters to the proposed law. Higher education officials opposed the amendment and it was eventually rejected by the Constitutional Council because it bore no relation to the purpose of the bill. However, this rejection does not prevent it from being proposed another time.

"Honestly, it's not a good idea," admitted President Emmanuel Macron, most of whose friends nevertheless voted for it. "I think we need to keep attracting talent and students from all over the world." The clich of foreigners using student status to circumvent residency rules was reinforced by the debate. It does happen but remains a minority phenomenon: 80% of students who arrived in France in 2010 left the country or became French citizens 10 years after their first residence permit was issued. Those who remain make up no less than half of legal labor immigration, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its 2023 report on international migration.

Another slip-up was the suspension of issuing visas and scholarships, at the start of the 2023 academic year, for students from Sahelian countries affected by military coups. This suspension, caused by the closure of consulates, could have been seen as punishment following the putsches, a particularly unfortunate blunder at a time when young Africans are questioning France's African policy.

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'France would do well to see foreign students as agents of influence rather than potential illegal immigrants' - Le Monde

TikTok ready to move to the courts to prevent ban in US – Ars Technica

TikTok is gearing up for a long legal battle to fight legislation in the US that threatens to ban the app in its largest market if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, refuses to sell the viral video platform.

The US House of Representatives on Saturday passed a package of national security bills that included legislation that would result in TikTok being banned in the country if Chinese parent company ByteDance does not divest the app.

Michael Beckerman, TikToks public policy head in the US, told staff in response that if the bill became law, the company would move to the courts for a legal challenge.

This legislation is a clear violation of the First Amendment rights of TikToks 170 million American users, he said in a memo to staff, according to people who viewed it. Well continue to fight.

The bill was packaged together with funding for Ukraine and Israel and sent to the US Senate, which is expected to pass the measure this week before it is signed by President Joe Biden.

This is the beginning, not the end of this long process, Beckerman told TikTok employees. The group is set to hold a town hall for staff on the US situation on Wednesday.

The people said ByteDances general counsel Erich Andersen, who also leads TikToks legal team, and would be responsible for steering the companys legal strategy, would probably step down before any court battle begins.

Andersen joined ByteDance from Microsoft in 2020, meaning his large stock compensation package would be fully vested after four years on the job, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Andersen indicated to some staff that he would stay on in the short term as the company steadies itself ahead of the expected legal battle, the person added.

A series of TikTok executives in the US have exited after the four-year mark, including the companys former chief operating officer, Vanessa Pappas.

Bloomberg News earlier reported that TikTok was preparing to remove Andersen. The Information first reported on Beckermans memo.

ByteDance has successfully used US courts to thwart several attempted bans in the US.

Last year a federal judge blocked Montana from banning the app on devices in the state before it could go into effect, with the judge saying the ban probably violated the first amendment right to free speech.

Before leaving office in 2020, President Donald Trump tried to ban the app in an executive order that also sought to force the sale of TikTok. Courts blocked its implementation, and President Joe Biden gave up on the legal fight after taking office.

2024 The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be redistributed, copied, or modified in any way.

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TikTok ready to move to the courts to prevent ban in US - Ars Technica