As US agents prepare to arrest 'thousands,' migrants live in fear

NEW YORK, United States — Thousands of undocumented immigrants were waiting in fear and uncertainty ahead of nationwide raids Sunday that President Donald Trump said would lead to a wave of expulsions.

Demonstrators in dozens of cities protested the planned raids, and local and state officials called for restraint, but to no effect.

Before dawn on Sunday, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are expected to hit the streets of at least 10 major American cities with plans to arrest some 2,000 undocumented migrants who entered the United States recently.

The scope of the operation appears far more modest than the "millions" Trump had promised would be detained and expelled when he first mentioned the raids -- and subsequently postponed -- last month.

But that has not eased the anguish felt by those who fear they might be targeted.

Adding to their concerns are media reports that ICE agents are prepared to scoop up not just those targeted by removal orders but also other undocumented migrants that agents may come upon incidentally.

That, potentially, could include some migrants who have been in the country for years, with homes, jobs and children who are US citizens.

'It's traumatizing' 

"This uncertainty, this fear, is wreaking havoc," Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on CNN. "It's traumatizing people."

Trump insisted on Friday that "most mayors" want the raids.

"Most mayors do. You know why? They don't want to have crimes in their cities," he said, repeating his frequent -- and incorrect --  assertion that migrants are more likely to be criminals than native-born Americans.

Several mayors have expressed concern about the federal operation.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez pointed out that in 2018, his first year in office, his Florida city experienced its "lowest homicide rate in 51 years -- so I don't understand the rationale for choosing Miami."

"It doesn't make it easier for us, as mayors, to keep our citizens and those who are in our city ... quiet and calm."

'A political act' 

Some city officials, as well as pro-migrant and civil rights groups, have sought to educate those who might be targeted on their rights in the event of a raid. 

"We're asking people, if you are in fear of deportation, to stay in on Sunday, to travel in groups," Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms said on CNN. If "someone comes to your door, please don't open the door unless they have a warrant."

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told MSNBC he sees the raids as "a political act to convince a lot of people in America that immigrants are the problem."

Like many other city officials, he fears the aggressive roundup could intimidate migrants, making them less likely in future to cooperate with local police, thus making it harder to ensure public safety.

Millions 'in line' 

"We have millions of people standing in line waiting to become citizens of this country," Trump said Friday.

He said it would be unfair to them if others could simply cross the border in an attempt to gain the privileges of American life.

But the impending raids have raised concerns about how a new influx could affect federal detention centers already badly overcrowded. 

The United States has been struggling for more than a year with a migration crisis on its southern border, as thousands of people stream into the US each month, mostly from Central American countries riven by violence and poverty.

The number of undocumented arrivals totaled more than 100,000 last month -- down 28 percent from May but still at a "critical" level, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

On Friday and Saturday, dozens of protests were organized across the country by groups demanding the closing of overcrowded detention centers and opposing the planned raids.

Requisitioning hotels? 

Several American news outlets have reported on centers holding young children, separated from their parents, in crowded and unhygienic conditions.

US officials have acknowledged the overcrowding but insisted they are doing their best to provide decent conditions.

Some reports Saturday suggested that ICE might have to requisition hotel rooms to accommodate those detained in the upcoming raids.

A major hotel chain, Marriott International, was asked by AFP whether it had been contacted by the government.

It said it had not yet been contacted, but added, "Marriott has made the decision to decline any requests to use our hotels as detention facilities."

source: philstar.com

Trump: Mexico will hold US-bound refugees while claims processed

WASHINGTON, United States — Asylum seekers hoping to enter the US via its southern border will have to wait in Mexico while they are assessed, President Donald Trump announced Saturday, appearing to confirm a report about a bilateral deal published by The Washington Post.

The move was cautiously welcomed by some refugees currently at the border, even as Mexico's incoming interior minister Olga Sanchez Cordero, who was quoted by the Post as confirming the agreement, later issued a denial.

"Migrants at the Southern Border will not be allowed into the United States until their claims are individually approved in court," Trump wrote on Twitter.

He added that the US "will allow those who come into our Country legally" and emphasized: "All will stay in Mexico."

The deal, which would overhaul US border policy, comes with Trump outraged over the presence of thousands of Central American migrants who marched to Mexico's border city of Tijuana hoping to enter the US for a better life free from the poverty and gang violence in their homelands.

"For now, we have agreed to this policy of Remain in Mexico," the Post quoted Sanchez Cordero as saying. The government of new President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will enter office on December 1.

But her office later issued a statement saying: "There is no agreement of any type between the future federal government of Mexico and that of the United States of America."

Trump has sent almost 6,000 soldiers to the Mexican border in support of Customs and Border Protection agents and National Guard troops already there, to forestall what Trump has called an "invasion" by "very bad people."

After a trek of more than a month from Honduras, nearly 5,000 migrants -- including women and children -- are now in Tijuana living in a makeshift shelter.

A potential breakthrough

Trump "is within his right. He is in his government," but he is not like other presidents in his views of migrants, said a resident of the shelter, Carolina Flores, 38, of Honduras.

"He sees us as a bug that is going to eat there," she added. "We come for an opportunity!"

Another Honduran in the shelter, Orlinda Morales, 31, a housewife, said the reported new asylum rules seem "very good" because migrants will not be in limbo. "We will get work here," she said.

Hundreds of the migrants lined up this week at a special jobs fair set up for them in the manufacturing city, but others remain determined to reach the US.

No formal agreement has been signed, the Post said, but US officials view the deal, which would see would-be refugees' cases heard by US courts in Mexico, as a potential breakthrough in deterring migration.

US asylum officers will begin implementing the new procedures in coming days or weeks, Homeland Security officials cited by the Post said.

Asylum seekers will be given an initial screening to determine whether they face imminent danger by staying in Mexico, where violence is widespread.

Deportation to the homeland

American officials will be able to process at least twice as many asylum claims under the new system because they would not be limited by detention space at US ports of entry, the Post report said.

It added that under the new rules, an applicant whose asylum claim is denied would not be allowed to return to Mexico but would remain in US custody pending immediate deportation to his or her home country.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made no mention of a deal but said that he and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen had "a constructive meeting" with Mexico's future foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard over the caravans.

"We have affirmed our shared commitment to addressing the current challenge. The caravans will not be permitted to enter the United States. There are real dangers to the safety and human rights of migrants from those who would prey on them," Pompeo said.

He added that he was looking forward to working with Mexico's new government, including on ways to spur job creation "to benefit the government and people of Mexico."

In 2018, border patrols registered more than 400,000 illegal crossers, according to Homeland Security, and in the last five years, the number of those requesting asylum has increased by 2,000 percent.

Less than 10 percent of cases result in asylum being granted, the government says.

Last week, a US federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from denying asylum to people who enter the country illegally.

The president issued a proclamation earlier this month saying that only people who enter the US at official checkpoints -- as opposed to sneaking across the border -- can apply for asylum.

source: philstar.com

Some US migrant children shelters accused of violations: report

CHICAGO, United States — More than a dozen shelters where the US government sent migrant children have a history of allegations of misconduct and violations of care standards, according to a report published Wednesday.

The joint investigation by the Texas Tribune news website and The Center for Investigative Reporting came on the same day that US President Donald Trump reversed a tough policy and ordered an end to separation of migrant children from their parents on the US border.

His backtracking followed domestic and international outrage at the policy.

The new report cited government and other reports for accusations of physical and sexual abuse, and violations of standards for children's safety and care.


The alleged breaches occurred at privately-run shelters where migrant children receive long-term housing.

Texas state inspectors cited violations including a lack of medical attention to injuries and illness, and mistakes in administering medication, the report says.

More than 70 private entities—mostly religious and nonprofit groups—are contracted with the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to take care of migrant children, according to the report.

These are children who arrived in the US without parents, or who were separated from parents by immigration authorities.

Since 2014, 13 shelter operators have faced serious complaints, according to the Tribune report, but only two have lost their contracts with ORR.

The accusations of violations and misconduct dated as far back as two decades—before the ORR contracted with the shelters—and as recently as last month.

Among the offender companies identified was Southwest Key Programs of Texas. 
It operates the converted Walmart supermarket, called Casa Padre, which has been featured by much of the US media in the last few days as holding about 1,500 immigrant children under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy.

The report says Texas inspectors found 246 violations at the company's other facilities, including shampoo dispensers filled with hand sanitizer.

In a statement, the company said deficiencies were found in less than one percent of the standards for which it is evaluated.

"We take each of the deficiencies seriously by self-reporting to invite external investigations, as well as performing our own internal investigations," the company said.

"When called for, staff have been terminated or retrained as we continue to strive for excellence in the services we provide to the children entrusted to our care."

Another Texas-based company, International Educational Services, was one of the two shelter operators whose ORR contracts were not renewed.

It had been cited with more than 100 deficiencies at nine facilities, including "inappropriate sexual contact between staff and children, harsh punishment and lapses in medical care," the report said.

The ORR did not respond to a request for comment.

source: philstar.com

Pope to mayors: Don't build towers, expand piazzas

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis is urging Italian mayors to redouble their efforts to welcome migrants and refugees and promote ways to integrate them into their new communities.

In a meeting yesterday with the mayors, Francis said he understood the difficulties of providing accommodation and services for the waves of migrants who have arrived in Italy in recent years. But he called for a new ethics-based model of local leadership "that doesn't leave those who arrive on our territory on the margins," and creates spaces for people to meet and get to know one another.

He said: "It's not about building higher towers, but expanding piazzas."

This week Francis launched an education campaign urging politicians and people to go out and meet migrants and hear their stories, rather than considering them faceless statistics.

source: philstar.com