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☆ A Mysterious Flier, a Tiny Charity and a Disinformation Campaign at the Border
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Ken Bensinger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The two men rang the bell at the Resource Center Matamoros, a migrant aid group in the Mexican border city, and, speaking in broken Spanish, said they were looking for volunteer work. Security footage shared with The New York Times shows the pair standing on the sidewalk in shorts and flip flops as they talked via speakerphone with Gaby Zavala, the center’s founder. After about half an hour, they left. Ms. Zavala didn’t know it yet, but the men were not volunteers. They were provocateurs building an online following with hidden camera exposés and ambushes that claim to uncover abuse and election fraud in the American immigration system.

Persons: Gaby Zavala, Zavala didn’t Organizations: Resource Center, The New York Times Locations: Resource Center Matamoros, Mexican

The group is now waiting in Mexico City to get an appointment so they can legally cross the U.S.-Mexico border. They are biding time in Mexico City until they have enough money for a phone so they can use CBP One. Mexico deported only about 429 Venezuelans during the first two months of 2024, meaning nearly all are waiting in Mexico. Many fear that venturing north of Mexico City will get them fleeced or returned to southern Mexico. She said they were robbed by Mexican officials and gangs and returned several times to southern Mexico.

Persons: it's, ” Daniel Ventura, Biden, —, Joe Biden, Andres Manuel López Obrador, ”, López Obrador, Yessica Gutierrez, “, Jose Alberto Uzcategui, Stephanie Brewer, Maria Victoria Colmenares, Colmenares, Alejandro Mayorkas, Torrealba, ___, Gonzalez, Rebecca Santana Organizations: MEXICO CITY, U.S, United, Migrants, Washington Office, CBP, . Homeland, Associated Press, Washington , D.C Locations: MEXICO, U.S, Colombia, Panama, Mexico, “, Darien, Fort Atkinson , Wisconsin, Guatemala, Venezuela, Ecuadorians, United States, Mexico City, Venezuelan, Trujillo, Panamanian, America, The U.S, Tijuana, San Diego, Matamoros, Brownsville , Texas, Nicaragua, Washington ,

There, at a yet-to-be-announced location along the Gaza shore, they will build and begin to operate a floating dock to receive the aid. Off shore, the Army will build a large floating platform where ships can unload large containers of aid. The brigade’s commander, Army Col. Sam Miller, said about 500 of his soldiers will participate in the mission. The last time the 7th Transportation Brigade did a similar mission to construct a large pier was in Haiti in 2010. Miller said a larger Maritime Sealift Command ship will also be leaving Virginia in the coming days, and will be carrying some of the bigger equipment and more of the steel pier segments.

Persons: James, Joe Biden, Sam Miller, Miller, “, ” Miller, Frank S, Besson, — Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S . Army, Base, Gaza Health Ministry, U.S, Army, Pentagon, Officials, 7th Transportation Brigade, Defense, Biden, Maritime Sealift Command Locations: Virginia, Gaza, U.S, Eustis, Israel, Matamoros, USAV Monterrey, Haiti, Saturday

Swimmers at the beach might not be excited to see the 14-foot (4.3-meter) white shark, but scientists following LeeBeth's movements are thrilled that the big fish's epic journey could provide valuable clues to help the species. White sharks, often referred to as great whites, were made famous by the hit movie “Jaws.” They roam the ocean searching for their favorite food, marine mammals, and were once hunted without discrimination. They watched as she made history in late February by traveling further into the Gulf than any previously tracked white shark. “We don't know how many white sharks travel that far west, but it's a good indication they do,” Winton said. The conservancy paired up with fishing charter Outcast Sport Fishing of Hilton Head, South Carolina, to tag LeeBeth.

Persons: she'll, LeeBeth, Megan Winton, “, ” Winton, Winton, Chip Michalove, we've, ” Michalove, ” Organizations: Shark Conservancy, Conservancy, conservancy Locations: South Carolina, Gulf of Mexico, Matamoros, Mexico, South Padre Island , Texas, Gulf, Chatham , Massachusetts, Mississippi, Massachusetts, Head , South Carolina, Galveston , Texas

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials say 93 Americans have died after cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic since 2009, with many of the recent deaths involving a procedure known as a Brazilian butt lift. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesComplications from cosmetic surgery are not unique to the Dominican Republic. The CDC on Thursday issued a separate report about 15 cases of bacterial infections in women who went to one Florida cosmetic surgery center in 2022. After an increase in U.S. deaths in 2019 and 2020, the U.S. Embassy contacted the CDC, which investigated along with the Dominican Republic Ministry of Health. They tallied 93 cosmetic surgery-related deaths of U.S. citizens in the Dominican Republic from 2009 to 2022, or an average of about seven a year.

Persons: “, ”, Matthew Hudson, Hudson Organizations: —, U.S, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, CDC, U.S . Embassy, Dominican Republic Ministry of Health, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, State University of New, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: — U.S, Dominican Republic, United States, Florida, Mexico, Matamoros ., U.S, State University of New York, Buffalo

The U.S. State Department considers Tamaulipas, where the two cities are located, to be the most dangerous state along the U.S.-Mexico border. Tens of thousands of people a day are competing for 1,450 slots, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). U.S. authorities temporarily suspended CBP One appointments in June in another Tamaulipas border city, Nuevo Laredo, due to "extortion and kidnapping concerns," the official said. Juan Rodriguez, head of the Tamaulipas migrant services agency, said the agency was "attentive" to the issue. Additional reporting by Jackie Botts in Mexico City, Daniel Becerril in Reynosa and Matamoros, and Kristina Cooke in San Francisco.

Persons: Wong, Luis Miranda, Joe Biden's, Biden, Bertha Bermúdez Tapia, Miranda, Olivia Lemus, Lemus, Juan Rodriguez, Laura Gottesdiener, Ted Hesson, Mica Rosenberg, Beth Solomon, Jackie Botts, Daniel Becerril, Kristina Cooke, Mary Milliken, Suzanne Goldenberg Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, U.S . Department of Homeland Security, U.S . State Department, New Mexico State University, Gulf Cartel, Northeast, U.S . Customs, Border Protection, CBP, DHS, Biden, The U.S . State Department, Carolina, Thomson Locations: U.S, Mexico, New Jersey, REYNOSA, Mexican, Reynosa, Venezuela, Carolina, Matamoros, Tamaulipas, United States, Washington, Nuevo Laredo, Central, Northern Mexico, Chicago, The, Honduran, Venezuelan, New York City, Mexico City, San Francisco

MATAMOROS, Mexico (AP) — During the weeks it took Yeison and Niko to migrate from Venezuela toward the U.S., they navigated dangerous jungles and over a dead body. Political Cartoons View All 1176 Images“It would practically be like starting with nothing, without Niko,” Yeison said. For six months, Yeison and Niko lived in a tent at an encampment with hundreds of other migrants in Matamoros. Chances are slim Yeison can take Niko across the border, but volunteers at the encampment aren't giving up. The picky squirrel, Yeison said, prefers nibbling on pine trees and is fed tomatoes and mangoes, even in times when food is hard to come by.

Persons: Niko, Yeison, it's, ” Yeison, Gladys Cañas, “, ”, Yieson Locations: MATAMOROS, Mexico, Venezuela, —, Yeison, U.S, Matamoros ., Texas, Brownsville, Eagle, darting, Colombia, Darien, Matamoros

☆ Appeals court allows Biden asylum restrictions to temporarily stay in place as case plays out
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty ImagesAn appeals court Thursday allowed a rule restricting asylum at the southern border to temporarily stay in place. The government had gone quickly to the appeals court asking for the rule to be allowed to remain in use while the larger court battles surrounding its legality play out. The new asylum rule was put in place back in May. The government said the new asylum rule was an important tool to control migration. One of the groups, the American Civil Liberties Union, noted in a news release Thursday that the ruling didn't weigh the legality of the asylum rule and that they were confident they'd ultimately prevail.

Persons: Patrick T, Fallon, Biden, William Fletcher, Richard Paez, Bill Clinton, Judge Lawrence VanDyke, Donald Trump, VanDyke, Trump, David Peinado, they'd, Eiland, John Moore Organizations: Customs, Border Protection, Border Patrol, AFP, Getty, U.S, Appeals, US Border Patrol, Bloomberg, Texas Governor, Texas National Guard, Ciudad Juarez, Anadolu Agency, CBP, American Civil Liberties Union Locations: Rio Grande, Mexico, El Paso , Texas, U.S, Yuma , Arizona, United States, Rio, El Paso Texas, Matamoros , Mexico

☆ Global heat in ‘uncharted territory’ as scientists warn 2023 could be the hottest year on record
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

It works like this: As the world burns fossil fuels and pumps out planet-heating pollution, global temperatures are steadily warming. David J. Phillip/APWhile the record temperatures may have been expected, the magnitude by which some have been broken has surprised some scientists. Historically, global heat records tend to topple in El Niño years, and the current record-holder, 2016, coincided with a strong El Niño. The world gets hung up on blockbuster records but “these heat records are not exciting numbers,” she told CNN. CFOTO/Future Publishing/Getty ImagesUnheeded warningsFor climate scientists, this is the “I told you so” moment they never wanted.

Persons: –, Jennifer Francis, ” Carlo Buontempo, Copernicus, “, we’ve, ” Francis, El, ”, Friederike Otto, Andres Matamoros, David J, Phillip, Peter Stott, There’s, Robert Rohde, ” Otto, Prashanth Vishwanathan, Niño, El Niños, ” Stott, Otto said, “ Organizations: CNN, Climate Research, World Meteorological Organization, Grantham Institute, Climate, UK’s Met, ”, Bloomberg, Getty, Publishing Locations: Europe, Antarctica, Pacific, El, Houston, Berkeley, Patna, Bihar, India, Texas, Mexico, China, Beijing, Northern, Zhonghua, Handan, North China's Hebei

[1/5] Volunteers give electrolyte drinks to asylum seekers while they camp near the border in an attempt to cross into the U.S. without an appointment, in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico June 27, 2023. "We are clear-eyed about the limits of our ability to control the security situation in any town outside of the United States," a senior CBP official told Reuters. When asked about the potential for continued extortion in Nuevo Laredo, the CBP official said migrants could apply for appointments elsewhere, and come to the city just for their appointments. But reaching Nuevo Laredo can pose its own risks. Three migrants told Reuters that men who appeared to be cartel members told them to stay orderly, but had not been extorting recently arrived migrants for money.

Persons: Daniel Becerril, Joe Biden's, Stephanie Leutert, Biden, Gerson Bravo, Jose, Daina Beth Solomon, Laura Gottesdiener, Stephen Eisenhammer, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Volunteers, REUTERS, U.S, Customs, Borders Protection, . Customs, Border Protection, CBP, University of Texas, Reuters, Nuevo Laredo, Thomson Locations: Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, Daniel Becerril NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico's Nuevo Laredo, United States, Laredo, Texas, U.S, Austin, Matamoros, Venezuela, Venezuelan, Michoacan, Mexico City

☆ 2 Are Dead in Suspected Meningitis Outbreak Linked to Surgeries in Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two people in the United States have died with probable cases of fungal meningitis and more than 200 others are at risk after an outbreak of the infection among patients who had surgery in Matamoros, Mexico, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The people at risk traveled from the United States to the Mexican clinics for surgical procedures that included liposuction, Brazilian butt lifts and breast augmentation. said that as of Friday two people had died who had been classified as having probable cases of fungal meningitis. There were 11 more probable cases of the infection, based on spinal tap results, and 14 suspected cases, based on symptoms consistent with meningitis, the C.D.C. Health authorities in the United States and Mexico have asked the World Health Organization to issue an emergency declaration in response to the outbreak.

☆ Deadly suspected fungal infections in Texas residents linked to surgeries in Matamoros, Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jamie Gumbrecht | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Five Texas residents became ill with suspected cases of fungal meningitis after traveling to Matamoros, Mexico, for surgery, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. In a travel advisory, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged patients to cancel certain procedures in Matamoros, Mexico. Health officials are investigating whether the cases are linked and whether there are more infections. In this aerial photo, a border fence divides the cities of Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Mexico. “It is very important that people who have recently had medical procedures in Mexico monitor themselves for symptoms of meningitis,” said DSHS Commissioner Dr. Jennifer Shuford.

☆ Mexico asks Texas to halt costly cargo inspections; will file USMCA complaint
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, May 15 (Reuters) - Mexico's economy ministry is urging the U.S. state of Texas to remove inspections of cargo crossing the border, which it said in a statement on Monday is causing millions of dollars in losses for U.S. and Mexican firms. The Mexican government will file a complaint with the trade facilitation committee under the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) free trade agreement, which came into effect in 2020. Earlier this month, Texas started inspecting commercial vehicles crossing into the state from Mexico at a bridge connecting the Texas city of Brownsville with the Mexican city of Matamoros. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered similar inspections before. In April 2022, cargo inspections prompted significant supply chain disruptions until Abbott reached a deal with the governors of four neighboring Mexican states to increase security efforts.

Two dozen National Guard troops quickly set about stretching coils of barbed wire across the cement base of the bridge where the migrants had been. Under the order known as Title 42, U.S. authorities could quickly turn back migrants without giving them a chance to seek asylum. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday said the number of migrants crossing the border fell by half since the end of Title 42. A Dominican couple under the bridge told Reuters they had just reached Ciudad Juarez and had not heard of it. Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon and Jose Luis Gonzalez in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ End of Title 42 immigration policy has brought fewer migrants than expected, but overcrowding concerns remain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Nouran Salahieh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

David Peinado Romero/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Migrants carry a baby in a suitcase across the Rio Grande on May 10. Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images Migrants wait to get paid after washing cars at a gas station in Brownsville on May 10. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images Migrants surrender to US Border Patrol agents after crossing the border in Yuma on May 10. Paul Ratje/Reuters Migrants wait to be processed by US Border Patrol agents in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on April 26. Hudak warned in the filing that without measures to conditionally release some migrants, Border Patrol could have over 45,000 migrants in custody by the end of the month.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended the Biden regulation, saying it aims to encourage migrants to enter using legal pathways. U.S. asylum officers hurried to figure out the logistics of applying the new asylum regulation. COVID EMERGENCY ENDS, ASYLUM BAN BEGINSTrump first implemented Title 42 in March 2020 as COVID swept the globe. The order allowed American authorities to quickly expel migrants to Mexico or other countries without a chance to request asylum. Migrants have been expelled more than 2.7 million times under Title 42, although the total includes repeat crossers.

☆ The Biden administration built a 'digital wall' by requiring asylum-seekers to use a glitchy app in the aftermath of Title 42, immigration experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Azmi Haroun | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

That's because the Biden administration is handling almost all asylum claims through a glitchy app. Friday marked the official end of Title 42, a public health measure imposed by the Trump administration in March 2020. The catch, immigration advocates said, is that the app is borderline unusable for many migrants who have reached the border. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)Advocates working at the border told Insider that on the day Title 42 expired, the app was not working. The Biden administration did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.

☆ Faced with tougher U.S. policy, migrants in Mexico pin hopes on asylum app
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Daina Beth Solomon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/6] Migrants seeking asylum in the U.S., gather on the Matamoros-Brownsville International Border bridge, in Matamoros, Mexico May 12, 2023. Now, she is trying another way she hopes will be easier: the U.S. asylum app. "It's much better," Silva said on Thursday at the border, scrolling through a WhatsApp chat with tips about the app known as CBP One. Under the COVID-era order, U.S. officials could immediately expel migrants back to Mexico, blocking them from requesting asylum. Alongside her, two young men from Venezuela said they were also going to seek asylum appointments on the CBP One app.

☆ Pandemic-related asylum restrictions known as Title 42 expire, straining U.S. immigration system
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

The expired rule, known as Title 42, was in place since March 2020. While Title 42 prevented many from seeking asylum, it carried no legal consequences, encouraging repeat attempts. Migrants cross the Rio Bravo river to turn themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol agents before Title 42 ends, in Matamoros, Mexico May 10, 2023. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had already warned of more crowded Border Patrol facilities to come. They were quickly apprehended by Border Patrol agents.

☆ Scenes From the Border as Title 42 Expires
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Despite concerns that the end of a public health measure known as Title 42 would bring chaos to the southern U.S. border, there were few signs of disorder on Friday in the hours after the measure expired. Yet many migrants have crossed to apply for asylum, and thousands are still being detained in Border Patrol holding facilities, awaiting processing. Many of those crossing the border have been adults traveling alone. Others travel in family groups, big or small, carrying children and whatever supplies or belongings they can manage. New York Times photographers documented the experience on both sides of the border, from Tijuana on the West Coast to Matamoros near the Gulf of Mexico, as Title 42 ended.

The scenes come as Title 42 is set to expire just before midnight on Thursday. But Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council representing U.S. border agents, confirmed that agents distributed the handouts. Judd said border officials were working to process as many migrants as possible before Title 42 ends. The flyer also said migrants must report to border authorities before accessing El Paso shelters, an assertion advocates said was not true. But hours later, after seeing other migrants return with U.S. paperwork, he lined up at a border patrol station.

☆ How a Missed Tummy Tuck in Mexico Led to a Deadly Kidnapping
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Jacey Fortin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Within minutes of riding into Mexico in a rented white minivan last month, Latavia McGee knew that she was lost. She and three of her closest friends — close enough that she called them brothers — had driven from South Carolina to Matamoros in the state of Tamaulipas so that she could get a tummy tuck procedure. But this time, she was running late, had no phone service and had veered off course, Ms. McGee recalled in a recent interview. Also in the wayward van were Zindell Brown, Shaeed Woodard and Eric Williams, old companions with whom she had grown up in South Carolina. That morning in Mexico, they had been enjoying one another’s company, Ms. McGee said, as Mr. Brown, the best Spanish speaker of the four, asked strangers for directions.

☆ Mexico and U.S. search for three American sailors last seen in Sinaloa
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, April 15 (Reuters) - Mexico's Navy and the United States are searching for three American sailors who were last seen on April 4 in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The three sailors reportedly left the port city of Mazatlan en route to San Diego and were due to stop in Cabo San Lucas on April 6 for provisions and to report in, but they never made it. "There was no record of them arriving in Cabo San Lucas or a report in of their location," the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement published late on Friday. "Urgent marine information broadcasts have been issued over VHF radio requesting all mariners to keep a lookout for the missing persons and vessel," the U.S. Coast Guard said. The disappearance of the sailors comes about a month after the high-profile kidnapping of a group of Americans in the border town of Matamoros.

☆ The killing of Americans in a Mexican border city highlights a sinister trend that US policies are making worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Luis Chaparro | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Initial reports indicated that authorities suspected that the four kidnapped Americans had been confused for Haitian migrants, whose numbers in Matamoros have increased in recent weeks. It also revealed an overlooked trend: the extreme vulnerability of the thousands of migrants who have been stuck in Mexican border towns for the past three years. "We feel like we are being kidnapped inside this city," Fedler Dominic, an Haitian migrant in Matamoros, told Insider in a phone interview. In April 2022, three migrants, including a man from Peru, were kidnapped in Nuevo Laredo, another border city. "You can't basically move from the camp," Manuel Velázquez, a Cuban migrant in Matamoros, told Insider.

☆ Mexico denies cartels control parts of country, rejecting Blinken remark
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"That is false," Lopez Obrador said in a regular news conference. Blinken had also said that the opioid fentanyl coming from Mexico was killing both Americans and Mexicans. Lopez Obrador has denied in recent days that Mexico is responsible for the quantities of the drug coming into the United States. "More fentanyl reaches the United States and Canada directly than reaches Mexico," Lopez Obrador said last week. "I can tell Mr. Blinken, we're constantly destroying labs," Lopez Obrador said.

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