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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.

☆ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene praised former First Lady Melania Trump as an example of a good immigrant
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene cited Melania Trump as an example of a good immigrant. Greene was speaking to the House ahead of the expiration of Title 42, a Trump-era migration law. Greene contrasted the former first lady's immigration with those trying to cross the Mexico-US border. We're very proud of our former first lady, Melania Trump, who immigrated legally to the United States," Greene said on Wednesday. Speaking in the House, Greene contrasted the former first lady's immigration from Slovenia with those trying to cross the Mexico-US border.

On Friday, that changed when the administration of President Joe Biden ended Title 42, a COVID-inspired provision that allowed the U.S. government to turn away asylum-seekers for public health reasons. At the same time Title 42 expired, the Biden administration implemented a new regulation that presumes most migrants will be ineligible for asylum if they failed to use legal pathways for U.S. entry like CBP One. "This is mostly for my children," Lupita said. Tens of thousands of migrants rushed to the border last week trying to enter the country before the new asylum rules took effect. Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Tijuana and Lizbeth Diaz in Mexico City; Editing by Mica Rosenberg and Diane CraftOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ Fact Check-Five Donald Trump statements examined after CNN town hall
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Former U.S. President Donald Trump took questions from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and audience members during a televised town hall on Wednesday, with the 2024 Republican front-runner pressing for a second White House term. Trump received 74.2 million votes in the 2020 presidential election, surpassing former President Barack Obama’s record number of votes for an incumbent candidate. State governments, courts and members of Trump’s administration have repeatedly rejected claims made by the former president that the 2020 election was stolen (here). CLAIM“We were energy independent” during the Trump administration. For more details on the U.S. border wall during the Trump administration, see (here).

☆ Biden to take unprecedented measures to manage the border but concerns remain over end of Title 42
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Priscilla Alvarez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Biden administration is rolling out unprecedented measures intended to levy consequences against migrants who cross the border unlawfully in the wake of Title 42’s expiration this week. But, officials concede, the high number of border arrests in the coming days will still pose a steep challenge. “This is a really unprecedented moment in the Americas,” a senior administration official said Tuesday. But senior administration officials stress the actions are necessary to encourage people to use lawful pathways to come to the US. When asked by CNN Tuesday what measures authorities are taking to drive down in-custody numbers, the senior administration official said officials are working closely with NGOs and have expanded transportation contracts.

☆ DeSantis signed a bill into law that creates new hurdles for undocumented workers and patients in Florida. It provides $12 million to relocate migrants to blue states
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

DeSantis signed a bill into law to crack down on undocumented workers in Florida. The legislation includes $12 million to relocate migrants to blue states. Ron DeSantis signed a sweeping bill into law Wednesday that will make it harder for undocumented people to work in Florida, even though the measure fell short of his demands. DeSantis boasted about the stunt during a press conference in Jacksonville, Florida, on Wednesday, saying officials in blue states expected border states to "grin and bear" the care of an influx of migrants. DeSantis signed the immigration measures into law a day before before the federal Title 42 is set to expire.

☆ US conducts raids at two properties of China's Jinko Solar
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Nichola Groom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security this week raided a factory and sales office operated by one of the world's largest solar panel makers, China's Jinko Solar Holding Co Ltd (JKS.N), the agency said on Wednesday. Jinko, which is based in Shanghai, has a solar panel factory in Jacksonville, Florida, and a sales and operations office in San Francisco. The company is one of few global solar manufacturers that have set up domestic production in recent years. "Jinko Solar is committed to operating in accordance with the highest ethical standards and adhering to the laws and regulations of the countries where it operates, including the United States," the spokesperson said. Jinko shares slid 8% on Tuesday after the raid in Florida was reported by several local news outlets.

☆ Fact-checking Trump’s CNN town hall in New Hampshire
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +26 min

CNN —CNN hosted a town hall with 2024 Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump on Wednesday night in New Hampshire. 2020 ElectionJust minutes after the town hall began, Trump claimed the 2020 election was “rigged.”Facts First: This is Trump’s regular lie. Trump claimed Wednesday that he got gas prices down to $1.87 – and “even lower” – but they increased to $7, $8 or even $9 under Biden. The Presidential Records Act says that the moment a president leaves office, the National Archives and Records Administration gets legal custody and control of all presidential records from his administration. First, there’s no provision for negotiating over Presidential records at the end of a term.

☆ What is Title 42 and what happens next at the border?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Catherine E. Shoichet | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Here are answers to some key questions about Title 42, what’s happening on the ground and what could happen next. Migrants encountered under Title 42 have been either returned to their home countries or sent back into Mexico. What will happen at the border after Title 42 is lifted? Advocates say for many of those who were expelled under Title 42, the situation has been dire. The Title 42 border restrictions were controversial from the moment the Trump administration announced them.

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 El Chapo’s sons built a fentanyl empire poisoning America
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +23 min

Headed by Iván, El Chapo’s oldest son, the siblings have emerged as key figures in the Sinaloa Cartel, U.S. and Mexican anti-narcotics officials said. But he was killed in 2008 in Culiacán in a hail of bullets amid infighting between warring factions of the Sinaloa Cartel. The agency in April placed Iván on the list of its 10 Most Wanted Fugitives, joining Jesús Alfredo and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a Sinaloa Cartel legend and El Chapo’s alleged former business partner. They also kidnapped eight soldiers and surrounded military housing where wives and children of Mexican soldiers lived, Mexican officials said. Despite that blow to the Sinaloa Cartel, fentanyl keeps flowing north.

“Our feet frozen, frozen, – the whole body frozen.”A tent encampment is seen along a street in Ciudad Juárez. Janeysi Games sits under a blanket strung to a wall to provide shade in Ciudad Juárez. “I want to cross, but not illegally,” said Janeysi Games, who reached Ciudad Juárez with her husband and daughter after taking a series of trains. A fire in Ciudad Juárez several weeks ago has made matters even harder, she said. And with more and more people arriving all the time in Ciudad Juárez, they will not be the last.

☆ New York Mayor Eric Adams to bus asylum seekers upstate, much like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bussed asylum seekers to New York City
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Eric Adams is sending asylum seekers in New York City to upstate New York, drawing criticism from local officials. Greg Abbott for sending migrants from Texas to New York City. In doing so, Adams appears to be passing asylum seekers off – just as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott did when he had migrants bussed from his state to New York, the Associated Press reported. In the last year, some 60,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City, the mayor's office said in Friday's press release.

It allows border agents to rapidly expel many migrants to Mexico. The anticipated increase in border crossings will be "extremely challenging," Mayorkas said during a press conference in Brownsville, Texas. The Mexican government will step up border security in southern Mexico as part of an agreement reached this week, Mayorkas said. Migrant arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border have risen in recent weeks, which Mayorkas attributed to a spike in Venezuelan crossers. Beginning May 12, roughly 1,000 appointments will be available each day, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

WHAT IS TITLE 42? The COVID restrictions, known as Title 42, were first implemented under Republican then-President Donald Trump in March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. The Biden administration intends to lift Title 42 next Thursday when the U.S. COVID public health emergency ends. In April, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended some 183,000 migrants, according to preliminary data provided by Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, a 13 percent increase from March. U.S. border cities are bracing for a possible rise in migrants when Title 42 ends.

☆ Biden administration to send 1,500 troops to southern border for support roles ahead of expected migrant surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Natasha Bertrand Priscilla Alvarez Haley Britzky | Natasha Bertrand | Priscilla Alvarez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

As they’ve done before, the troops would serve in administrative roles and not perform any law enforcement function, the sources said. “At the request of DHS, DOD will provide a temporary increase of an additional 1,500 military personnel, for 90 days, to supplement CBP efforts at the border. These 1,500 military personnel will fill critical capability gaps, such as ground-based detection and monitoring, data entry, and warehouse support, until CBP can address these needs through contracted support. They will not be doing any law enforcement work,” a US official said in a statement. Austin approved a deployment of 2,500 troops to the border, who remain there now, and the 1,500 troops are expected to join them in the coming days.

The family of three attended the appointment as a group with five other Haitian asylum-seekers. One family among thousandsDieuvena’s family is among thousands entering the US, as the government tries to process an increasing number of migrants. While one member of their group knew someone in Boston, Dieuvena said her family has neither friends nor family in the city. “The person who gave her this little corner to sleep is not around,” Gabeau told CNN, “so she doesn’t know where to go, what to do because she doesn’t know the area. Dieuvena said if she doesn’t find anything by the end of the day Sunday, she doesn’t know what they’ll do.

At the same time, U.S. officials are expanding holding capacity for migrants at the border while piloting faster asylum screenings. The Biden plans aim to address a likely increase in unauthorized immigration after COVID border restrictions that have been in place since 2020 are set to end on May 11, barring any last-minute legal or congressional intervention. The expansion of refugee processing in Latin America would come as the Biden administration has yet to restore refugee admissions after they were slashed under Trump. Miller noted that an estimated 660,000 migrants are currently in Mexico, citing United Nations figures. CBP has capacity to detain 6,000 migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border and plans to add space for 2,500 more, Miller said, adding that the agency has stepped up its ability to quickly transport migrants away from the border.

☆ Amazon launches program to identify and track counterfeiters
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Online marketplaces in the United States including Amazon face hurdles in keeping counterfeiters off their platforms and fake merchandise from entering their warehouses. The new program mimics data exchange programs by the credit card industry to find scammers and identify their tactics. Stores and Amazon marketplace sellers can anonymously contribute information and records flagging counterfeiters to a third-party database or use the database to avoid doing business with the bad actors. The Seattle-based retail giant piloted the anti-counterfeiting initiative in 2021 with an undisclosed number of apparel, home goods and cosmetics stores, where counterfeiting is most common. Reporting by Arriana McLymore in New York City; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Lawmakers Look for Tough Implementation of Forced Labor Law Targeting China
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Workers load cotton bales onto a truck in China’s Xinjiang region, home to the country’s Uyghur people. Researchers say Uyghur and other peoples in the region have been detained and forced to work by authorities. Photo: Wang Yawen/Zuma PressU.S. lawmakers on Tuesday scrutinized possible “loopholes” in an anti-forced labor law blocking many imports from China’s Xinjiang region, expressing bipartisan support for cracking down on companies with supply chains stemming from the region. Several lawmakers drew attention to potential gaps that might be allowing goods from a largely proscribed region of China to enter the U.S. as part of a hearing of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. The hearing followed U.S. Customs and Border Protection reporting it has stopped nearly $1.1 billion in goods with possible links to Xinjiang, home to China’s Uyghur people and other minority groups, under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

Inside these boxes: Approximately $20 million worth of detained solar panels by U.S. Customs & Border Protection over suspected ties to forced labor. Shipments coming directly from China represented about $80 million worth of goods, while Malaysia accounted for $461 million and Vietnam accounted for $370 million. "UFLPA allows us to presume [goods] were produced with forced labor, and therefore they'd be excluded from the United States," said Fox. "The cotton commodity coming out of the Xinjiang region has typically been tied to forced labor," Fox told CNBC. The companies then had 30 days to come back to CBP and prove that the items were produced without forced labor.

April 14 (Reuters) - The United States has charged leaders of the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel with running a fentanyl trafficking operation fueled by Chinese chemical and pharmaceutical companies, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Friday. Federal prosecutors unsealed three separate indictments charging more than two dozen defendants based in Mexico, China and Guatemala, eight of whom are in custody. Among those awaiting extradition is Ovidio Guzman Lopez, one of El Chapo's sons, who was arrested in Mexico earlier this year. Prosecutors also charged four owners of Chinese companies that allegedly provided precursor chemicals to the cartel. "The PRC government must stop the unchecked flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals that are coming out of China," he said, referring to the People's Republic of China.

WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) - The Biden administration next week will begin testing faster asylum screenings for migrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, the Department of Homeland Security said on Saturday, part of preparations for the end of COVID-19 border restrictions in May. U.S. asylum officers will conduct initial asylum screenings for a small number of migrants within days while they remain in the custody of border authorities, Homeland Security spokesperson Marsha Espinosa said. U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has implemented new border restrictions in recent months as he grapples with record numbers of migrants caught crossing illegally. Since March 2020, U.S. authorities have been able to quickly Rexpel migrants caught crossing the border illegally back to Mexico under a COVID-19 order known as Title 42. Reuters first reported in December that Biden officials were weighing whether to use the accelerated asylum screenings among other Trump-style restrictions.

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