Advocates alarmed by reports administration may lower refugee cap again
WASHINGTON - Advocates reacted with alarm Tuesday to published reports that the Trump administration may again cut the number of refugees allowed in to the U.S., a move they said would endanger vulnerable people and tarnish the country's standing.
Border apprehensions fell sharply, but still at highest level in years
WASHINGTON - Apprehensions at the southern border dropped sharply in August, to just over 64,000 people, in part because of increased cooperation from Mexican authorities, a Customs and Border Protection official said. But apprehensions were still the highest of any August in the last five years.
Deferred action on DACA: Program lives on; advocates worry for how long
WASHINGTON - Two years after the Trump administration announced plans to kill Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the program still has a pulse - though advocates worry about how long that might last, and the Supreme Court could settle the question this fall.
Yuma border projects get Pentagon funding, as Fort Huachuca takes a hit
WASHINGTON - Border construction near Yuma will receive almost $1.3 billion of the $3.6 billion the Defense Department said it will divert from other planned military projects - including $30 million from a project that had been scheduled for Fort Huachuca.
Arizona joins other states calling on Supreme Court to overturn DACA
WASHINGTON - Arizona joined 12 other states this week that asked the Supreme Court to roll back the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which they say has caused "irreparable harm" to their states.
DHS plan to close Flores ‘loophole’ likely to get tied in knots
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration unveiled new rules to replace the Flores agreement, a 1997 court ruling that severely limits the amount of time migrant children can be held by the government, but advocates say plan is flawed and that Flores is not likely to go down without a fight.
‘Large and in charge’ drag queen inspires youth, other queens of color
PHOENIX – Black, “large and in charge” drag queen Rosie Cheeks wants to encourage other people of color and people of all sizes to be comfortable in their skin.
Excavations reveal little wealth disparity in ancient Teotihuacán civilization
TEOTIHUACAN – Scientists sifting through the ruins of Teotihuacán say there appears to have been little wealth disparity in one of the largest cities in the ancient world. “You can have a complex urban society without a high level of inequality,” one ASU researcher says.
Guns from U.S. partly fueling crime rise in Mexico; business group says
MEXICO CITY – The Mexican Employers Confederation expressed alarm at rising rates of violent crime since President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office in December, and it blames some of the situation on weapons smuggled in from the U.S.
Senate GOP steamrolls Democrats, gets immigration bill out of committee
WASHINGTON - A sharply divided Senate Judiciary Committee pushed through a GOP-backed bill that would force migrants to apply for asylum at facilities outside the U.S., raise the limit on how long immigrant children can be held in detention and add 500 new immigration judges, among other changes.
Senate hears problems, differs on answers to border detention crisis
WASHINGTON - With border apprehensions at their highest level in a decade, all sides at a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing agreed that the situation at immigrant detention facilities has reached crisis levels. But potential solutions remained elusive.
Cruise ships to launch in December, even though port at Rocky Point isn’t ready
PUERTO PEÑASCO, Mexico – The first cruise ship to ply the Sea of Cortez will launch in December, using small tender boats to ferry passengers to and from land while work continues on port facilities.
