Glass half-full or half-empty? In partisan Washington, it’s usually both
WASHINGTON - Two committees held two hearings on the same topic - immigration and the workforce -but the hearings in the Democrat-controlled Senate and the GOP-led House came to two very different conclusions. Washington observers were not surprised.
GAO: Rush to build border wall caused harm, damages continued after pause
WASHINGTON - A new Government Accountability Office report confirms what critics have long said, that the Trump administration's rush to build a border wall caused significant environmental damage, depleted water sources and devastated sacred tribal sites.
Mexican abortion-pill networks reach across U.S. border to help immigrants without access
MONTERREY, Mexico – Mexico decriminalized abortion just before the United States went the opposite way and ended almost 50 years of federal abortion rights. Ever since, activists have been helping people on the U.S. side get abortion pills to those in need via cross-border underground networks.
Baseball has huge on- and off-the-field impact in the Dominican Republic
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - Dominicans make up 11% of Major League Baseball rosters, many a product of this baseball-mad country's youth system, where children as young as 7 train in hopes of one day playing in the U.S. and lifting themselves and their families out of poverty.
Migrant deaths climbed with temperatures in July; overall numbers still low
WASHINGTON - Migrant deaths in the Arizona desert spiked in July, when the remains of 42 undocumented individuals were found, the most for that month in more than a decade, advocates and medical officials said.
Border encounters spiked in July after two-month decline; Tucson hit hard
WASHINGTON - Migrant encounters at the southwest border surged in July, reversing two months of declining numbers. Encounters rose from 144,566 in June to 183,503 in July, with migrant families accounting for more than three-quarters of that increase.
Freeze on DACA approvals leaves thousands of Arizona migrants in limbo
WASHINGTON - An estimated 1.1 million undocumented individuals in the U.S. are eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protection – 44,000 in Arizona - but fewer than half actually have coverage, as new applications have been frozen by ongoing court challenges.
Haitian workers endure harsh living, working conditions in company settlement
Undocumented or stateless, after the Dominican Republic stripped their citizenship status, Haitian workers and those of Haitian descent find it difficult to leave harsh living and working conditions at Central Romana's sugar cane fields.
Haitian sugar cane workers in the Dominican Republic suffer amid U.S. embargo on Central Romana
LA ROMANA, Dominican Republic - Haitian and stateless sugar cane workers in the Dominican Republic continue to suffer worsening conditions of forced labor that has led to a U.S. embargo on sugar produced by Central Romana Corp.
Baseball academy helps young Dominicans chase big dreams
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – Pimental academy is a baseball boarding school for young Dominican boys who dream of playing in the major leagues.
Border encounters fell sharply in June, to lowest level in two years
WASHINGTON – The number of migrant encounters at the Southwest border plummeted in June, falling to the lowest level in more than two years, according to new data from Customs and Border Protection.
Feds to pay for environmental repair, wildlife care, more at border wall
WASHINGTON - The federal government has agreed to pay $1.2 billion to repair environmental damages and reinstate Pentagon projects sidelined by construction of the border wall, and will take steps to protect wildlife in the region.
