GOP set for showdown immigration vote
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are set to vote Wednesday on a hard-fought immigration compromise between conservative and moderate GOP flanks, but the bill has lost any real chance for passage despite a public outcry over the crisis at the border.Instead, lawmakers are expected to turn toward a narrow bill to prevent immigrant family separations in hopes of addressing that issue before leaving town for the Fourth of July recess.GOP leaders set out to pass the sweeping immigration measure on their own, without Democratic input, after some members agitated for action.
'Cruel, plain and simple:' 17 states sue in effort to reunite immigration children, parents at border
LOS ANGELES — Seventeen states, including New York and California, sued the Trump administration Tuesday to force it to reunite the thousands of immigrant children and parents it separated at the border, as the legal and political pressure on the White House to reconnect families more quickly escalated."The administration's practice of separating families is cruel, plain and simple," New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement. "Every day, it seems like the administration is issuing new, contradictory policies and relying on new, contradictory justifications.
Melania Trump plans another trip to see immigration centers
WASHINGTON — Melania Trump is planning another visit to immigration centers housing migrants who have been apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border.The first lady's spokeswoman declined to release any details about the trip, including where or when she plans to go.Mrs.
Authorities abandon 'zero-tolerance' for immigrant families
McALLEN, Texas — The Trump administration has scaled back a key element of its zero-tolerance immigration policy amid a global uproar over the separation of more than 2,300 migrant families, halting the practice of turning over parents to prosecutors for charges of illegally entering the country.Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said Monday that President Donald Trump's order last week to stop splitting immigrant families at the border required a temporary halt to prosecuting parents and guardians, unless they had criminal history or the child's welfare was in question.
GOP leaders eye new bill on family separations at border
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Top House Republicans are discussing legislation aimed at curbing the separation of migrant families at the border, GOP aides said Monday.
WI congressman proposes getting rid of ICE; says it's 'wreaked havoc on far too many people'
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Wisconsin congressman has proposed getting rid of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.According to a news release Monday, June 25, U.S. Representative Mark Pocan, WI-02, will introduce legislation that would abolish ICE after a trip to the southern border "where he witnessed the nation’s immigration crisis."The release states the legislation will be introduced this week.Pocan said the following in the release, which is also posted on his website:
Defense Secretary Mattis: Pentagon preparing temporary camps for immigrants at military bases
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska — The Pentagon is preparing to build temporary camps for immigrants at two military bases, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Sunday.He did not name the two bases, but said the details are being worked out, including how much capacity is needed.
President Trump wants those who 'invade our country' sent 'back from where they came'
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Sunday compared people entering the U.S. from Mexico to invaders and said they should be immediately sent back without appearing before a judge.The American Civil Liberties Union said in response that such a step would be illegal and violate the Constitution that President Trump swore to uphold,"We cannot allow all of these people to invade our Country," the president said on Twitter as he was being driven to his private golf club in Northern Virginia. "When somebody comes in, we must immediately, with no Judges or Court Cases, bring them back from where they came.
Pres. Trump administration officials pledge to reunite families amid border chaos
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Texas charitable organization says about 30 immigrant parents separated from their children after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border were freed into its care Sunday, but they don't know where their kids are or when they might see them again despite government assurances that family reunification would be well organized.The release is believed to be the first, large one of its kind since President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that preserved a "zero-tolerance" policy for entering the country illegally but ended the practice of separating immigrant parents and children.
Administration seeks to expand immigrant family detention
SANTA ANA, Calif. — The Trump administration is calling for the expanded use of family detention for immigrant parents and children who are stopped along the U.S.-Mexico border, a move decried by advocates as a cruel and ineffective attempt to deter families from coming to the United States.Immigration authorities on Friday issued a notice that they may seek up to 15,000 beds to detain families.
For immigrants, still no word on when they will be reunited
McALLEN, Texas — Two days after President Donald Trump ordered an end to the separation of families at the border, federal authorities Friday cast about for jail space to detain them together, leaving hundreds of parents in the dark on when they would be reunited with their children.Immigration and Customs Enforcement posted a notice saying it is looking into creating 15,000 beds for use in detaining immigrant families.
DOJ asks federal judge for removal of 20-day limit on immigrant family holds
McALLEN, Texas— The Department of Justice on Thursday asked a federal judge to change the rules regarding the detention of immigrant families who enter the country illegally, seeking permission to detain them for longer than 20 days in an effort to keep children with their parents.Lawyers filed a memorandum to a settlement in California that governs how children are handled when they are caught crossing the U.S. border illegally.
House kills hard-right immigration bill; GOP leaders delay vote on compromise package
WASHINGTON — The House killed a hard-right immigration bill Thursday, and Republican leaders delayed a planned vote on a compromise GOP package with the party's lawmakers fiercely divided over an issue that has long confounded the party.The conservative measure's 231-193 defeat set the stage for debate on the second bill, this one crafted by Republican leaders in hopes of finding an accord between the party's sparring moderate and conservative wings.
First lady visits Texas detention center: 'She wanted to see everything for herself'
McALLEN, Texas — Melania Trump made an unannounced visit to a Texas facility Thursday to get a first-hand look at some of the migrant children sent there by the U.S. government after their families entered the country illegally.The first lady's stop at Upbring New Hope Children's Center in McAllen came the morning after President Donald Trump signed an executive order halting the practice of separating these families.
Pres. Trump at Duluth rally after executive order signing: 'The border is going to be just as tough as it's been'
DULUTH, Minn.— Hours after abruptly reversing himself to end the forced separations of migrant families, President Donald Trump returned to the warm embrace of his supporters at a raucous rally Wednesday to fiercely defend his hard-line immigration policies while unleashing a torrent of grievances about the media and those investigating him.President Trump downplayed the crisis that has threatened to envelop the White House amid days of heart-wrenching images of children being pulled from their immigrant parents along the nation's southern border.
President Trump signs executive order to keep families together at border
WASHINGTON -- Bowing to pressure from anxious allies, President Donald Trump abruptly reversed himself Wednesday and signed an executive order halting his administration's policy of separating children from their parents when they are detained illegally crossing the U.S. border.It was a dramatic turnaround for President Trump, who has been insisting, wrongly, that his administration had no choice but to separate families apprehended at the border because of federal law and a court decision.The news in recent days has been dominated by searing images of children held in cages at border facilities, as well as audio recordings of young children crying for their parents — images that have sparked fury, question of morality and concern from Republicans about a negative impact on their races in November's midterm elections.Until Wednesday, the president, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and other officials had repeatedly argued the only way to end the practice was for Congress to pass new legislation, while Democrats said President Trump could do it with his signature alone.
President Trump says he'll be 'signing something' on detained children; 'We want to keep families together'
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- President Donald Trump said he would be signing an executive order later Wednesday that would end the process of separating children from families after they are detained crossing the U.S. border illegally."We want to keep families together.