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Two important and interrelated news stories largely passed under the radar Wednesday as the House impeachment hearings continued to dominate the headlines. Both stories concern the deteriorating state of affairs in Mexico and have huge implications for immigration, the southwest border, and U.S. national security. It’s a shame more Americans aren’t paying attention.The first was a report from BuzzFeed that as of Wednesday the Trump administration began carrying out a controversial plan to deport asylum-seekers from El Salvador and Honduras—not to their home countries, but to Guatemala, which the administration has designated a “safe third country,” meaning that migrants...

The Mexican ambassador to the United States responded to Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley’s call to sanction Mexico for the recent escalation of violence from the nation’s ruling drug cartels by blaming the American public’s demand for black-market drugs.“My government categorically rejects your recent mischaracterization on Mexico not actively combating transnational organized crime and suggesting to impose sanctions on Mexican officials,” Ambassador Martha Barcena wrote to Hawley, adding in a handwritten note at the end of the letter that she hopes to address the matter with the senator personally to discuss how to “reduce drug demand in the U.S.” In...

During a visit to the US-Mexico border wall, President Trump autographed one of the posts of the wall with a Sharpie. Video and online photos show Trump signing a section of the wall in Otay Mesa, California, following a press conference there. “At invitation of the construction personnel, Pres Trump pulls out a Sharpie and signs one of the posts of the border wall,” CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller said in a tweet. “Other officials follow suit.” Trump is hyping the completion of some sections of border wall during his 2020 re-election campaign.

The gruesome display of 19 bodies scattered in Mexico may be linked to a vicious war, not over drugs but avocados, according to a report. Mexican police on Thursday discovered nine bodies hanging from a bridge, seven more slaughtered and another three dumped in what authorities say was a gang-turf massacre in the western state of Michoacán. Falko Ernst, an International Crisis Group researcher who studies cartels, said the fight over the region’s billion-dollar avocado industry was likely the largest factor in the bloodbath. Around 80 percent of the avocados imported into the US come from Michoacán, according to the...

Nearly two-thirds of voters consider illegal immigrants a burden. Fifty-five percent of them want all illegal immigrants kicked out of the country. Is this a poll from border states, or states won by Donald Trump in 2016? Actually, these numbers come from a survey conducted by the Washington Post and Reforma, a leading daily in Mexico.Donald Trump may not be popular in Mexico, but his immigration policy seems to be: Mexicans are deeply frustrated with immigrants after a year of heightened migration from Central America through the country, according to a survey conducted by The Washington Post and MexicoÂ’s...

The Democrats have underestimated President Trump yet again. His bilateral immigration deal with Mexico is already proving to be far more effective than his critics had predicted. With Democrats in Congress still refusing to provide the necessary resources for border security despite the massive surge in illegal immigration that has taken place in recent months, Trump turned to Mexico as an unlikely partner to help get the humanitarian and national security crisis under control. Predictably, Trump’s critics lambasted the idea from the outset. First, they insisted that his threat to impose across-the-board tariffs on Mexican goods would never lead to...

The Mexican army chief revealed Monday that almost 15,000 troops had been dispatched to its border with the United States to stop migrants from crossing The unit is made up of soldiers and National Guardsmen who have detained migrants who illegally attempt to enter the U.S. Pressured by President Donald Trump to stop the flow of undocumented immigrants to the U.S., Mexico placed 6,000 soldiers at its southern border Mexico agreed to reinforce its border with Guatemala after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Mexican goods if they do not reduce the migrant flow The deal, struck on June 7,...

President Trump slammed The New York Times on Monday over an article on the administration’s immigration deal with Mexico that he called a “FRAUD” and a “hit job” -- while also warning that if Mexico's legislature does not approve the pact, he will move anew to impose tariffs. The president's comments come after the administration on Friday announced a deal with Mexico which would halt Trump's threatened tariffs in exchange for Mexico taking further action to stop the flow of migrants from Central America to the U.S.-Mexico border. According to the joint declaration issued by the State Department, Mexico will...

By: Scripps National items.[0].image.alt President Donald Trump tweeted Friday evening that the United States had reached a deal with Mexico and that he would be suspending pending tariffs on goods imported from Mexico.

US President Donald Trump announced via Twitter late Friday that a signed agreement has been reached with Mexico, and that the tariffs scheduled to go into effect on Monday have been suspended. Just last week, Trump announced that a five percent tariff on all goods coming from Mexico would go into effect on June 10, and would gradually increase up to 25 percent until the illegal immigration problem was resolved. The announcement launched a flurry of talks between officials from both countries, with reports that Mexico was willing to make some concessions. Late Friday, Trump tweeted, “I am pleased to...

Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge suggested in an interview that aired Friday on "Rising" that he did not believe President Trump's move to slap new tariffs on Mexico would solve the immigration issue at the U.S. southern border. "I'm not quite sure tariffs on Mexico are going to solve the problem for us," Ridge, who served under former President George W. Bush, told Hill.TV. "I have a great deal of support for the notion about securing the borders, but I think we politicize the issue instead of solving the problem," he continued. The Hill obtained a draft document on...

Vice President Mike Pence and other top administration officials will meet Wednesday with Mexico’s top diplomat as both sides try to avert the potentially crippling economic consequences of President Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on all Mexican imports. Mr. Trump has vowed to impose a 5 percent tariff on all goods from Mexico beginning Monday and to increase the tax to 25 percent by October if Mexico does not prevent migrants from illegally entering the United States. On Tuesday, Mr. Trump said that it was “more likely that the tariffs” would be imposed. But on Wednesday, the president said he...

Mexico is going to cave, and it's not just the tariffs. We've got the Mexicans over a barrel on energy, and if we want, we can wipe their economy out. Without American energy imports, the Mexican economy collapses. This actually doesn't make any sense. Mexico is awash in petroleum and natural gas. But the Mexicans just can't get it out of the ground. American petroleum engineers were critical to the early success of the Mexican oil industry. From 1918 to the late '20s, Mexico was second only to the United States in oil production, and it was number one in...

Republican senators sent the White House a sharp message on Tuesday, warning that they were opposed to President Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on Mexican imports, just hours after the president said lawmakers would be “foolish” to try to stop him....“I want you to take a message back” to the White House, Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, told the attorneys, according to people familiar with the meeting. “You didn’t hear a single yes” from the Republican conference. He called the proposed tariffs a $30 billion tax hike on Texans.

It hasn’t been China that has been the source of sudden escalation; nor Iran; nor North Korea; nor Turkey, who admittedly gave it a good go in announcing they may install Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missiles in the area of the Mediterranean they are looking for energy in despite protests from the EU’s Cyprus it’s their naval territory; nor even Italy, where Deputy PM Salvini is threatening new elections that would very likely strengthen his hand further has he prepares for battle with Brussels. No, it was Mexico. (Or rather US President Trump, which is less of a surprise.) Don’t get...

<p>WASHINGTON – The president of Mexico says he wants to avoid a confrontation with the United States, but had harsh words about President Donald Trump's plan to impose tariffs on Mexican goods to pressure the nation to stem the flow of Central American migrants.</p>

The surprise announcement by President Donald Trump of an escalating tariff regime against Mexico sent ripples through almost every economic sector in the U.S., hammering American companies that sell automobiles or run railroads, grow vegetables or build power infrastructure. Trump tweeted late Thursday that he is slapping a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports, effective June 10, and will raise those tariffs to 25%, “until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied.” Whether it’s avocados on a taco or a new Chevrolet Blazer SUV in the driveway, if the tariffs go into effect, Americans could feel it. The companies that produce...

Did search and nothing popped up. The Department of Homeland Security is racing to implement a plan that would give federal law enforcement on the border the authority to conduct interviews with asylum seekers who fear returning to their home countries, according to two sources with first-hand knowledge of the plan. Under the pending procedural change, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers would train Border Patrol agents on the southern border how to conduct "credible fear interviews," which immigrants must pass to go on to claim asylum. Agents would conduct the interviews shortly after apprehending people who have illegally crossed...

President Donald Trump said Friday that there was no need for a summit with the Presidents of Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador because "they understand" the implications of his recent move to cut stabilizing aid to the Central American countries. Trump's dismissal of a summit comes in light of a recent uptick in Mexico's apprehensions of migrants at its southern border, shared with Central America. It remains unclear whether the increase was spurred by Trump's threat to shut down the US-Mexico border if Mexico didn't stop migrants from illegally crossing the US border or simply from greater immigration traffic.

On Thursday, Trump also threatened tariffs if Mexico doesn't halt the flow of illegal drugs across the border, saying he'd give the country "a one year warning" to comply. "But if in a year from now drugs continue to pour in we're going to put tariffs on," he said, adding: "I don't play games."