Free Republic

SEATTLE - A federal judge says police in Tukwila acted unconstitutionally when they arrested an illegal immigrant and turned him over to immigration authorities for deportation. Wilson Rodriguez Macareno, who is originally from Honduras, called police early last year about someone trespassing in his yard. The officers instead arrested him based on indications he was in the country illegally and brought him to a detention center for deportation. U.S. District Judge Richard Jones ruled Wednesday that the local police did not have the authority to arrest him for a civil, federal violation. He said a trial will be held to...

In a shocking demonstration of the latest surge of illegal immigrants over 1% of the populations of Guatemala and Honduras have entered the US since September......Worse, 3% of the population of 'one' Guatemalan county has crossed into the U.S., acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin K. McAleenan stated...."The situation is not sustainable,” said the longtime border and immigration official. Overall, he predicted the April numbers of illegal immigrants will be even worse than the jaw-dropping March figures which shocked the White House into shaking up its immigration team. “In March, we had over 103,000 irregular arrivals of undocumented migrants — 90%...

A multilateral military treaty between Honduras, Israel, and the United States will see the deployment of 1000 Israeli soldiers at Honduras. They will train the Armed Forces of Honduras (FFAA) and National Police (PN). The main mission of the troops is to train for border protection to stop migrants fleeing Honduras to the U.S., especially children. This would be the second time that Honduras is allowing foreign military personnel in the territory and the first time in Israel’s history to send troops abroad. Apart from border protection, fight against drug trafficking, investigation, and counterterrorism will be offered as well.

The Trump administration has revised training guidelines for asylum officers in ways that could make it harder for migrants seeking refuge in the United States to pass an initial screening. The revisions to a lesson plan used by hundreds of asylum officers suggest the Trump administration is finding new ways to narrow who can access asylum as bolder policy proposals with that same goal have been blocked by federals courts, said former government officials and immigration experts who reviewed the internal plan that was shared with Reuters. The changes could potentially lead to more denials and deportations before migrants’ full...

The 16-year-old boy who died in U.S. custody April 30, days after crossing the southern border following a long and perilous trek from Guatemala "was a very nice student, intelligent, creative, but shy," according to a former teacher. Juan de León Gutiérrez's former elementary school teacher described him as a hardworking boy who helped his father in the region's dwindling coffee fields, where drought and decreasing prices have led to debt and unemployment. Gutiérrez was apprehended by border patrol agents near El Paso on April 19 and transported the next evening to Casa Padre, a shelter for unaccompanied migrant children...

The FBI is investigating anti-fascist activists for an alleged plot to buy guns from a Mexican cartel in order to “stage an armed rebellion” at the southern border, according to an unclassified document obtained by The Chicago Tribune. The FBI document, from December of 2018, warns of militant antifa activists planning to “disrupt security operations” at the U.S.-Mexico border. The group allegedly planned to buy guns from a Mexican cartel associate known as Cobra Commander, in order to “stage an armed rebellion at the border.” The source who provided it to the San Diego Tribune asked the outlet not to...

Pope Francis donated $500,000 to Mexico-based projects to help migrant communities as media attention has faded, the Vatican said Saturday. The funds will be distributed between 27 projects associated with 16 Mexican dioceses and congregations, all of which asked for help to continue providing food, lodging, and basic necessities to those fleeing their home countries through Mexico. “In recent months, thousands of migrants have arrived in Mexico, having travelled more than 4,000 kilometers on foot and with makeshift vehicles from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. Men and women, often with young children, flee poverty and violence, hoping for a better...

Illegal aliens from Ecuador and Honduras assaulted Border Patrol agents this week in Arizona. "A Yuma Station Border Patrol agent was assaulted by an illegal alien Sunday morning, just 10 hours before agents with the Yuma Sector Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue Team undertook a humanitarian mission to rescue two illegal aliens who were stranded in the desert," U.S. Customs and Border Protection [CBP] released in a statement. "On Sunday morning, three subjects made an illegal entry into the United States near Andrade, California. Agents apprehended one of the illegal aliens in the group without incident. As they...

Attorney General William Barr said in a new ruling issued Tuesday that asylum seekers who are able to demonstrate a "credible fear" and are then sent to full deportation proceedings are not eligible to be released on bond. The ruling, which will go into effect in 90 days, states that a previous decision allowing for asylum seekers to be released on bond while their case is being heard by an immigration judge was incorrect. Only the Department of Homeland Security has the authority to release the asylum seekers, he wrote. “I conclude that such aliens remain ineligible for bond, whether...

GAVIN NEWSOM VISITS TOMB OF ST. OSCAR ROMERO IN EL SALVADOR Newsom visited the tomb Sunday on his first international trip to El Salvador, accompanied by his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo, the only Salvadoran immigrant in the California Legislature. Newsom said he chose El Salvador for his first international trip because the state’s relationship with Central America is key to California’s future. Nearly 680,000 Salvadoran immigrants live in California, he notes.

Former Gov. Chris Christie has apparently had enough of being quiet about his successor, Gov. Phil Murphy. When Christie left office, the brash Republican known for grabbing the spotlight and speaking his mind vowed he wouldn’t offer a running commentary on Democrat Murphy’s performance. He suggested he wanted to transition into an elder statesman.

VINELAND, N.J. – Scrutiny of Governor Phil Murphy’s sanctuary state policy (promulgated by activist state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal) reached new levels this week when an illegal Honduran immigrant was arrested on suspicion of sexually assault and murdering a Jersey City nanny. The suspect had reportedly been deported not once but twice over a decade before the incident in question. A top 2019 legislative candidate didn’t mince words in assigning blame for this latest avoidable tragedy.

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.

— Hudson County and city officials said they will implement new safety measures in Lincoln Park following last week’s sexual assault and murder of a woman who was jogging in the county park. In a packed meeting Tuesday night at the Hank Gallo Community Center in the park, elected officials discussed the park’s safety after Carolina Cano was sexually assaulted and strangled in the park during her 5:30 a.m. jog on March 24. Cano’s body was recovered from the park’s lake a couple hours later.

Jersey City’s sanctuary city policy is facing scrutiny this week following the revelation that the alleged Lincoln Park killer is an undocumented immigrant who has been deported twice. The policy, enacted via executive order by Mayor Steve Fulop in February 2017 and endorsed unanimously by the City Council, was intended to illustrate that Jersey City is a welcoming city to immigrants, its supporters say. But critics slam it as evidence that Democrats like Fulop aren’t thinking straight on immigration. Joshua Sotomayor Einstein, a Hoboken man and committee member with the New Jersey Republican Party, said Democrats act like any action...

Trump has claimed that the countries had "set up" caravans of migrants in order to export them into the United States The United States is cutting off aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, known collectively as the "Northern Triangle," the State Department said on Saturday, a day after President Donald Trump blasted the Central American countries for sending migrants to the United States. "We are carrying out the President's direction and ending FY (fiscal year) 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle," a State Department spokesperson said in a statement. The department declined to provide...

With 1.5 million illegal aliens from Central America rolling into the U.S., President Trump has declared an emergency in order to construct a badly needed wall at the border, and now he has threatened to shut the gates of the border down, too, unless Mexico's government quits enabling the problem. It's a major issue, and a recent poll shows that many Americans want it dealt with as a top priority. Who should show up to throw a stick into these turning wheels but California's Gov. Gavin Newsom, who's announced his first gubernatorial trip abroad to El Salvador for the purpose...

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday tackling illegal immigration is an issue chiefly for the United States and Central America to address, as a senior Mexican official called U.S. policy on migration "bipolar." Speaking after renewed criticism by his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on Twitter, Lopez Obrador said Mexico would help to check the flow of migrants heading north, but that his country was no longer the main driver of the phenomenon. Migrants illegally crossing the U.S. border have caused persistent bilateral tension ever since Trump launched his bid for the presidency almost...

In a stunning about-face, State Department officials said that President Donald Trump is cutting off all direct assistance to the so-called Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. “At the Secretary’s instruction, we are carrying out the President’s direction and ending FY [fiscal year] 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle,” a State Department spokesperson told ABC News, referring to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “We will be engaging Congress as part of this process.” (MORE: Trump threatens to completely close southern border as early as next week if Mexico doesn't stop 'illegal...

Romania has announced on Sunday that it will be moving its embassy to Jerusalem. Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă made the announcement during her speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference, which began on Sunday in Washington, DC. "I, as prime minister of Romania, and the government I lead, will move our embassy to Jerusalem," Dăncilă said. "Our support of the State of Israel and the Jewish community is constant. I am determined to contribute to closer relations between Israel and the entire European Union, particularly now, when Romania is holding the presidency of the Council of...