Tag: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Sarah Silbiger/The New York Times WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Friday that he withdrew his nominee to run Immigration and Customs Enforcement because he wanted the agency to go in a “tougher” direction, a surprise decision before the president’s trip to the southwestern border. Ronald D. Vitiello, who was nominated last summer by Mr. Trump to run ICE, the agency that arrests, detains and deports people who are in the United States illegally, has been serving as the agency’s acting director since last June. In an email to ICE employees on Friday afternoon, he signaled that he planned to remain at the immigration agency. No replacement has yet been named. “While I will not become the permanent director of ICE, I look forward to working alongside you in serving the American public with integrity, courage and excellence,” Mr. Vitiello said in the email, which was read to The New York Times by an ICE employee on the condition of anonymity. Another person said that Stephen Miller, the president’s chief policy adviser and a supporter of curtailing legal and illegal immigration, did not support Mr. Vitiello’s nomination. The two people familiar with the president’s thinking both spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the internal White House decisions. But some senators, including Republicans, had concerns that Mr. Vitiello was not the right person for this job. Mr. Trump, who has continued to push for stronger deportation rules, had also expressed concern about whether a career civil servant, like Mr. Vitiello, would be up to the task. The request to withdraw Mr. Vitiello’s nomination surprised officials on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

And an unregistered Russian agent being held in a Northern Virginia detention center can have her legal bills paid by an NGO that is partly funded, but not directly controlled, by the Kremlin. But her prosecution in Washington, D.C., last year shed light on yet another avenue through which Russia tried to influence American politics in 2016: namely, via an old-fashioned, on-the-ground operation, conducted not by experienced spies but by disarming political operatives. (Ionov denied to me that he works for the Russian government.) Both have worked to infiltrate or meddle in American politics—Butina through the National Rifle Association and the conservative, Christian right; and the Anti-Globalization Movement through American separatists on either end of the political spectrum. It was during this period that the Anti-Globalization Movement held its first Dialogue of Nations conference in September 2015 in Moscow, which was attended by separatist leaders from Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the Uhuru black nationalist movement. (IT’s vice president is Roman Khudyakov, a former Russian government official and a member of the Right to Bear Arms.) Ionov has a framed letter from Putin in the Anti-Globalization Movement’s offices in Moscow commending him for working “to strengthen friendship between peoples,” according to Vice. Driscoll, Butina’s lawyer, confirmed that he’s been in touch with Ionov about the funds collected for Butina’s defense fund. But he said he’s not concerned by the Anti-Globalization Movement’s controversial history with either the Kremlin or U.S. separatists—he’s just happy Butina finally has some money to pay her legal bills. Driscoll added that he’s optimistic that next month the judge will give Butina a sentence of time served, allowing her to promptly return to Russia.

Democratic and Republican negotiators last week seemed to be on course for a deal to fund the government and boost border security short of paying for a wall, and it seemed possible that Trump might grudgingly sign on. Sudden pessimism over the conference talks between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate reflected the uncertainty and raw political nerves on Capitol Hill at the dawn of a new era of divided government. But on Sunday, he was more downbeat when asked if hopes of an agreement on Monday were realistic. Shelby also indicated that there was no agreement yet on how much money Democrats will allow to be spent for barriers on the US-Mexico border. House Democratic Majority leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said on CNN on Saturday that he would be prepared to live with a deal that offered up to $2 billion for a border barrier. Such uncertainty is why it is unclear whether Trump would sign on to a deal that emerges from the Capitol Hill talks, especially since he has balked about a solution that could get him into hot water on his right flank before. It's also why a shutdown, once seen as highly unlikely given the political damage it wrought upon the White House last time around, cannot be ruled out. "Now, with the terrible offers being made by them to the Border Committee, I actually believe they want a Shutdown. Such a move would open the possibility that a future Democratic President could use the precedent to declare a national emergency to bypass Congress to exert executive power on another issue — combating global warming for instance. That path would provoke another dilemma since it would presumably force Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to consider whether to take up a bill that the President might be unlikely to sign if it lacked wall funding.

He studied criminal justice in college, graduated from the police academy and took advantage of every opportunity to find a full-time job in law enforcement, finally getting hired with the Newman Police Department. Tragically and senselessly, his American dream was taken from him by a criminal illegal alien who was stopped for suspicion of driving under the influence. The suspect, a known criminal and gang member, was present in the United States illegally. Tipped by a witness, Cpl. Never in the history of the agency have they suffered a line-of-duty death, and the murder of Cpl. The Stanislaus Sheriff’s Office, the largest law enforcement agency in Stanislaus County, immediately allocated resources to the criminal investigation and the manhunt for the suspect. Singh’s life. Local law enforcement does not enforce federal immigration laws. We have a strong relationship with the immigrant community, and we do not need the state’s legislature or anyone else helping us “build trust” by legislating, mandating and regulating. Sheriffs must be able to hold criminal illegal aliens in custody for ICE, not be forced to release them into our communities.

2018 Turkey Awards - Segment one Inside Texas Politics began with its decade-long tradition of presenting Turkey awards during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Turkey legs were given to politicians or political organizations that performed well, and gizzards were given to the ones who struggled during the year. Those who received awards were Congressman Beto O'Rourke, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, Colin Allred and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro and his brother former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro. Other recipients were Governor Greg Abbott, Texas Senator Don Huffines and his bother Phillip, President Donald Trump and the Dallas County Republican Party. 2018 Turkey Awards - Segment two The Turkey Awards continue with leftovers left to be handed out. Recipients are Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife Angela, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, Voters in the midterm election, the Fire Cruz Pac, Texas and Dallas County Democrats, and Republican straight-ticket voting reformers. Some of these recipients won’t get the award many might expect them to receive. 2018 Turkey Awards - Segment three There are only four more left – two more legs and two more gizzards. The recipients are the women who won races during the midterm elections, Dallas DA Faith Johnson, State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, and non-profit organization Empower Texans.

Over the past six weeks, Wheeler has tried to end the alarmingly violent street protests sparked by out-of-state Trump supporters. "I'm willing to take criticism all day long from Fox News, but I am not willing to accept criticism from Fox News of the men and women of the Portland Police Bureau," he said. On Oct. 18, civil liberties advocates met with the mayor to propose a series of fixes to the city's street brawls between right-wing extremists and Antifa, rather than the measure he was supporting (which ended up failing for lack of support from city commissioners who were worried Wheeler's proposal was unconstitutional). And yet it is very clear Wheeler never had the support needed for his ordinance to control violent protests but decided to bring it to a vote anyway. The mayor knew he didn't have the votes, but his staffers say they wanted to show supporters of law and order that the mayor wouldn't cave. At the same time, say City Hall observers, not compromising looks a lot like giving up. When Wheeler announced his ordinance, it wasn't difficult for reporters to find legal experts critical of the measure and its constraints on free speech. When the measure failed to get enough votes at City Hall, Wheeler turned on the news media and blamed them. The week ended on a much stronger note for Wheeler—because his police force learned from its mistakes and tried new tactics. Now Wheeler finds himself much where he started—Fox News again did a segment decrying violence at Portland protests, but this time without mentioning the mayor.

President Donald Trump says he plans to end "birthright citizenship" in the US by executive order. In an interview with Axios President Trump claimed that he was working on an end to birthright citizenship, the 150-year-old principle that says anyone born on US soil is an American citizen. You don't," Mr Trump said. 1) What is 'birthright citizenship'? In 1898, the US Supreme Court affirmed that birthright citizenship applies to the children of immigrants in the case of Wong Kim Ark v United States. Wong successfully argued that because he was born in the US, his parent's immigration status did not impact the application of the Fourteenth Amendment. 3) Can Trump end birthright citizenship by executive order? "Wong's parents were authorised or we might say legal immigrants. 5) Do other countries have birthright citizenship? 6) Who uses birthright citizenship?

The head of FEMA on Wednesday accused a Democratic senator of "playing politics" for claiming that the Trump administration had diverted $10 million from the agency to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to support immigration enforcement. Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, defended the transfer in an interview on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports," saying that it had nothing to do with response efforts and that the agency spends billions of dollars to manage disasters. FEMA's annual budget is estimated to be $15 billion. The story broke Tuesday night on MSBNC's "The Rachel Maddow Show," when Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., alleged that money earmarked for disaster relief and emergency response efforts had been taken out of FEMA's accounts and shifted to ICE. However, the movement of the funds is raising questions about FEMA's preparedness as Hurricane Florence charges toward the Carolinas and Virginia. "I think it came as a shock to everyone that in the first month in the hurricane season, knowing what happened a year ago, that FEMA agreed to have $10 million taken out of its accounts, including significant amounts out of its response and recovery account and another significant amount out of its preparedness and protection account," he said. "So those are very relevant for responding to disasters, such as the approaching challenges from Hurricane Florence that's approaching the shore." "I think what the American people would like to hear is what can we learn from Puerto Rico, from the Virgin Islands and from Texas, so we can do it better," he said. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said: "It has been no secret that President Trump's obsession with his wall, mass deportation, and the indiscriminate detention of children comes at a hefty price — a price that robs our country of its values and its resources. This case is no different, and now our Eastern Coast is left even more vulnerable in the path of Hurricane Florence."

Unfortunately for Bachrach, Joseph Kennedy II—Robert Kennedy’s son—soon entered the race, as well. Kennedy won endorsements from O’Neill, Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, the Boston Herald, and The Boston Globe, and went on to win. In O’Neill’s famous dictum, all politics really was local. Capuano, Kennedy’s successor, was born in Somerville, in the heart of the Eighth (now the Seventh) District. He garnered the endorsements of Boston’s top Democrats. It didn’t matter that Capuano had the stronger Boston accent and Boston lineage. And in 2018, regional identity matters less than it once did and ideological identity matters more. But overall, as the University of Pennsylvania political scientist Dan Hopkins argues in his book The Increasingly United States: How and Why American Political Behavior Nationalized, “the debates in states and even some localities have taken on a national hue.” Party platforms don’t differ much by region anymore. Which helps explain why Democrats in Texas increasingly resemble Democrats in Massachusetts. Ayanna Pressley may not have as strong a Boston accent as Michael Capuano.

MONTEZUMA, Iowa -- The disappearance of a well-liked college student from America's heartland had touched many people since she vanished one month ago while out for a run. President Trump seized on the man's arrest in the death of Mollie Tibbetts on Tuesday to call the nation's immigration laws "a disgrace" that will only be fixed by electing more Republicans. Iowa's Republican governor, facing a tough re-election challenge in November, blasted an immigration system that "allowed a predator like this to live in our community." And Iowa's two U.S. senators, both Republicans, called the death a tragedy that "could have been prevented." Within hours, Mr. Trump noted the arrest at a rally in West Virginia on a day when his former personal lawyer and ex-campaign chairman both faced major legal problems. Illegally in our country. The immigration laws are such a disgrace, we're getting them changed, but we have to get more Republicans. CBS Des Moines affiliate KCCI-TV reports Iowa Gov. In a statement late Tuesday, Yarrabee Farms said Rivera had worked at its farms for the last four years and was an employee in good standing. Investigators said they believed Rivera had lived in the area from four to seven years.