Death of 8-year-old girl in Border Patrol custody highlights challenges providing medical care
The death in Border Patrol custody of an 8-year-old Panamanian girl is the second child migrant fatality in two weeks under government supervision, raising questions about how prepared authorities are to address medical emergencies of people arriving after an often-exhausting journey.
Mother of 8-year-old girl who died in Border Patrol custody says pleas for hospital care were denied
The mother of an 8-year-old girl who died in Border Patrol custody says agents repeatedly ignored pleas to hospitalize her medically fragile daughter as she felt pain in her bones, struggled to breathe and was unable to walk.
Arizona refuses US demand to remove containers along border
Arizona is refusing the federal governmentโs demand to take down double-stacked shipping containers it placed to fill gaps in the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, saying it wonโt do so until the U.S. moves to construct a permanent barrier.
Investigation of journalists by Customs unit is under review
An internal review has been launched into the actions of a special Customs and Border Protection unit that used sensitive government databases intended to track terrorists to investigate as many as 20 U.S.-based journalists, including an Associated Press reporter.
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Migrants freed without court notice โ sometimes no paperwork
U.S. authorities are releasing migrant families at the border without notices to appear in immigration court, and sometimes without any paperwork at all. The agency didn't answer questions about how many migrants have been released without court notices or without documents at all. Immigration attorneys had mixed reactions to people being released without court notices or paperwork, particularly the requirement to check in with ICE. Initially, U.S. authorities didn't even require the ICE check-in when it began releasing families without court notices over the past two weeks. D'Cruz said ICE could potentially issue a notice to appear in court, expel people from the country or do nothing.
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VP to focus on border diplomacy; no immediate plans to visit
Harris has no plans to visit the U.S.-Mexico border region โin the near future,โ spokeswoman Symone Sanders said Friday. Sanders said Harris will go to the border at some point but emphasized the diplomatic nature of the vice president's role. โThe vice president is not doing the border,โ Sanders told reporters on a flight to Connecticut, where Harris was promoting the administration's COVID-19 relief package. He tweeted out photos of dozens of minors, wrapped in foil-like space blankets, lying on the floor of crowded Border Patrol facilities. It is not unusual to see increases in migrants coming across the border at this time of year and the Border Patrol has faced similar situations in the past, the official said.
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Child border crossings surging, straining US facilities
FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2019 file photo, immigrants seeking asylum walk at the ICE South Texas Family Residential Center, in Dilley, Texas. The number of children crossing by themselves, mostly from Central America, appears to be surging in particular in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. AdThe total of 561 unaccompanied minors from Monday offers a snapshot of how quickly conditions have changed along the border. โTheyโre all coming across the border, theyโre coming fast, and theyโre wearing Biden T-shirts,โ said the Oklahoma Republican. The Biden administration last week ended a Trump policy that made relatives reluctant to contact HHS to retrieve children for fear of being deported themselves.
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Children packed into Border Patrol tent for days on end
The lawyers interviewed more than a dozen children Thursday in Donna, Texas, where the Border Patrol is holding more than 1,000 people. The Border Patrol currently has a record high of more than 3,000 children in detention, according to government data obtained by AP. More children are waiting longer in Border Patrol custody because long-term facilities operated by U.S. Health and Human Services have next to no capacity. AdMost Border Patrol stations were designed for short-term detention of adults, with cold, concrete cells with the lights always on. One died of the flu at the Border Patrol station in Weslaco, Texas, where minors are currently being held.
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9 in SUV have major injuries in border crash that killed 13
(AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)EL CENTRO, Calif. โ Nine migrants in an SUV packed with 25 people that drove through an opening in a border wall suffered major injuries after their vehicle slammed into a tractor-trailer and killed 13 others inside, the California Highway Patrol said Thursday. The driver was among the 13 killed in the SUV, from Tuesdayโs collision in Californiaโs Imperial Valley, a farming region that produces many of the winter vegetables sold in U.S. supermarkets. The oldest was a 46-year-old woman from Guatemala City, also with major injuries. The Border Patrol said surveillance video showed the Expedition and a Chevrolet Suburban drive through an opening in the border wall about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of the crash. The Expedition soon struck the tractor-trailer, whose driver, a 68-year-old man from El Centro, suffered major injuries.
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SUV in California crash came through hole in border fence with Mexico: AP
This photo provided by the US Customs and Border Protection shows a hole cut into Southern California's border fence with Mexico on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. Thirteen people killed in one of the deadliest border crashes on record were among more than 40 migrants who entered the U.S. through the hole cut into Southern California's border fence with Mexico, the Border Patrol said Wednesday. The Suburban carried 19 people, and it caught fire for unknown reasons on a nearby interstate after entering the U.S. All escaped the vehicle and were taken into custody by Border Patrol agents. The Border Patrol said its agents were not pursuing the vehicle before the wreck. AdA pandemic-related measure that allows the Border Patrol to expel people without an opportunity to seek asylum potentially leads some to try to evade authorities instead of surrendering, sometimes with fatal consequences.
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Trump officials tout progress on border wall before election
Border Patrol agent Justin Castrejon speaks in front of newly replaced border wall sections Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, near Tecate, Calif. Top Trump administration officials will visit South Texas five days before Election Day to announce they have completed 400 miles of U.S.-Mexico border wall, attempting to show progress on perhaps the president's best-known campaign promise four years ago. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)HOUSTON โ Top Trump administration officials visited Texas five days before Election Day to announce they have nearly completed 400 miles of U.S.-Mexico border wall, trying to show progress on perhaps the president's best-known campaign promise four years ago. DHS officials have held several events announcing immigration operations this month in states considered competitive in the election. As of last week, 381 miles (613 kilometers) of wall have been completed during the Trump administration. Of the more than 150 miles (241 kilometers) funded by Congress in the last two years, just 5 miles (8 kilometers) have been built.
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Migrants quickly expelled by Trump try repeatedly to cross
A rescue helicopter couldn't land in the steep terrain, but authorities dropped water before border agents arrived and whisked them back to Tijuana, Mexico. Lopez quickly recovered and began planning another attempt to reach San Diego, where he hopes to earn a more steady living. The annual figure hasn't topped 14% since the Border Patrol began keeping track seven years ago. โItโs a little bit more of the revolving door than it used to be,โ said Scott, the Border Patrol chief. Border Patrol agents may refer people for screening under the U.N. Convention Against Torture, but the bar is extremely high.
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Border authorities use pandemic powers to expel immigrants
FILE - In this March 18, 2020, file photo, a Border Patrol agent walks along a border wall separating Tijuana, Mexico, from San Diego, in San Diego. What happened next illustrates how difficult it has become to seek asylum in the United States during the coronavirus pandemic. Alexy, 32, and his son Samuel were whisked to the border in the wee hours of June 28 and returned to Mexico. Alexy believes hiking in the San Diego mountains precipitated Karina's labor. Together with the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego & Imperial Counties, the group plans to ask the Homeland Security Department to investigate what happened.