WEATHER ALERT
Behind-the-scenes exclusive: How targeted enforcement helps U.S. Border Patrol catch wanted migrants in Florida Keys
Read full article: Behind-the-scenes exclusive: How targeted enforcement helps U.S. Border Patrol catch wanted migrants in Florida KeysU.S. Border Patrol agents recently detained the driver of a blue Mitsubishi in the Florida Keys.
Border crossings in December trend low as Biden administration wraps up
Read full article: Border crossings in December trend low as Biden administration wraps upU.S. officials have announced the latest border data, and it suggests the Biden administration is poised to end its term without an expected bump in illegal border crossings.
Border Patrol reports arrests are down 25% since Biden announced new asylum restrictions
Read full article: Border Patrol reports arrests are down 25% since Biden announced new asylum restrictionsPreliminary federal government figures show the number of people arrested by Border Patrol agents fell by 25% since President Joe Biden announced new rules restricting asylum access two weeks ago.
Nebraska man caught with child sexual abuse material at Miami airport, police say
Read full article: Nebraska man caught with child sexual abuse material at Miami airport, police sayA “routine border search” at Miami International Airport turned up two photos and two videos of child sexual abuse material on a 53-year-old man’s phone, according to police.
BSO sergeant arrested at Miami International Airport
Read full article: BSO sergeant arrested at Miami International AirportA Broward Sheriff’s Office sergeant was arrested Tuesday at Miami International Airport after being caught with drugs by Customs and Border Protection officials, authorities said.
US closes border crossing to vehicles and limits traffic at another in response to illegal entries
Read full article: US closes border crossing to vehicles and limits traffic at another in response to illegal entriesU.S. authorities say they are closing a Texas border crossing to vehicles and limiting traffic at an Arizona crossing to shift more resources to illegal entries.
Death of 8-year-old girl in Border Patrol custody highlights challenges providing medical care
Read full article: Death of 8-year-old girl in Border Patrol custody highlights challenges providing medical careThe 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
Read full article: Mother of 8-year-old girl who died in Border Patrol custody says pleas for hospital care were deniedThe 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.
US plans for more migrant releases when asylum limits end
Read full article: US plans for more migrant releases when asylum limits endThe Department of Homeland Security says more migrants may be released into the United States to pursue immigration cases when Trump-era asylum restrictions end next week.
Mayorkas tours border to prepare for asylum limits to end
Read full article: Mayorkas tours border to prepare for asylum limits to endHomeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says authorities are prepared for an expected increase in migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border amid plans to lift a public health order that has been used to turn away migrants nearly 2 million times without a chance to seek asylum.
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EXPLAINER: How do border policies affect US infection rates?
Read full article: EXPLAINER: How do border policies affect US infection rates?As the delta variant fuels an increase of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., some of President Joe Biden’s critics blame the surge on his border policies, which allow some migrants to enter the country to apply for asylum.
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Negocios del sur de Florida batallan para encontrar empleados después de la pandemia
Read full article: Negocios del sur de Florida batallan para encontrar empleados después de la pandemiaLas empresas de todo el sur de la Florida se preguntan: "¿Dónde están los trabajadores?" A medida que se recuperan de la pandemia y reanudan sus operaciones.
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Estados Unidos detiene cifra récord de niños migrantes en frontera
Read full article: Estados Unidos detiene cifra récord de niños migrantes en fronteraAutoridades estadounidenses detuvieron a casi 19,000 menores migrantes no acompañados en la frontera con México en marzo, la cifra mensual más alta jamás registrada, informó el gobierno el jueves
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Small Texas border town is route to US for migrant children
Read full article: Small Texas border town is route to US for migrant childrenAs soon as the sun sets, at least 100 migrants crossed through the Rio Grande river by smugglers into the United States. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)ROMA, Texas – As darkness sets on the Rio Grande, U.S. Border Patrol agents hear pumps inflating rafts across the river in Mexico. Roma, a town of 10,000 people with historic buildings and boarded-up storefronts in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, is the latest epicenter of illegal crossings, where growing numbers of families and children are entering the United States to seek asylum. More than 16,000 unaccompanied children were in government custody as of Thursday, including about 5,000 in substandard Customs and Border Protection facilities. A group of Republican senators on Friday visited the Rio Grande Valley, which is the busiest corridor for illegal crossings, and toured a holding facility.
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US to block cotton from China region targeted in crackdown
Read full article: US to block cotton from China region targeted in crackdownOfficials said Customs and Border Protection will use its authority to block products suspected of being produced with forced labor to keep out cotton, tomatoes and related products from the Xinjiang region of northwest China. That is especially true with Chinese cotton that is used to make clothing for export in other countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam. The U.S. imported about $9 billion worth of cotton goods from China overall last year, according to Brenda Smith, the executive assistant commissioner at Customs and Border Protection's Office of Trade. China denies allegations of rights abuses and forced labor, saying it aims only to promote economic and social development in the region and stamp out radicalism. "The so-called forced labor is nothing but a lie fabricated by certain institutions and individuals in Western countries," he said.
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Arizona border deaths hit 10-year high after record heat
Read full article: Arizona border deaths hit 10-year high after record heatThe previous annual high mapped by the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office in Tucson and the nonprofit Humane Borders was 224 migrant deaths in 2010. Despite the increase in deaths, U.S. Border Patrol apprehension figures suggest that the number of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally in Arizona has actually fallen by almost 50% over 10 years. From January to September 2020, the Border Patrol listed 43 deaths in the Arizona border area. Arizona is not the only place with fluctuations in border deaths over the years. The Brooks County sheriff's office said this week that migrant deaths in its jurisdiction fell to 34 last year from 45 in 2019.
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Damage from border wall: blown-up mountains, toppled cactus
Read full article: Damage from border wall: blown-up mountains, toppled cactusTrump has expedited border wall construction in his last year, mostly in wildlife refuges and Indigenous territory the government owns in Arizona and New Mexico, avoiding the legal fights over private land in busier crossing areas of Texas. The work has caused environmental damage, preventing animals from moving freely and scarring unique mountain and desert landscapes that conservationists fear could be irreversible. The worst damage is along Arizona’s border, from century-old saguaro cactuses toppled in the western desert to shrinking ponds of endangered fish in eastern canyons. “Building a wall will do little to deter criminals and cartels seeking to exploit our borders,” Biden's transition team has said. Ecologists say damage could be reversed in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, where thousands of tree-like saguaros were bulldozed, with some reportedly replanted elsewhere.
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US to block goods from Chinese company over rights abuses
Read full article: US to block goods from Chinese company over rights abusesAny U.S. company seeking to import goods from the company would have to prove they were not made with the forced labor of Uighurs and other ethnic minorities subjected to the crackdown. It is the sixth enterprise from the Uighur region whose goods have been blocked by Customs in recent months. “China’s systemic abuse of forced labor in the Xinjiang region should disturb every American business and consumer,” acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan said. “Forced labor is a human rights violation that hurts vulnerable workers and introduces unfair competition into global supply chains." Chinese spokesperson Hua defended Chinese labor practices and treatment of Uighurs, while accusing the U.S. of violating market principles and damaging the interests of both countries' companies and consumers.
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Border authorities use pandemic powers to expel immigrants
Read full article: Border authorities use pandemic powers to expel immigrantsFILE - 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.
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Trump to mark completion of border walls 200th mile
Read full article: Trump to mark completion of border walls 200th mileYUMA, Ariz. President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Yuma on Tuesday to mark the completion of the 200th mile of the border wall system between the U.S. and Mexico. White House officials told the Yuma Sun that the president will receive a briefing on the border wall construction, then participate in a roundtable discussion with local community and elected leaders on border security. After the roundtable, Trump will tour the border wall and thank U.S. Border Patrol and law enforcement for their efforts and then fly to Phoenix to speak at a Students for Trump convention at Dream City Church. Expected to join Trump in Yuma are Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, Acting Deputy DHS Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, and Customs and Border Protection Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan. Trumps last appearance in Yuma was in 2017 when he visited with U.S. Marines and Customs and Border Protection agents.
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US extends heightened border enforcement during coronavirus
Read full article: US extends heightened border enforcement during coronavirusPresident Donald Trump's administration issued the initial 30-day order in March, and it was extended for another month in April. Trumps goal is not to protect our health, its to sow division and advance his political agenda," said Andrea Flores, deputy director of immigration policy for the American Civil Liberties Union. Under the policy, CBP has been sending Mexican and Central American migrants they encounter along the southwestern border back to Mexico in about two hours. But he denied he was using the virus to make good on a long-standing campaign promise during an election year. Also Tuesday, the Trump administration asked a federal appeals court to allow it to terminate an agreement that places limits on the detention of immigrant children.
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Grandmother busted for smuggling 200 pounds of meth into US
Read full article: Grandmother busted for smuggling 200 pounds of meth into USSAN DIEGO – A 65-year-old grandmother was arrested along with her granddaughter for attempting to smuggle over 200 pounds of methamphetamine from into the U.S. The woman and the 19-year-old girl, both U.S. citizens, were detained Sunday by Customs and Border Protection at the Andrade Port of Entry in California. A canine team roving through the vehicles alerted officials to the drugs inside the women’s Dodge Durango. The meth was found inside the SUVs roof, doors and quarter panels. Officials say the drugs had a street value of $416,000Both women were arrested and turned over to Homeland Security.

US suspends tobacco imports from Malawi over child labor allegations
Read full article: US suspends tobacco imports from Malawi over child labor allegationsThe United States on Friday suspended imports of all tobacco and tobacco products from Malawi for alleged forced labor practices including child labor. (CNN) - The United States on Friday suspended imports of all tobacco and tobacco products from Malawi for alleged forced labor practices -- including child labor. "Malawi tobacco is one of those areas where we are trying to send a message," CBP Office Of Trade Executive Assistant Commissioner Brenda Smith told CNN. Despite some advancement in preventing child labor, children in Malawi are still engaged in the worst forms of child labor, including in the harvesting of tobacco and in commercial sexual exploitation, according to the US Department of Labor. In 2018, CBP received funding for 140 new positions, some of which went to establish the Forced Labor Division and training.

4 flight attendants arrested at MIA in cash smuggle
Read full article: 4 flight attendants arrested at MIA in cash smuggleCarlos Munoz-Moyano, Maria Pasten-Cuzmar, Maria Wilson-Ossandon and Miaria Roman-Strick all charged with money launderingMIAMI, Fla. - Four American Airlines flight attendants were arrested after a flight from Santiago, Chile to Miami when U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized more than $22,000 in their possession. According to an arrest report, Maria Beatriz Pasten-Cuzmar, 55; Maria Isabel Wilson Ossandon, 48; Carlos Alberto Munoz-Moyano, 40; and Miaria Delpilar Roman-Strick, 55, were arrested early Tuesday in an illegal structuring scheme to launder money. The report states that a CBP agent conducted a routine customs check with the flight attendants after flight AA912 landed late Monday night at Miami International Airport from Santiago. The CBP agent then alerted additional agents, who responded and helped to search the remaining flight attendants. In total, CBP agents seized $22,671.

U.S. Customs agents find nearly 50 pounds of cocaine at Port Everglades
Read full article: U.S. Customs agents find nearly 50 pounds of cocaine at Port EvergladesFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A major drug bust has been announced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Nearly 50 pounds of cocaine were found concealed inside boxes of oranges. CBP made the find at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. According to CBP, the estimated street value of the cocaine is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Copyright 2019 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

Sabatino discusses difficult week for Customs and Border Protection due to evacuees leaving Bahamas
Read full article: Sabatino discusses difficult week for Customs and Border Protection due to evacuees leaving Bahamasdiscusses the week of confusion at Customs and Border Protection for Bahamians desperately looking to leave their homes for help and aid in the days after Hurricane Dorian's destruction. Copyright 2019 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

Homeland Security releases Visa requirement for Bahamian refugees, echoing Trump's remarks
Read full article: Homeland Security releases Visa requirement for Bahamian refugees, echoing Trump's remarksTrump told reporters outside the White House that anyone seeking refuge in the wake of Hurricane Dorian "needs totally proper documentation." In particular, Trump expressed concern over "people going to the Bahamas who weren't supposed to be there." Later in the day, the Department of Homeland Security released updated Visa requirements for Bahamian citizens traveling to the U.S., echoing Trump's comments. At least 45 people are dead, hundreds are missing and some 70,000 are homeless in the wake of Hurricane Dorian, which wreaked havoc over the islands for two days. On Sunday night, about 130 individuals seeking to evacuate the Bahamas were kicked off a ferry heading to the Florida.

President Trump contradicts CBP regarding Bahamian evacuees coming to United States
Read full article: President Trump contradicts CBP regarding Bahamian evacuees coming to United StatesPresident Donald Trump contradicted Customs and Border Protection just minutes after the agency said refugees from the Bahamas wouldn't need a visa to come to the U.S. Copyright 2019 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

Border Patrol finds bodies of 3 people who died trying to cross border
Read full article: Border Patrol finds bodies of 3 people who died trying to cross borderA U.S. Border Patrol boat moves along the Rio Grande on the U.S.-Mexico border. MCALLEN, Texas - Since Thursday, US Border Patrol agents have found three bodies of people who attempted to cross the southern border into the US, a Customs and Border Protection news release says. Two days later, a Coast Guard unit patrolling the river near Mission, Texas, contacted McAllen Border Patrol station about another dead person in the Rio Grande, Border Patrol said. On Sunday, agents patrolling the ranchland in Kenedy County found another person dead in the brush, CBP said. The pair from El Salvador drowned as they were crossing from Mexico into Texas near Brownsville.

CBP attempts to end business with contractor involved in data breach
Read full article: CBP attempts to end business with contractor involved in data breachAlex Edelman/Getty Images(CNN) - The company at the center of a major data breach last month has been found "preliminarily ineligible" to conduct business with the federal government pending a final decision, according to government contracting records published Tuesday. CNN reported last month that at least 50,000 American license plate numbers were made available on the dark web after the data breach, according to a CNN analysis of the hacked data. "CBP does not authorize contractors to hold license plate data on non-CBP systems," an agency spokesperson said. In a statement when the breach was announced, CBP said it learned on May 31 that a subcontractor "had transferred copies of license plate images and traveler images collected by CBP to the subcontractor's company network. In addition to the license plate data, a CBP spokesperson said that photos of some travelers -- fewer than 100,000 -- had also been compromised.

Doctor says Border Patrol often misses early signs of illness in migrant children
Read full article: Doctor says Border Patrol often misses early signs of illness in migrant childrenSince September, at least six migrant children have died in federal custody, including at least three children taken into Border Patrol custody around El Paso. But Johansson said the Border Patrol does a poor job of initially assessing a child's illness and too often misses early signs of health problems of youngsters in custody. Once at the hospital, border agents or other officers stand guard outside the children's rooms. CNN visited El Paso Children's Hospital on Friday and found a Border Patrol agent sitting outside a 16-year-old girl's room. She told him Border Patrol agents took away her insulin when she was taken into custody and never returned it, he said.