SOUTHERN BORDER -- Border Patrol agent Lonnie Swartz, who shot and killed a 16-year-old Mexican teenager, Jose Antonio Elena Rodríguez through the border fence in Nogales in 2012, was found not guilty of second-degree murder. In addition, the jury was unable to find consensus on the charges of voluntary or involuntary manslaughter.   Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER REGION -- U.S. Congressional Reps. Jeff Denham (R-CA), Pete Aguilar (D-CA), Will Hurd (R-TX) and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair, Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM), announced today that they had enough votes to potentially force a debate and vote on several bills that could protect Dreamers, including the bipartisan DREAM Act of 2017. Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER REGION - In another round of the President Who Cries Wolf for a Wall, Donald Trump announced plans to deploy U.S. troops on U.S. soil. Continue reading

SOUTHERN BORDER REGION -- Congress reached a $1.3 trillion budget deal to fund the government for the next six months and potentially avoid another self-inflicted shutdown. The deal includes $1.6 billion in border enforcement measures that would fund a limited amount of new and replacement border wall barriers in the southern border region, but excludes the hiring of more Border Patrol agents for Trump’s deportation force. Continue reading

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is notorious for its violence and corruption WASHINGTON DC / SOUTHERN BORDER -- Today, the U.S. Senate voted 79 in favor and 19 against to consider the appointment of Kevin McAleenan as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commissioner, with a final vote scheduled for Monday. Continue reading

President Trump’s proposed border wall is wasteful, harmful and irresponsible   SAN DIEGO - Today, President Trump visited San Diego, CA, the largest city in the southern border region, to inspect his prototype border walls. Much like his border enforcement policy, Trump persists on using falsehoods --not facts-- to justify his border wall, which is hateful, wasteful and irresponsible. Continue reading

The fight to protect young immigrants, who are Americans in all but paper, will continue until a pathway to citizenship is found   Continue reading

Republican-driven border proposals are wasteful, irresponsible and put the cart before the horse when it comes to border enforcement SOUTHERN BORDER / WASHINGTON DC -- This week the Senate has an opportunity to secure permanent protections for Dreamers from deportation and fix the crisis created by President Trump; they can vote for the bipartisan USA Act, which does just that. But instead of focusing on the real issue and real solutions, some senators are proposing to give Trump a $25 billion slush fund for additional border enforcement without even assessing whether we need it or not - or the impact it will have on the 15 million who call the southern border region home. Continue reading

A recording of today’s call is available here. Washington, DC – As Washington, D.C. and the country tracks this week’s Senate immigration debate, immigrants, advocates, and experts kicked off a series of press calls to decode the latest developments and to outline the path forward. A recording of today’s call is available here. Information for the press call tomorrow, February 13 at 5pm ET follows below. Continue reading

Senate and House now have companion bills to protect Dreamers with data-driven border enforcement provisions SOUTHERN BORDER -- Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Chris Coons (D-DE) announced today a narrow and bipartisan bill that gives Dreamers a path to citizenship while implementing data-driven border enforcement provisions that include consultation with local stakeholders. The bill is a companion to the Uniting and Securing America (USA) Act in the House, which was written and introduced in a bipartisan way by Reps. Will Hurd (R-Texas) and Pete Aguilar (D-California). Continue reading