Mexico operations thwart child, family migrants

[Moonglow]

Thank you Mexico for your cooperation in this matter...

The roundups follow U.S. requests for help from Mexico, as well as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador earlier this summer when the number of unaccompanied minors turning themselves into the U.S. Border Patrol reached what President Barack Obama called an "urgent humanitarian crisis."

Mexico operations thwart child family migrants - Yahoo News

Some of the Central American men say that instead of trying to cross into the United States they'll now stay and look for work in Mexico. Many families have apparently decided not to attempt the journey through Mexico at all since news of the raids and checkpoints — combined with stepped up efforts in the U.S. and among Central American governments — reached their communities, said Carlos Solis, the manager of a shelter in Arriaga. He said the city, once bustling with migrants waiting to board the train, emptied out almost overnight.

 

[waltky]

Obama kickin' the immigration can down the road...

Obama defends decision to delay immigration action
6 Sept.`14 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama said Saturday that the surge of immigrant children entering the U.S. illegally changed the politics surrounding the issue of immigration and led him to put off a pledge to use executive action that could shield millions of people from deportation.

Immigration reform advocates criticized Obama after White House officials said that the president would not act at summer's end as he promised in June but would take up the matter after the midterm elections in November. In an interview taped for NBC's "Meet the Press," Obama rejected the charge that the delay was meant to protect Democratic candidates worried that his actions would hurt their prospects in tough Senate races.

By Obama's own calculations, politics did play a role in his decision. In his remarks to NBC, which were to be aired on Sunday, he said a partisan fight in July over how to address an influx of unaccompanied minors at the border had created the impression that there was an immigration crisis and thus a volatile climate for taking the measures he had promised to take. "The truth of the matter is — is that the politics did shift midsummer because of that problem," he said. "I want to spend some time, even as we're getting all our ducks in a row for the executive action, I also want to make sure that the public understands why we're doing this, why it's the right thing for the American people, why it's the right thing for the American economy."

Reflecting the passion behind the threat of deportations, immigration advocacy groups that have criticized Republicans for not passing an immigration overhaul instantly turned their anger on Obama. Cristina Jimenez, managing director of United We Dream, said the decision was "another slap to the face of the Latino and immigrant community." "Where we have demanded leadership and courage from both Democrats and the president, we've received nothing but broken promises and a lack of political backbone," she said. "We are bitterly disappointed in the president and we are bitterly disappointed in the Senate Democrats," said Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice. "We advocates didn't make the reform promise; we just made the mistake of believing it. The president and Senate Democrats have chosen politics over people, the status quo over solving real problems."

Two White House officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be quoted by name, said Obama made the decision to delay taking action as he returned Friday to Washington from a NATO summit in Wales. He called a few allies from Air Force One to inform them of his decision, the officials said, and made more calls from the White House on Saturday.

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