Trump administration announces major crackdown on asylum seekers - Fox News

The Trump administration on Monday announced a sweeping new policy tightening restrictions for asylum seekers, in a move that could drastically reduce the number of Central American migrants eligible to enter the United States in this way.

The new rule, published in the Federal Register, would require most migrants entering through America’s southern border to first seek asylum in one of the countries they traversed – whether in Mexico, in Central America, or elsewhere on their journey. In most cases, only if that application is denied would they then be able to seek asylum in the United States.

LINDSEY GRAHAM CLAIMS BORDER FRAUD SO PREVALENT 'A TERRORIST COULD EASILY GET IN'

"Ultimately, today's action will reduce the overwhelming burdens on our domestic system caused by asylum-seekers failing to seek urgent protection in the first available country, economic migrants lacking a legitimate fear of persecution, and the transnational criminal organizations, traffickers, and smugglers exploiting our system for profits,” Homeland Security Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan said in a statement, describing the "targeted changes" as critical.

Sure to ignite a new firestorm over the administration's immigration approach, the new policy follows the Trump administration's Migrant Protection Protocols, commonly referred to as the "remain in Mexico" policy. Under that policy, asylum seekers were often told to go back to Mexico to await hearings, rather than be allowed to remain in the U.S.

Democrats railed against that policy, with 2020 hopeful Beto O'Rourke calling it "inhumane."

The latest change is meant to crack down on asylum seekers coming to the U.S. more for economic reasons than to escape persecution in their home countries. The new policy does include a couple other exceptions, mainly for certain victims of human trafficking.

Attorney General Bill Barr said in a statement that the change would curb "forum shopping by economic migrants and those who seek to exploit our asylum system to obtain entry to the United States—while ensuring that no one is removed from the United States who is more likely than not to be tortured or persecuted on account of a protected ground.”

While Barr maintained the legality of the move, the new rule is likely to face a court challenge.

U.S. law allows refugees to request asylum when they arrive at the U.S. regardless of how they did so, but there is an exception for those who have come through a country considered to be "safe." But the Immigration and Nationality Act, which governs asylum law, is vague on how a country is determined "safe"; it says "pursuant to a bilateral or multilateral agreement."

Right now, the U.S. has such an agreement, known as a "safe third country," only with Canada. Under a recent agreement with Mexico, Central American countries were considering a regional compact on the issue, but nothing has been decided. Guatemalan officials were expected in Washington on Monday, but apparently a meeting between Trump and Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales was canceled amid a court challenge in Guatemala over whether the country could strike such an agreement.

Trump administration officials say the changes are meant to close the gap between the initial asylum screening that most people pass and the final decision on asylum that most people do not win. The goal in part is to allow quicker determinations in these cases.

But immigrant rights groups, religious leaders and humanitarian groups have said the Republican administration's policies amount to a cruel effort to keep immigrants out of the country. Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are poor countries suffering from violence.

Along with the administration's recent effort to send asylum seekers back over the border, Trump has tried to deny asylum to anyone crossing the border illegally and restrict who can claim asylum.

SEN. TED CRUZ: TO SECURE OUR BORDER, TAKE THESE IMPORTANT AND EFFECTIVE ACTIONS

Reducing the number of asylum seekers, however, would ease the burden on federal agencies currently overwhelmed by the number of people looking to enter the United States. Children and adults crossing illegally are often separated, with the children placed in detention facilities that are lacking in resources, resulting in outcries against the administration’s current practices.

On Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., cited the urgency for adopting new asylum laws.

Graham said that 30 percent of those who cross into the U.S. with children are "fake families," and that loopholes are used to let the same children come back over and over, bringing different adults with them.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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2019-07-15 12:51:47Z
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Flooding Kills Dozens in Nepal as Waters Rise Across Asia - The New York Times

KATHMANDU, Nepal — The death toll mounted Monday from flooding and landslides caused by torrential weekend rains in India and Nepal, as rescuers carried out desperate searches for survivors and officials in nearby Bangladesh braced for the floodwaters to move downstream.

The hardest-hit country appeared to be Nepal, where the police said on Monday that 67 people had died as a result of the monsoonal rains that began last Thursday night and set off widespread flooding, particularly in the country’s southern plains along the Indian border.

Officials said that at least 68 others had been injured in landslides and flooding and that an additional 30 people were still missing. Photos published by Nepal’s news media showed flood victims wading through murky, thigh-high waters, and teams of rescuers plying streets in inflatable boats.

The death toll from flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rain has risen to 67, Nepal Police says|https://t.co/7Zy7z44TnF

— myRepública (@RepublicaNepal) July 15, 2019

Nine major highways in Nepal had been blocked by floods and mudslides, 3,366 people had been rescued and 16,520 households had been temporarily displaced as of Monday, the National Emergency Operation Center said. No estimates on property or infrastructure damage were available.

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A waterlogged street in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Friday.CreditMunir Uz Zaman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

“We are trying to provide dry foods — rice, noodles and biscuits — to flood victims, but it’s not easy to access affected people as whole villages are inundated and roads connecting to those villages are damaged,” Ajay Gupta, the mayor of Gaur, a town along Nepal’s southern border with India, said by telephone on Monday afternoon.

Beda Nidhi Khanal, the head of the National Emergency Operation Center, said on Monday that bad weather had grounded four helicopters based in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, whose crews had planned to carry out rescue operations and supply food to disaster-hit areas. He said only two helicopters, both based near the Indian border, were operating in the disaster zone as a result.

Mr. Gupta, the mayor of Gaur, said his town had not yet received any relief materials from the federal government as of Monday afternoon, and that many electricity and telephone lines in the area were still down. Soldiers and police officers had rescued several people using rubber boats, he added, but two people from the town had drowned.

In India, at least 25 people have died so far from the rains and floods, Mohamad Farukh, the chief executive of Rapid Response, a nongovernmental charity focusing on disaster relief, said in a text message on Sunday. Indian officials said a day earlier that about 750 people from the worst-affected states, Assam and Bihar, had been rescued over the preceding three or four days.

In the northern Indian town of Solan, which lies in a hilly border region hit by heavy rains, seven soldiers and one civilian died after a three-story building suddenly collapsed, officials told The Associated Press on Monday. They said 31 people had been rescued, and that the soldiers had been having a party in the building’s ground-floor restaurant when the collapse occurred.

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Villages and farmland along the Mishui River in Hengyang, China, were submerged in floodwaters Thursday after heavy rainfall.CreditReuters

In Bangladesh, 14 deaths have been recorded as a result of flooding in low-lying areas of the country since July 9, and 60,000 families in those areas were still “marooned in their home or community shelters” as of Sunday, the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society said in a report.

The rains have also flooded parts of the world’s largest refugee camp, in southeastern Bangladesh, which is home to more than half a million Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled violence in neighboring Myanmar, according to the United Nations.

Raqibul Alam, a program manager at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Bangladesh, said on Monday afternoon that while torrential rains had temporarily stopped in that part of the country, he was still concerned.

“At this point, the main challenge is the water coming down from upstream” rivers in Nepal and India, coupled with the threat of further rainfall that is expected in the area over the next two days, Mr. Alam said.

Every year, from June to September, monsoon season brings heavy rains that pummel South Asia, regularly provoking deadly flooding. In 2017, more than 1,000 people died in floods across the region, including in Nepal, where thousands of homes were destroyed, dozens of people were swept away, and elephants were pressed into service to rescue people from swirling waters.

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A girl seeking shelter from the waters at a relief camp in the Morigaon district of Assam, India, on Sunday.CreditEPA, via Shutterstock

The flooding this year has been particularly heavy.

In India, for example, 32 people died in early July after the heaviest monsoon rains in a decade struck Mumbai and nearby areas.

And in southern Bangladesh, a group of aid agencies said on Friday that more than 45,000 people in refugee camps had been affected since the end of April by “weather-related incidents,” compared with 55,000 during the entire monsoon season last year.

Heavy flooding has also affected China, where an official at the Ministry of Water Resources said on Sunday that flooding had been reported in a record 377 rivers this year, according to Xinhua, the state-run news agency.

In Nepal on Monday, there was speculation in the news media about whether some of the flood risks had been exacerbated by factors like climate change, road and infrastructure construction by India across the border, and the mining of natural resources like sand and timber from the nearby Chure mountain range.

Mr. Gupta, the mayor of Gaur, said his more immediate concern was preventing a local hydropower dam from overflowing the banks of its reservoir.

Preparations are underway to release water from the reservoir to avert a crisis, he added. “But we are terrified that the water could overflow our settlement again when it is added into local rivers.”

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2019-07-15 11:43:41Z
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European powers urge unity to save Iran nuclear deal - Aljazeera.com

The Iran nuclear deal is not yet dead, but the United Kingdom has warned there remains just a small window to save it, as European foreign ministers gather in Brussels to find ways to convince Washington and Tehran to engage in dialogue.

Tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated since US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from a landmark pact last year and reimposed sanctions on Iran. Iran has subsequently decided to no longer respect some of its obligations. Tehran says it will come back into full compliance if European powers ensure it can sell oil on global markets - a revenue stream blocked by the US sanctions regime.

"Iran is still a good year away from developing a nuclear bomb. There is still some closing, but small window to keep the deal alive," UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt told reporters ahead of the Brussels meeting.

There is still time to save the deal signed in 2015 between Iran and world powers, said Hunt, adding that, despite the US being Britain's closest ally, it disagreed on how to handle the Iran crisis.

Similarly, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Europe had to remain united in trying to preserve the deal and convince Tehran to reverse its decision not to comply with parts of the accord.

"The Europeans have to stay united on this issue," Le Drian told reporters on Monday.

Iran's decision to reduce compliance with the deal that the United States abandoned last year was "a bad response to a bad decision", he said.

Al Jazeera's Dominic Kane is reporting from Brussels. "The Europeans say they have a united front," he said. "They say the deal with Iran, negotiated between themselves, Russia, China and the Obama administration, is the only one which can regulate this thorny issue."

US/Europe division

An international row has erupted in recent weeks following the publication of leaked secret diplomatic memos from the UK ambassador to Washington which called Trump's administration "inept" and "dysfunctional". Sir Kim Darroch stepped down from his position last week after Trump tweeted personal insults towards the veteran diplomat.

In the latest twist of the saga, the right-wing Mail on Sunday newspaper published more details on Sunday, quoting Darroch accusing Trump of abandoning the nuclear deal in an effort to undermine President Barack Obama's legacy.

"On the substance, the [US] administration is set upon an act of diplomatic vandalism, seemingly for ideological and personality reasons - it was Obama's deal," Darroch wrote in a diplomatic cable to then-foreign secretary, Boris Johnson.

We believe that the time has come to act responsibly and to look for ways to stop the escalation of tension and resume dialogue

Joint statement from Germany, France and the UK

'Deal may collapse'

The meeting in Brussels comes a day after France, Britain and Germany - the European signatories to the accord - warned the deal could collapse, and urged nations to resume dialogue.

The countries' joint statement released on Sunday by the French president's office called on "all stakeholders to pause, and consider the possible consequences of their actions".

It added: "We believe that the time has come to act responsibly and to look for ways to stop the escalation of tension and resume dialogue."

The accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed in Vienna by Iran, the US, France, Britain, Germany, China and Russia, and promised sanctions relief in exhange for curbs on Iran's nuclear programme.

Trump withdrew the US from the nuclear deal in May 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran, including on its key banking and oil sectors.

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In response, Tehran announced in May it would scale back its commitments, and has since increased its stockpile of low-enriched uranium above the agreed limit and has begun to enrich uranium above the 3.67 percent permitted under the agreement.

"We've heard from the spokesman of Iran's atomic energy organisation, who said Iran will go back to its pre-2015 nuclear activities if Europeans don't show they are truly committed to the deal," said Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Tehran.

"There is a sense of urgency among Iranian officials - they don't really believe the Europeans are serious about this deal any more. They are looking for concrete action from the remaining signatories to the deal. The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, has praised Foreign Minister Javad Zarif's team, saying with this one single agreement, the Iranians were able to abolish six UN Security Council resolutions against them - so this is a really serious deal for them. They are hoping that today's meeting in Brussels comes out with some tangible actions and provides some hope that there is a future for this deal."

INSTEX trade 

In recent weeks, the three European parties to the deal confirmed a new financial mechanism designed to enable European and Iranian companies to trade without any direct financial flows - thus bypassing the US financial system - was operational.

However, the scope of the workaround vehicle called INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) is initially confined to humanitarian products such as medicine, medical devices and food, which are not directly targeted by US sanctions anyway.

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Diplomats have said that, in any case, they fear US blowback, while Iranian officials have repeatedly said INSTEX must include oil sales or provide substantial credit facilities for it to be beneficial.

French President Emmanuel Macron dispatched a top aide to Tehran last week to offer suggestions on how to freeze the current status quo to gain some time. 

"We told President [Hassan] Rouhani what the parameters of a pause could be and we're waiting for a response from the Iranians, but their point of departure is relatively far because they are demanding the immediate lifting of sanctions," said a French presidential official.

Meanwhile, Rouhani said in a televised speech on Sunday that Tehran was ready to hold talks with Washington if the US lifted the sanctions and returned to the nuclear deal.

But Trump has shown no sign of backing down and said last week he would push on with yet more sanctions.

Iran has made any talks conditional on first being able to export as much oil as it did before the US withdrawal from the deal.

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2019-07-15 11:26:00Z
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China says will cut ties with US firms selling arms to Taiwan - Aljazeera.com

China's government and Chinese companies will cut business ties with US firms selling arms to Taiwan, the Chinese foreign ministry has said, in a move likely to worsen already poor ties with Washington.

China claims self-ruled and democratic Taiwan as its own and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Beijing's control. China regularly calls Taiwan the most sensitive issue in its relations with the United States.

Last week, the Pentagon said the US State Department had approved the sale of the weapons requested by Taiwan, including 108 General Dynamics Corp M1A2T Abrams tanks and 250 Stinger missiles, which are manufactured by Raytheon.

China said on Friday it would sanction US companies selling weapons to Taiwan but did not elaborate.

The latest deal involves $2.2bn worth of tanks, missiles and related equipment for Taiwan.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the arms sales were a violation of international law and harmed China's sovereignty and national security.

"China's government and Chinese companies will not cooperate or have commercial contacts with these US companies," he told a daily news briefing on Monday, without giving details of the sanctions.

"I can't reveal the details at the moment. But believe this: Chinese people always stress standing by their word."

US companies identified

On Sunday, the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily posted an article on its WeChat account identifying US companies that could be vulnerable to sanctions.

They included Honeywell International Inc, which makes the engines for the Abrams tanks, and private jets maker Gulfstream Aerospace, which is owned by General Dynamics. China is an important market for both Honeywell and Gulfstream.

There was no immediate comment by the companies.

Ties between China and the US are already strained over a trade war, which has seen them levy tariffs on each other's imports.

This is not the first time China has said it would sanction US companies selling weapons to Taiwan.

China has announced such steps at least twice before - in 2010 and 2015 - but it is unclear if the sanctions were ever imposed.

US defence contractors have been barred from dealings with Beijing since China's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989.

While its relations with Taiwan are technically unofficial, the US is required by law to assist Taiwan in its defence and is its main supplier of arms, though France has also previously sold warships and fighter jets to Taiwan.

China has been angered as well by the US allowing Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to visit last week, on her way to diplomatic allies in the Caribbean. She is due to transit the US again at the end of her trip next week.

SOURCE: Reuters news agency

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2019-07-15 10:39:00Z
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China holds drills in Taiwan Strait, calls for sanctions against US companies - CNN

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) announced in a statement Sunday that the military exercises off China's "southeast coast" involved both the navy and the air force, but provided few other details.

Both Beijing and Taipei tried to downplay the drills, with the PLA describing the exercises as "a routine arrangement according to (our) annual plans."

However, they come amid tension between the Beijing and Washington over a $2.2 billion US arms sale to Taiwan, and also coincide with a trip by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to the United States as she prepares to shore up support among the island's allies in the Caribbean.

On Friday, China threatened to impose sanctions against any US companies who sold weapons to Taiwan.

Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai made it clear on Friday on Twitter that any attempts by the US government to "split" Taiwan from China would provoke a swift response.

"Those who play with fire will only get themselves burned. Period," he tweeted.

'Hot-button issue'

The US State Department gave its approval of the multibillion-dollar arms deal with Taiwan on July 8, which includes 108 M1A2T Abrams tanks and Stinger missiles.

In response, China's Foreign Ministry said it would impose sanctions on any companies selling arms to Taiwan, although it didn't single any out by name.

Speaking on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he wasn't in a position to "disclose more details" at present.

"Please believe that China always keeps its promises and its actions always produce results," he said.

Among the companies that could be affected would be Raytheon Missile Systems, who make the Stingers, or General Dynamics Land Systems, who are responsible for the Abrams tanks.

"In order to safeguard national interests, China will impose sanctions on US companies involved in the arms sales to Taiwan," spokesman Geng said Friday.

La Trobe University associate professor James Leibold said that Taiwan was being used as a bargaining chip by both US and China and the threat of sanctions showed Beijing felt ready to escalate the issue.

Taiwan was becoming more of a "hot-button issue" for both governments due to a push for closer relations from Washington, said Leibold.

"Clearly some in the Trump administration want to strengthen the alliance with Taiwan, and as we all know the Taiwan issue has always been a deeply sensitive one for the People's Republic of China," he said.

Taiwan has been self-ruled since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, which saw the Communist Party take control of the mainland and the Nationalist government forced to flee to the island.

But Beijing still views the island as their territory and has worked consistently for decades to try to threaten or cajole it into rejoining with the mainland.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has regularly called for the reunification of Taiwan, even refusing to rule out force in a major speech in January.

In the past year, China has ramped up its military exercises around the island. It held live fire drills in the Taiwan Strait in 2018, while Chinese fighter jets crossed the maritime border separating the island from the mainland in a rare incursion in April.

Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said that the PLA's drills on Sunday were "nothing more than routine exercises," according to Taiwan's news agency CNA, adding that the island's military was ready to respond to any threats.

Taiwan president defiant

The rise in tensions comes amid a visit to the US by Taiwan President Tsai on her way to visit the island's allies in the Caribbean.

Tsai is spending an unusually long stopover of four nights in the country, including two nights in New York. There is no confirmation of what meetings she is expected to have while in the country.

Her visit alone was enough to antagonize the Chinese government, which opposes any official contact between Washington and Taipei.

"Allowing Tsai to 'stop over' violates the #oneChina principle ... China urges the US to properly handle the Taiwan issue to prevent damaging China US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," China's embassy in the US said on its official Twitter Friday.

But Tsai hasn't been deterred by the Chinese government's opposition, holding a public meeting with representatives of Taiwan's remaining 17 allies in New York.

"Taiwan will firmly defend our democratic system. Our democracy has not come easily and is now facing the threat and penetration of overseas forces," said Tsai, implicitly criticizing Beijing. On her way back to Taipei, Tsai will stop over in Denver, Colorado.

While in the Caribbean, Tsai will visit St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and Haiti.

Taiwan's leader has taken an increasingly strident anti-China stance ahead of the national election in January 2020 where she will seek re-election.

It was announced on Monday that she will face opposition Kuomintang presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu, who won his party's nomination with 44% of the vote.

Despite being viewed as more pro-Beijing than Tsai, Han appeared to take a harder stance against further integration with the mainland in June, amid increasingly heated protests in Hong Kong.

"'One Country, Two Systems' can never be implemented in Taiwan. Taiwanese people can never accept it, unless it's over my dead body," Han told a rally in June.

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2019-07-15 09:01:00Z
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China's economy slumps as trade war hits - Channel3000.com - WISC-TV3

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Forbidden City in Beijing, China, on March 2, 2015.

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Forbidden City in Beijing, China, on March 2, 2015.

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BEIJING - China's economic growth slumped to its lowest level in nearly three decades as the world's second largest economy feels the effects of a prolonged trade war with the United States.

The country's gross domestic product grew at 6.2% in the quarter ended June, the slowest quarterly growth rate since 1992 and down from 6.4% in the previous quarter, according to government figures released on Monday.

And the Chinese economy will continue to face "downward pressure" in the second half of this year, the country's National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

"The Chinese economy is still in a complex and grave situation," it said. "Global growth has slowed and external uncertainties are on the rise."

While Beijing and Washington recently agreed a temporary truce in their months-long trade war, analysts say a lot of question marks remain about whether they can reach a deal.

"Uncertainty caused by the US-China trade war was an important factor and we think this will persist," said Tom Rafferty, principal economist, China at The Economist Intelligence Unit.

"Businesses remain skeptical that the two countries will reach a broader trade agreement and recognise that trade tensions may escalate again," he added.

Analysts expect Beijing to unveil more stimulus measures to boost the economy, including possible interest rate cuts by the country's central bank, the People's Bank of China. The US Federal Reserve has also signaled it may lower interest rates.

"While the PBOC has already delivered stimulus this year, markets are awaiting... additional measures, which will probably come if trade talks collapse," said Edward Moya, a senior market analyst at Oanda. "If talks steadily progress, we will still probably see the [bank] deliver fresh stimulus following the Fed's highly anticipated rate cut at the end of the month. "

Nanlin Fang contributed to this report.

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2019-07-15 06:46:00Z
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Tensions Mount in Hong Kong as Protesters Call for Chief Executive Carrie Lam's Resignation - TIME

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2019-07-14 16:25:33Z
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