Selasa, 16 Juli 2019

How did Kim Jong Un get his Mercedes-Benzes? New report traces origin of North Korea's luxury rides - CNN

On June 14, 2018, two armored Mercedes-Maybach S600 Guard vehicles were shipped from the Dutch Port of Rotterdam, heading out on a journey that would take months and see the cars transported thousands of miles through six countries, according to a new report from the Washington-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS).

After stops in China, Japan, South Korea and Russia, the two cars -- each worth about $500,000 -- are believed to have been flown to their final destination, Pyongyang. And in the North Korean capital, there's only one customer who likely requires this type of ride.

The origin and journey of the two Mercedes luxury vehicles were exposed in the C4ADS report. CNN has not independently verified C4ADS' reporting.

Sanctions passed by the United Nations as punishment for Pyongyang's nuclear weapons development are supposed to bar companies and individuals from selling luxury goods to North Korea.

The exterior of a Mercedes-Maybach S 600 Guard.

The exterior of a Mercedes-Maybach S 600 Guard. Credit: Daimler AG MediaPortal

C4ADS found that North Korea imported at least $191 million worth of luxury goods from 2015 to 2017, sourced from "as many as 90 countries" in violation of United Nations sanctions. Definitive figures are difficult to determine because there isn't a shared definition of what constitutes a "luxury item" and due to the surreptitious way North Korea imports such items.

The Mercedes-Maybach S600, however, is undoubtedly luxurious. It's equipped with leather massaging seats and armor to protect occupants from steel-core ammo fired from assault rifles and from explosive devices, according to Car and Driver.

Kim is usually seen being chauffeured in what's believed to be a Mercedes-Maybach Pullman Guard armored limousine, which carries a price tag upwards of $1 million. It's believed that was the vehicle his security escort ran alongside of during his first summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in last year.

Kim was also spotted with a Rolls-Royce last year.

Daimler, the company that owns Mercedes, told CNN it "has no indication on how the mentioned vehicles were delivered and where they come from."

"Our company has had no business connections with North Korea for far more than 15 years now and strictly complies with EU and US embargoes. To prevent deliveries to North Korea and to any of its embassies worldwide, Daimler has implemented a comprehensive export control process, which we consider appropriate and effective and which meets all requirements of the export control authorities," the company said in a statement to CNN.

"Sales of vehicles by third parties, especially of used vehicles, are beyond our control and responsibility. We always investigate the vehicles displayed on the photos in the media thoroughly. However, without the vehicle identification numbers it is impossible to find a concrete trace."

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un steps out of a vehicle for a ceremony upon his departure from Russia, outside the railway station in the far-eastern Russian port city of Vladivostok on April 26. This does not appear to be one of the two vehicles discussed in the C4ADS report.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un steps out of a vehicle for a ceremony upon his departure from Russia, outside the railway station in the far-eastern Russian port city of Vladivostok on April 26. This does not appear to be one of the two vehicles discussed in the C4ADS report. Credit: Yuri Smityuk/TASS/Getty Images

C4ADS concluded that North Korea maintains a complex, constantly evolving series of schemes in order to obtain luxury goods, like Kim's cars, to get around global export controls. The report concluded Pyongyang has imported 803 luxury vehicles from 2015 to 2017, with the majority originating from Russian companies.

"Not only are they continuing to use techniques that have been successful in disrupting traditional enforcement, but they're also sort of watching how we're tracking them and developing much more sophisticated techniques to continue to evade sanctions," said Jason Arterburn, a co-author of the C4ADS paper.

Lucas Kuo, another one of the report's co-authors, told CNN C4ADS' investigation aimed to "evaluate what were the deficiencies within the international system that allowed this activity to continue?"

The interior of a Mercedes-Maybach S 600 Guard.

The interior of a Mercedes-Maybach S 600 Guard. Credit: Daimler AG MediaPortal

Eight months of investigating

Kuo said it took himself and the report's co-authors eight months of investigating how Kim was able allegedly to obtain the Benzes. They scoured customs records, shipping data, bills of lading and other open-source documents to trace how the vehicles made their way from Rotterdam to Pyongyang.

"We think we built a pretty compelling case to say that these Mercedes were likely bound for North Korea," he said.

CNN has not independently verified C4ADS' reporting.

Kuo and his co-authors concluded that the two Mercedes left Rotterdam for Dalian, then made their way on to Osaka, Japan, and Busan, South Korea. From South Korea, they were shipped out on a vessel called the DN5505, per the bill of lading.

That's when the journey gets murky. Shortly after the DN5505 left South Korea, it reported via its AIS system -- a way to locate ships at sea -- that its intended destination was the Russian city of Nakhodka, where it was estimated to arrive on October 5, according to C4ADS.
The rear exterior of a Mercedes-Maybach S 600 Guard.

The rear exterior of a Mercedes-Maybach S 600 Guard. Credit: Daimler AG MediaPortal

However, the ship's AIS data stopped pinging locations from October 1 to 19, according to the report. Though AIS transponders do not ping when ships are far at sea, they could have been turned off -- a common tactic used by ships breaking sanctions law, experts say.

When the DN5505's transponder turned back on, the ship was spotted near where it originally disappeared, according to C4ADS, but this time heading in the opposite direction back to Busan. On November 2, the vessel submitted a bill of lading to South Korean customs authorities that showed the ship was transporting anthracite coal allegedly from Nakhodka. But in Nakhodka, "no record exists" of the DN5505's arrival, C4ADS said.

CNN has reached out to the Port of Nakhodka authorities for comment on the report.

A limousine belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un drives away after a wreath-laying ceremony at a World War II memorial in the far-eastern Russian port of Vladivostok on April 26. This does not appear to be one of the two vehicles discussed in the C4ADS report.

A limousine belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un drives away after a wreath-laying ceremony at a World War II memorial in the far-eastern Russian port of Vladivostok on April 26. This does not appear to be one of the two vehicles discussed in the C4ADS report. Credit: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images

Back in Russia, on October 7 -- two days after the estimated arrival time of the DN5505 -- three Ilyushin-76 cargo jets operated by North Korea's state-run airline reportedly traveled from Pyongyang to Vladivostok. Those jets are often used to transport armored vehicles used by North Korea's elites, and are rarely spotted in in Vladivostok, C4ADS said.

"When asked for comment, the North Korean consulate in Vladivostok reportedly did not provide an explanation for the unscheduled flights on October 7," C4ADS said in its report.

"We have not uncovered direct evidence that the overlapping visits of the cargo jets and the DN5505 to the Russian Far East are related. However, given the heavy lift cargo capacity of the planes and their role in transporting Kim Jong Un's armored limousines, it is possible that the cargo jets could have loaded the Mercedes," the C4ADS report said.

A Rolls-Royce is visible as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrives to meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in August 2018.

A Rolls-Royce is visible as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrives to meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in August 2018. Credit: US State Department/FILE

Dual use

While cracking down on luxury goods may not hurt North Korea as much as going after its valuable coal exports, identifying those who allegedly helped Kim get his cars could close off some loopholes, said George Lopez, a former member of the UN Panel of Experts on North Korea, which is charged with monitoring sanctions enforcement and efficacy.

C4ADS also claims that understanding how North Korea smuggles luxury goods could provide useful information to law enforcement attempting to stop Pyongyang's from obtaining more dangerous items with military or nuclear applications.

"North Korea acquires high-end luxury goods through the same overseas smuggling networks as other contraband. As a result, their detection and seizure could be a means to drive action against the Kim regime's core procurement operations," the report found.

"High-end luxury goods share key features with dual-use goods for North Korea's weapons program: they are scarce, specialized products with high monetary value and great symbolic importance for the Kim regime."

Top image: Kim Jong Un waves from his car upon his arrival in Vietnam on February 26, 2019 to attend the second US-North Korea summit. This does not appear to be one of the two vehicles discussed in the C4ADS report.

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2019-07-16 14:05:47Z
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Suzanne Eaton murder in Crete brings confession from local man today, police in Greece say - Live updates - CBS News

A man has confessed to killing an American scientist on the Greek island of Crete, police said on Tuesday. The police said in a statement that a 27-year-old local man "motivated by sexual satisfaction" and frustrated with his own life ran Suzanne Eaton down with his car before raping her and then abandoning her body in a cave.

"Forensic evidence showed suffocation as a cause of death. Further forensic examination presented that the body had many broken ribs face bones and multiple injuries at both hands," Crete Police Major Eleni Papathanasiou told reporters on Tuesday.

The suspect told police he spotted Eaton out walking on July 2 near the town of Chania, as she took a break between events at a conference on the island that she was attending for the fourth time. 

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The man said, according to the police, that he hit her twice with his car to render her unconscious before placing her into his trunk to transfer to the abandoned WWII-era bunker, which he entered via a ventilation shaft. It was not clear exactly when or where the sexual assault took place before the suspect abandoned Eaton in the cave. Police have said previously that they believe she was already deceased when she was left in the cave.

After leaving her body, the suspect blocked the entrance of the cave ventilation shaft with a wooden palette and then went to a nearby graveyard, "where he carefully cleaned the trunk of his car from evidence and other forensic findings," Papathanasiou said.

Murdered American scientist remembered as "kindest, wisest person"

The police said that after questioning several individuals, the suspect was brought in for questioning on Monday and he "provided too many conflicting answers, and under the light of the collected evidence, he confessed his crime."

CBS News correspondent Imtiaz Tyab reports the suspect is facing criminal charges over the murder and was expected to appear before a prosecutor later on Tuesday. 

Eaton, a 59-year-old molecular biologist, was attending the conference when she went missing on July 2. Her body was found on July 8 in the system of man-made caves once used by the Nazis during the German occupation of Crete. Amateur cavers helping in the wide-spread search effort found her body and alerted police. 

Eaton was from California but living and working in Germany when she was killed. She was the mother of two sons and married to a British scientist.

Her family members have left Crete to return to their home in Germany, but were closely following the case. They've said they want the world to remember her as an acclaimed scientist, talented athlete, musician and beloved mother.  

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2019-07-16 13:24:00Z
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Iran hits back at US demands on ballistic missiles - Aljazeera.com

Iran has hit back at US President Donald Trump's call for new nuclear negotiations that encompass its ballistic missiles programme, accusing Washington of bringing the Middle East to the brink of "explosion" by selling arms to allies in the Gulf.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, made the comment in a wide-ranging interview that aired on NBC News on Monday.

He said Iran would only sit down with the United States if it lifted punishing economic sanctions it has imposed on Tehran and rejoined the 2015 nuclear deal it abandoned last year.

Trump pulled the US out of the landmark multilateral accord saying he wanted to negotiate a new deal that also addressed Iran's ballistic missiles programme and support for armed groups in the region.

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Zarif, who is in New York on a visit to the United Nations, told NBC it was the US and its allies - Saudia Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - who were to blame for turmoil in the Middle East.

"If you want to discuss ballistic missiles, then we need to discuss the amount of weapons sold to our region," he said. 

"Last year, Iran spent $16bn altogether on its military, we have a 82 million population. UAE, with a million population, spent $22bn. Saudi Arabia - with less than half of [Iran's] population - spent $67bn, most of them are American [arms].

"These are American weaponry that is going into our region, making our region ready to explode. So if they want to talk about our missiles, they need first to stop selling all these weapons including missiles to our region."

'Door wide open'

When NBC journalist Lester Holt further pressed Zarif on the issue, referring to Iran's support for armed groups in the region, the minister brought up the Saudi-led interventions in Yemen and Bahrain.

"Let me ask you - who's bombing Yemen? Who's invading Bahrain? Who kept the prime minister of another country a prisoner," Zarif asked.

"Are we involved at all in North Africa? ... Why do you have chaos in Libya? Is Iran involved in Libya? ... in Sudan? ... in Algeria? Why do we have all this turmoil? I believe if you want to look at the right place for those who have malign activity in our region, the US needs to look at its own allies, not at Iran."

Zarif, who is also facing US sanctions, reiterated Tehran did not want a war with Washington and urged Trump to lift the crippling measures against Iran to begin talks.

"Once those sanctions are lifted, then ... the door for negotiations is wide open," Zarif said. "It is the United States that left the bargaining table. And they're always welcome to return."

In the year since the US exited the nuclear deal - a move opposed by the pact's remaining signatories - Washington has tightened sanctions on Iran, including on its oil and banking sectors.

In May, Washington also sent warships, bombers and thousands of additional troops to the Gulf, citing unspecified threats from Iran. Tensions have since soared, with the US calling off air raids against Iran at the last minute after Tehran downed a US spy plane that it said encroached on its airspace in June, a claim Washington denies. 

When asked if Trump's decision to halt air raids amounted to a diplomatic overture, Zarif said: "It’s not an overture if you decide not to commit another act of aggression against a country that is capable of defending itself." 

Vowing to continue resisting "aggression", Zarif said Iranians will "find a way to circumvent the pressure through relying on their own resources, on their own capabilities, and on their own talent".

The Islamic Republic, which has been under a variety of sanctions since its founding in 1979, invested in its ballistic missiles and nuclear programmes because of those sanctions, he added. But he warned: "Of course when there is tension, there is tension for everybody. Nobody is immune in a tense environment."

The new US sanctions have plunged the Iranian economy into crisis, and caused a shortage in critical medicines, Zarif said, a move he said has put Iranian people under "huge humanitarian pressure". 

"They are terrorising our people. They are targeting ordinary Iranian civilians. That's worse than war," he added. 

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2019-07-16 12:14:00Z
52780333106748

Italian police detain 3 men, seize missile, weapons, Nazi memorabilia - Fox News

Three men were detained in northern Italy after police uncovered a stash of automatic weapons, a missile and material featuring Nazi symbols, officials said Monday.

The discoveries stemmed from an investigation into Italians backing pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine, Turin police said.

NO BONES FOUND IN VATICAN TOMBS SEARCHED FOR MISSING GIRL

Police stand by a missile seized at an airport hangar near Pavia, northern Italy, following an investigation into Italians who took part in the Russian-backed insurgency in eastern Ukraine, in Turin, Italy.

Police stand by a missile seized at an airport hangar near Pavia, northern Italy, following an investigation into Italians who took part in the Russian-backed insurgency in eastern Ukraine, in Turin, Italy. (ANSA via AP)

One of the men, identified by Italian media as Fabio Del Bergiolo, had been linked to a neo-fascist Italian political party, police said. He ran unsuccessfully in 2001 as a Senate candidate for the Forza Nuova party, police said.

At his home in Gallarate, police found nine assault weapons, nearly 30 hunting rifles, pistols, bayonets, ammunition and antique Nazi plaques featuring swastikas.

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Two others, identified by Italian media as Alessandro Monti and Fabio Bernardi, were detained after a French-made missile was discovered at an airport hangar, police said.

Italian police seized a cache of weapons in their raid.

Italian police seized a cache of weapons in their raid. (Italian Police)

“During the operation, an air-to-air missile in perfect working order and used by the Qatari army was seized,” police said in a statement.

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The suspects had tried to sell the missile via conversations with people on the WhatsApp message system, according to The New York Times.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-07-16 11:49:21Z
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Italian police seized an air-to-air missile and Nazi paraphernalia from three men - CNN

Fabio Del Bergiolo, who ran for the Italian Senate in 2001 as a candidate for the Forza Nuova party, Swiss citizen Alessandro Monti and Fabio Bernardi were arrested on Monday in connection with the arms stockpile.
Monti, 42, and Bernardi, 51, were arrested for allegedly possessing and trying to selling a French-made Matra air-to-air missile, while Bergiolo, 60, was arrested for allegedly acting as an intermediary to sell weapons, a Turin police statement said.
The stockpile was discovered by police who were investigating Italians "with extremist ideology" who had fought alongside Russian-backed separatist forces in Donbass, eastern Ukraine, last July, according to the police statement.
The investigation relied on the help of an arms expert who contacted the suspects about purchasing the Matra missile on behalf of a third party, police said.
A cache of guns and ammunition was among the haul seized by police.
Throughout the course of the investigation, police used phone and data interception to view photos of the missile, which were exchanged via WhatsApp, they said.
The probe brought authorities to the home of Del Bergiolo, where an array of military-grade weapons and illegally held guns were found, according to police.
Del Bergiolo's house allegedly also contained Nazi swastikas and references to the Nazi military Waffen-SS unit.
Investigations are ongoing to determine how the French-made Matra missile, which appeared to have once belonged to the Qatari armed forces, arrived in Italy.
The political party Forza Nuova has denied any current connection with Del Bergiolo.
"If one of the arrested was a candidate of Forza Nuova way back in 2001 (18 years ago!), we affirm that on the contrary none of the people involved have been militants of Forza Nuova - which has nothing to do with the search this morning," a press officer for Forza Nuova told CNN.
Del Bergiolo's lawyer, Fausto Moscatelli told CNN his client is a "weapons enthusiast."
"My client is a collector and they sequestered weapons that were in his home. These weapons were not registered, but they were not connected to terrorism," Moscatelli said.
"There was a misunderstanding with the Nazi paraphernalia, he also had fascist and USSR paraphernalia, but they (the police) only took things with swastikas," he added.
Police said they found a cache of 26 guns, 20 bayonets, and 306 gun parts -- including silencers and rifle scopes -- along with more than 800 bullets.
CNN has contacted lawyer Monti and Bernardi's lawyer Alberto Minasi della Rocca, who did not wish to comment for this article.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/15/europe/italy-nazi-weapons-missile-seizure-intl/index.html

2019-07-16 11:15:00Z
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Iran hits back at US demands on ballistic missiles, proxy groups - Aljazeera.com

Iran has hit back at US President Donald Trump's call for new nuclear negotiations that encompass its ballistic missiles programme, accusing Washington of bringing the Middle East to the brink of "explosion" by selling arms to allies in the Gulf.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, made the comment in a wide-ranging interview that aired on NBC News on Monday.

He said Iran would only sit down with the United States if it lifted punishing economic sanctions it has imposed on Tehran and rejoined the 2015 nuclear deal it abandoned last year.

Trump had pulled the US out of the landmark multilateral accord saying he wanted to negotiate a new deal that also addressed Iran's ballistic missiles programme and support for armed groups in the region.

190701222356690

Zarif, who is in New York on a visit to the United Nations, told NBC it was the US and its allies - Saudia Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - who were to blame for turmoil in the Middle East.

"If you want to discuss ballistic missiles, then we need to discuss the amount of weapons sold to our region," he said. 

"Last year, Iran spent $16bn altogether on its military, we have a 82 million population. UAE, with a million population, spent $22bn. Saudi Arabia - with less than half of [Iran's] population - spent $67bn, most of them are American [arms].

"These are American weaponry that is going into our region, making our region ready to explode. So if they want to talk about our missiles, they need first to stop selling all these weapons including missiles to our region."

'Door wide open'

When NBC journalist Lester Holt further pressed Zarif on the issue, referring to Iran's support for armed groups in the region, the minister brought up the Saudi-led interventions in Yemen and Bahrain.

"Let me ask you - who's bombing Yemen? Who's invading Bahrain? Who kept the prime minister of another country a prisoner," Zarif asked.

"Are we involved at all in North Africa? ... Why do you have chaos in Libya? Is Iran involved in Libya? ... in Sudan? ... in Algeria? Why do we have all this turmoil? I believe if you want to look at the right place for those who have malign activity in our region, the US needs to look at its own allies, not at Iran."

Zarif, who is also facing US sanctions, reiterated Tehran did not want a war with Washington and urged Trump to lift the crippling measures against Iran to begin talks.

"Once those sanctions are lifted, then ... the door for negotiations is wide open," Zarif said. "It is the United States that left the bargaining table. And they're always welcome to return."

In the year since the US exited the nuclear deal - a move opposed by the pact's remaining signatories - Washington has tightened sanctions on Iran, including on its oil and banking sectors.

In May, Washington also sent warships, bombers and thousands of additional troops to the Gulf, citing unspecified threats from Iran. Tensions have since soared, with the US calling off air raids against Iran at the last minute after Tehran downed a US spy plane that it said encroached on its airspace in June, a claim Washington denies. 

When asked if Trump's decision to halt air raids amounted to a diplomatic overture, Zarif said: "It’s not an overture if you decide not to commit another act of aggression against a country that is capable of defending itself." 

Vowing to continue resisting "aggression", Zarif said Iranians will "find a way to circumvent the pressure through relying on their own resources, on their own capabilities, and on their own talent".

The Islamic Republic, which has been under a variety of sanctions since its founding in 1979, invested in its ballistic missiles and nuclear programmes because of those sanctions, he added. But he warned: "Of course when there is tension, there is tension for everybody. Nobody is immune in a tense environment."

The new US sanctions have plunged the Iranian economy into crisis, and caused a shortage in critical medicines, Zarif said, a move he said has put Iranian people under "huge humanitarian pressure". 

"They are terrorising our people. They are targeting ordinary Iranian civilians. That's worse than war," he added. 

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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2019/07/iran-hits-demands-ballistic-missiles-proxies-190716052354566.html

2019-07-16 11:06:00Z
52780333106748

System Under Strain: How the U.S. Actually Manages the Thousands of Migrant Families Entering Each Day - The Wall Street Journal

The record number of families entering the U.S. and requesting asylum has overloaded a border enforcement system not designed to safely and quickly process them. Here is a step-by-step look at the process families go through and where the system is straining.

Port of entry

Waiting time: weeks to months

Upon arriving at the border, asylum seekers wait for weeks or months in Mexico just to enter the U.S. The long wait times are due to “metering,” a Trump administration policy that sets limits on the number of people who can enter each day.

Between ports of entry

The other route most migrants take is crossing illegally between the checkpoints. Most of them are from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

Families typically surrender to Border Patrol agents upon crossing to begin the asylum process. Those who opt to evade authorities are usually single adults seeking work. The 688,000 people apprehended at the border since the federal fiscal year began in October includes 390,000 traveling as families, the highest level on record.

Crossing the port

Once allowed in, migrants are taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, and start the asylum process.

Customs and Border Protection facilities

Migrants are then held in Border Patrol stations until they are either sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, or released. By law, the Border Patrol isn’t supposed to hold people for more than 72 hours. But the surge of migrants has caused overcrowding and holding times of weeks or longer.

Supposed to be 72 hours

Can be a week or few weeks

Facilities for those who enter through the ports are less crowded because of the “metering” policy.

To manage the overflow, authorities have opened tent camps, put children in cells for nearly a month, and in one case had migrants wait under a bridge, drawing criticism for conditions described as unclean and unsafe.

One of three things could happen from here.

Detained by ICE

Up to 20 days

Some families are sent to ICE where they can be held in a family detention center and start their immigration court proceedings. They must be released after 20 days, long before an asylum case can be completed. When single adults are sent to ICE, they are often deported or later released on bond.

Sent to Mexico

Can be from weeks to months

Some are sent to wait in Mexico for their first court appearance under a program launched by the Trump administration called the Migration Protection Protocols, often referred to as Remain in Mexico.

Sent to shelter or charity

Few days

Some are released directly to a shelter or charity, which arrange travel for migrants so they can meet up with friends or relatives in the U.S. as they wait for their first court appearance. Families sent to ICE first are sent here after.

Going to court

Migrants get their day in court. If for some reason the appearance doesn’t happen—whether they miss it, their lawyer has a conflict or their translator doesn’t show—the case goes to the back of the line. People wait for months or years for another date. There is a backlog of more than 908,000 cases pending in federal immigration court.

The process continues

Often more than a couple years

Multiple hearings will follow. The final hearing and decision can take years. The national average wait time is about 727 days, though the average wait eclipses 1,100 days in San Antonio and 1,000 days in Imperial, Calif., according to government data collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

In the meantime, most families will live in the U.S., many with work permits that allow them to legally hold a job while they wait for a final ruling.

Port of entry

Waiting time: weeks to months

Upon arriving at the border, asylum seekers wait for weeks or months in Mexico just to enter the U.S. The long wait times are due to “metering,” a Trump administration policy that sets limits on the number of people who can enter each day.

Between ports of entry

The other route most migrants take is crossing illegally between the checkpoints. Most of them are from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

Families typically surrender to Border Patrol agents upon crossing to begin the asylum process. Those who opt to evade authorities are usually single adults seeking work. The 688,000 people apprehended at the border since the federal fiscal year began in October includes 390,000 traveling as families, the highest level on record.

Crossing the port

Once allowed in, migrants are taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, and start the asylum process.

Customs and Border Protection facilities

Migrants are then held in Border Patrol stations until they are either sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, or released. By law, the Border Patrol isn’t supposed to hold people for more than 72 hours. But the surge of migrants has caused overcrowding and holding times of weeks or longer.

Supposed to be 72 hours

Can be a week or few weeks

Facilities for those who enter through the ports are less crowded because of the “metering” policy.

To manage the overflow, authorities have opened tent camps, put children in cells for nearly a month, and in one case had migrants wait under a bridge, drawing criticism for conditions described as unclean and unsafe.

One of three things could happen from here.

Detained by ICE

Up to 20 days

Some families are sent to ICE where they can be held in a family detention center and start their immigration court proceedings. They must be released after 20 days, long before an asylum case can be completed. When single adults are sent to ICE, they are often deported or later released on bond.

Sent to Mexico

Can be from weeks to months

Some are sent to wait in Mexico for their first court appearance under a program launched by the Trump administration called the Migration Protection Protocols, often referred to as Remain in Mexico.

Sent to shelter or charity

Few days

Some are released directly to a shelter or charity, which arrange travel for migrants so they can meet up with friends or relatives in the U.S. as they wait for their first court appearance. Families sent to ICE first are sent here after.

Going to court

Migrants get their day in court. If for some reason the appearance doesn’t happen—whether they miss it, their lawyer has a conflict or their translator doesn’t show—the case goes to the back of the line. People wait for months or years for another date. There is a backlog of more than 908,000 cases pending in federal immigration court.

The process continues

Often more than a couple years

Multiple hearings will follow. The final hearing and decision can take years. The national average wait time is about 727 days, though the average wait eclipses 1,100 days in San Antonio and 1,000 days in Imperial, Calif., according to government data collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

In the meantime, most families will live in the U.S., many with work permits that allow them to legally hold a job while they wait for a final ruling.

Port of entry

Waiting time: weeks to months

Upon arriving at the border, asylum seekers wait for weeks or months in Mexico just to enter the U.S. The long wait times are due to “metering,” a Trump administration policy that sets limits on the number of people who can enter each day.

Between ports of entry

The other route most migrants take is crossing illegally between the checkpoints. Most of them are from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

Families typically surrender to Border Patrol agents upon crossing to begin the asylum process. Those who opt to evade authorities are usually single adults seeking work. The 688,000 people apprehended at the border since the federal fiscal year began in October includes 390,000 traveling as families, the highest level on record.

Crossing the port

Once allowed in, migrants are taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, and start the asylum process.

Customs and Border Protection facilities

Migrants are then held in Border Patrol stations until they are either sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, or released. By law, the Border Patrol isn’t supposed to hold people for more than 72 hours. But the surge of migrants has caused overcrowding and holding times of weeks or longer.

Supposed to be 72 hours

Can be a week or few weeks

Facilities for those who enter through the ports are less crowded because of the “metering” policy.

To manage the overflow, authorities have opened tent camps, put children in cells for nearly a month, and in one case had migrants wait under a bridge, drawing criticism for conditions described as unclean and unsafe.

One of three things could happen from here.

Detained by ICE

Up to 20 days

Some families are sent to ICE where they can be held in a family detention center and start their immigration court proceedings. They must be released after 20 days, long before an asylum case can be completed. When single adults are sent to ICE, they are often deported or later released on bond.

Sent to Mexico

Can be from weeks to months

Some are sent to wait in Mexico for their first court appearance under a program launched by the Trump administration called the Migration Protection Protocols, often referred to as Remain in Mexico.

Sent to shelter or charity

Few days

Some are released directly to a shelter or charity, which arrange travel for migrants so they can meet up with friends or relatives in the U.S. as they wait for their first court appearance. Families sent to ICE first are sent here after.

Going to court

Migrants get their day in court. If for some reason the appearance doesn’t happen—whether they miss it, their lawyer has a conflict or their translator doesn’t show—the case goes to the back of the line. People wait for months or years for another date. There is a backlog of more than 908,000 cases pending in federal immigration court.

The process continues

Often more than a couple years

Multiple hearings will follow. The final hearing and decision can take years. The national average wait time is about 727 days, though the average wait eclipses 1,100 days in San Antonio and 1,000 days in Imperial, Calif., according to government data collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

In the meantime, most families will live in the U.S., many with work permits that allow them to legally hold a job while they wait for a final ruling.

Port of entry

Waiting time:

weeks to months

Upon arriving at the border, asylum seekers wait for weeks or months in Mexico just to enter the U.S. The long wait times are due to “metering,” a Trump administration policy that sets limits on the number of people who can enter each day.

Between ports

The other route most migrants take is crossing illegally between the checkpoints. Most of them are from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, according to U.S. government data.

Families typically surrender to Border Patrol agents upon crossing to begin the asylum process. Those who opt to evade authorities are usually single adults seeking work. The 688,000 people apprehended at the border since the federal fiscal year began in October includes 390,000 traveling as families, the highest level on record.

Crossing the port

Once allowed in, migrants are taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, and start the asylum process.

Customs and Border Protection facilities

Migrants are then held in Border Patrol stations until they are either sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, or released. By law, the Border Patrol isn’t supposed to hold people for more than 72 hours. But the surge of migrants has caused overcrowding and holding times of weeks or longer.

Supposed to be

72 hours

Can be a week or

few weeks

Facilities for those who enter through the ports are less crowded because of the “metering” policy.

To manage the overflow, authorities have opened tent camps, put children in cells for nearly a month, and in one case had migrants wait under a bridge, drawing criticism for conditions described as unclean and unsafe.

One of three things could happen from here.

Sent to Mexico

Detained by ICE

Up to 20 days

Can be from weeks

to months

Some families are sent to ICE where they can be held in a family detention center and start their immigration court proceedings. They must be released after 20 days, long before an asylum case can be completed. When single adults are sent to ICE, they are often deported or later released on bond.

Some are sent to wait in Mexico for their first court appearance under a program launched by the Trump administration called the Migration Protection Protocols, often referred to as Remain in Mexico.

Sent to shelter or charity

Few days

Some are released directly to a shelter or charity, which arrange travel for migrants so they can meet up with friends or relatives in the U.S. as they wait for their first court appearance. Families sent to ICE first are sent here after.

Going to court

Migrants get their day in court. If for some reason the appearance doesn’t happen—whether they miss it, their lawyer has a conflict or their translator doesn’t show—the case goes to the back of the line. People wait for months or years for another date. There is a backlog of more than 908,000 cases pending in federal immigration court.

The process continues

Often more than a couple years

Multiple hearings will follow. The final hearing and decision can take years. The national average wait time is about 727 days, though the average wait eclipses 1,100 days in San Antonio and 1,000 days in Imperial, Calif., according to government data collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

In the meantime, most families will live in the U.S., many with work permits that allow them to legally hold a job while they wait for a final ruling.

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/system-under-strain-how-the-u-s-actually-manages-the-thousands-of-migrant-families-entering-each-day-11563269400

2019-07-16 09:30:00Z
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