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Another 10,000+ Caravan Hits Mexico and Requests Asylum

As Congress continues to feud over the construction of a border wall, another Central American caravan of 10,000-plus migrants entered Mexico and intends to reach the U.S.

The caravan, which first departed Honduras on Jan. 15, began as a smaller group of around 2,000 people, WaPo reported. However, the caravan ballooned in size as it continued to travel across Central America. Numerous foreign nationals from Guatemala and El Salvador, eager over the possibility to apply for humanitarian visas in Mexico, joined along the way. . .

Many of the migrants are attracted by a new policy recently enacted by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The new left-wing president, who has criticized Mexico’s past treatment of migrants, is allowing many of them to apply for humanitarian visas, allowing them to stay in the country legally as they try to gain access into the U.S.

Historically, migrants would reach the border and apply for asylum within the U.S., allowing them to disappear into the country without ever appearing to their immigration court date. The Trump administration has worked to prevent this by pressuring the Mexican government to keep migrants in their country as they wait for their asylum cases to work through the U.S. courts — a policy known as “remain in Mexico.”

Mexico’s National Immigration Institute reported it had processed a total of 10,343 migrants. About 75 percent were from Honduras, with the rest coming from El Salvador, Guatemala, and a small number of Haitians, Nicaraguans, Cubans and Brazilians. (Read more from “Another 10,000+ Caravan Hits Mexico and Requests Asylum” HERE)

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Mexicans Are Paying in Blood for Our Central American Amnesty Policies

Evidently, it’s not in vogue for politicians to care about the ill effects of illegal immigration on Americans, but perhaps it’s politically correct to finally take action based on what our open border is doing to Mexico.

According to information released this week by Mexico’s interior ministry, a record 33,341 murder probes were opened in Mexico last year. That in itself is a 15 percent increase from 2017’s record of 28,866. In 2014, the number of murders in Mexico stood at 16,108 after peaking the previous years during the decade-long drug war between the Mexican government and the cartels. Why has the number of homicides doubled since 2014? The rival cartels are fighting with each other to gain control over the lucrative smuggling routes, because of the DACA amnesty driving the smuggling from Central America.

What has happened over the past few years? In fiscal year 2012, before Obama enacted his illegal DACA program, in which Central Americans were encouraged to come here with children and never be deported, the number of family units caught at our border from the northern triangle countries (El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala) was 1,489. By FY 2014, that number surged to 61,334. In FY 2018, it was up to 103,509, but most of the surge was in the latter part of the year, a trajectory that has only grown this year without any plateau. The numbers will likely top 200,000 for FY 2019.

Likewise, the number of UACs in FY 2011 from those same three countries was 3,912. It exploded to 51,705 just three years later, a baseline that has held steady the past year and a half.

The rise in UACs grew with DACA, and the rise in family units with kids rose with recent court opinions on top of the promise of “dream” amnesty.

The trip northward is no picnic. Every Central American must pay $5,000-$10,000 to be smuggled through Mexico and eventually over our border. They either have to pay the money to whichever cartel controls that given plaza, or they have to work it off by doing drug smuggling or other work for the cartels. The women are forced to pay either by being raped by those in charge or by serving in brothels.

As Jaeson Jones, retired captain in the Texas Department of Public Safety, said on my podcast earlier this month, “Children and people are now a commodity to the drug cartels.” He explained that the way the cartels make their money is “through controlling the plazas throughout Mexico.” “Once you’re in control of a plaza, everything that moves through is paid for,” he said. “That’s why they battle for control of that space. It’s also why you are not going to enter the United States without working and contracting with the Mexican cartels.”

Thus, the Central American wave of migration spawned by unique magnets in our legal system has now forced the Mexican people to deal with the cascading effects of hundreds of thousands of migrants coming through their territory and empowering the cartels. Not only does the promise of amnesty for “children” empower evil-doers, it also creates endless bloodshed between the cartels both at Mexico’s southern border and its northern border, competing for the business of the migrants. Much of this bloodshed spills over to innocent victims not engaged in cartel warfare.

Consider this tragic absurdity of the amnesty-driven migration. The political class and the media lie to us by suggesting that bogus asylum helps people escape violence (which is not synonymous with persecution, the legal requirement for asylum). As I’ve explained before, violence in Central America, while is still high by our standards, has plummeted since before the migration of Central Americans. Overall, while asylum petitions have spiked by 1,744 percent since 2009, homicide has dropped 16 percent in El Salvador, 35 percent in Honduras, and 43 percent in Guatemala.

But it gets even more absurd. Migration from Mexico to the U.S. is actually down, even as violence skyrockets there. The number of family units crossing from Mexico is down almost 50 percent since FY 2015. So this has absolutely nothing to do with violence and everything to do with Central Americans coming for economic reasons and to “reunite” with illegal family members already here.

Pelosi and Schumer are selling their policies as compassionate to those suffering from violence, yet their policies are actually inducing unimaginable violence upon the Mexicans while the Mexicans aren’t even coming here any more in large numbers. Yet violence is down in Central America, and Central Americans are more likely to experience violence while making the trip.

American blood from the endless criminal alien crime doesn’t seem to motivate our politicians to act, but will the blood of Mexicans make it fashionable for them to care? (For more from the author of “Mexicans Are Paying in Blood for Our Central American Amnesty Policies” please click HERE)

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Hush Money: Witness Reveals How Much El Chapo Allegedly Paid Mexican President

On Tuesday, Columbian drug lord Alex Cifuentes Villa testified in the Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera trial. During his testimony, Villa said El Chapo paid former Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto $100 million in bribes, The New York Times reported.

According to Villa, Nieto reached out to El Chapo first and asked for $250 million to call the manhunt off for the wanted drug lord. El Chapo counter offered $100 million and Nieto accepted. . .

There have been other allegations of other government officials receiving bribes from El Chapo but the news of Nieto, if true, would be the most shocking. It would mean the drug cartels truly do have a hold on Mexican officials.

After testifying about the two presidents, Mr. Cifuentes rattled off other bribes that Mr. Guzmán and his allies had paid to Mexican officials. On at least two occasions, he said, the kingpin gave the Mexican military between $10 million and $12 million to launch operations to “either kill or capture” associates of the Beltrán-Leyva brothers during his war with them.

Mr. Cifuentes also said the Mexican federal police not only turned a blind eye to drug trafficking, but occasionally took part in it. Once, he told jurors, traffickers gave the police photographs of several suitcases packed with cocaine that were sent by the cartel on an airplane from Argentina to Mexico. The police picked up the suitcases from the baggage claim, Mr. Cifuentes said, and sold the drugs themselves.

(Read more from “Hush Money: Witness Reveals How Much El Chapo Allegedly Paid Mexican President” HERE)

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Mayor Was Shot to Death Hours After Being Sworn In

The mayor of Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca in Mexico, Alejandro Aparicio Santiago, was shot to death two hours after being sworn into office, The Independent reported. Santiago was on his way to Tlaxiaco’s city hall when a gunman open fire on him and his colleagues. He had been touring local city offices and was surrounded by his supporters when the attack occurred.

According to CNN, a Facebook live video was streaming when the shooting occurred and supporters appeared confused after the attack took place. Some held down the man they believed was responsible for the shooting.

Santiago and three others were taken to a nearby hospital. Santiago was shot in the chest, where the bullet punctured his right lung. He suffered internal bleeding and eventually succumbed to his injuries, CNN reported. Two others also died. . .

The state prosecutor’s office believes drug gangs were behind the attacks. They’re also believed to be responsible for injuring four other people, including another politician. (Read more from “Mayor Was Shot to Death Hours After Being Sworn In” HERE)

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Mexican President’s Immigration Plan Could Be Game Changer

By Fox News. In a bid to reduce migration to the U.S. and attract investment, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has proposed the creation of economic “free zones” along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Tax Incentive Decree for the Northern Border Region, which Lopez Obrador announced Saturday, would create a free zone that would stretch from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Coast and be more than 15 miles wide, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Inside the zone, income taxes would be reduced by a third and Value Added Taxes on imported goods would be slashed in half, the minimum wage would increase 100 percent, and fuel prices would equal U.S. prices, the report said.

“It’s going to be the biggest free zone in the world,” Lopez Obrador said. “It is very important to project for winning investment, creating jobs and taking advantage of the economic strength of the United States.”

Lopez Obrador, a self-styled left-wing populist, took office Dec. 1 with the promise to help the country’s poor, noting that the nation’s minimum wage had lost 70 percent of its purchasing power in recent decades after devaluations and economic crises. (Read more from “Mexican President’s Immigration Plan Could Be Game Changer” HERE)

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US, Mexico Seek to Stem Migration From Central America by Funding Development in Region

By USA Today. The United States and Mexico will be cooperating closely to convince thousands of potential Central American migrants to not risk the perilous journey to the U.S. border by investing money into some of the region’s poorest areas.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said up to $10.6 billion in existing U.S. funding would fund “institutional reform” and “good government” initiatives in Central America, along with regional development in southern Mexico – where new Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has promised to pull the region out of poverty through projects ranging from railways to refineries to planting thousands of hectares of trees.

Cross-border cabinet meetings would be convened, Ebrard said, and private sector participation would be included in the plan.

“Both countries recognize the strong links between economic growth in southern Mexico and successfully promoting prosperity, good government and security in Central America,” Ebrard told reporters.

“We’re committed to promoting strong regional economic growth, better-paying jobs and better opportunities for all our citizens.” (Read more from “US, Mexico Seek to Stem Migration From Central America by Funding Development in Region” HERE)

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Trump Points to ‘Wall’ Built Around Obama’s Home During Fight for Border Wall Funding

President Trump pointed to the wall former President Obama built around his Washington D.C., home as a reason Congress should fund his barrier on the southern border.

The former president and his wife, Michelle, bought the 8,200-square-foot mansion for $8.1 million in 2017, according to reports.

The house is in the Kalorama section of Washington, an exclusive enclave for diplomats, lobbyists and politicians, including Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared, as well as Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.

The Obamas bought the house after leasing it when Obama left office in 2016. . .

The president wants $5 billion for the barrier, but Democrats are offering only $1.6 billion for border security — and nothing for a wall. (Read more from “Trump Points to ‘Wall’ Built Around Obama’s Home During Fight for Border Wall Funding” HERE)

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WATCH: Mexican Drug Cartel Ambushes Police in Brutal Gun Fight

The Mexican government announced they are investigating the leak of a video that showed an October 2018 ambush by a Mexican drug cartel on a truck that was transporting four police officers.

“The video depicts the ambush killing of four officers of the Secretariat of Security of the State of Mexico (SSEM),” Robert Arce of Breitbart’s Border and Cartel team reported. “They were traveling on a mountain road in the municipality of Almoloya de Alquisiras on October 28 of this year at the time of their deaths.”

The first half of the video shows the suspects, who are believed to belong to La Familia Michoacana,” socializing and playing with their phones as they waited for the attack to happen. . .

“Roughly one police officer was killed daily on average in Mexico throughout most of 2018, according to a study conducted by Causa en Común,” Arce added. “The study was conducted up to December 9 and accounted for 388 officer deaths, but due to delays in reporting, was revised to 404.” (Read more from “WATCH: Mexican Drug Cartel Ambushes Police in Brutal Gun Fight” HERE)

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UPDATE: This Air Force Veteran Started a GoFundMe Campaign for Trump’s Wall…and Raised How Much Again?

Editor’s note: see the updated story below about how the GoFundMe wall funding has now surpassed $15 million!

By Townhall. Well, there could be a government shutdown this week, or not. Either way, whatever is cooked up on the Hill; there will be probably be no wall funding. The Senate has put forward a stopgap measure will fund the government until February, but we don’t know what the president is going to do. Still, there have to be mounting frustration over the lack of progress with regards to the wall, a key and must-do action item for the administration. It formed the cornerstone of his 2016 campaign. So, with no wall, one Air Force veteran decided to take matters in his own hands, starting a GoFundMe campaign that amassed over $500,000 in two days. (Read more from “This Air Force Veteran Started a GoFundMe Campaign for Trump’s Wall…and Raised How Much Again?” HERE)

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Purple Heart Air Force Veteran, 37, Who Lost Both His Legs and an Arm, Creates GoFundMe Campaign to Build Trump’s Border Wall, Raising Nearly $1MILLION

By Daily Mail. A Florida Air Force veteran has raised nearly $1million to build President Donald Trump’s promised border wall.

Triple amputee Brian Kolfage, 37, created the GoFundMe account on Sunday titled We The People Will Fund The Wall, and in three days has already raised over $900,000 of its $1billion goal.

‘It’s up to Americans to help out and pitch in to get this project rolling,’ the page reads. ‘If the 63 million people who voted for Trump each pledge $80, we can build the wall.’

Trump is demanding $5billion to build the southern border wall with Mexico, and is threatening to shut down the government if he can’t get the funding.

The fundraising page says it has contacted the Trump Administration to secure a point of contact where all the funds will go, but adds it has ‘many very high level contacts already helping’. (Read more from “Purple Heart Air Force Veteran, 37, Who Lost Both His Legs and an Arm, Creates GoFundMe Campaign to Build Trump’s Border Wall, Raising Nearly $1MILLION” HERE)

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Air Force Veteran’s GoFundMe Campaign Now Exceeds $15,000,000. Transgender’s GoFundMe Raises $127k

Two competing GoFundMe pages – one raising money to fund President Trump’s border wall and another raising money for ladders for migrants to use to surmount that wall – are both continuing to rack up quite a bit of cash.

The original crowdfunding campaign, entitled We The People Will Fund The Wall, surpassed $15million on Saturday, on its way to lofty $1billion goal.

More than 250,000 people have donated to the page since it was created on Sunday by Brian Kolfage, a triple amputee Air Force veteran.

The campaign description says in part: ‘It’s time we uphold our laws, and get this wall BUILT! It’s up to Americans to help out and pitch in to get this project rolling.’

On Wednesday Charlotte Clymer, a transgender woman and human rights activist from Texas, launched her own fundraising page in response, titled Ladders to Get Over Trump’s Wall. (Read more about the Air Force Veteran’s GoFundMe HERE)

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Trump Tweets Image of Proposed Border Wall

By Fox News, In the midst of a contentious fight with Democrats over a possible partial government shutdown and funding for border security, President Trump on Friday tweeted an image of the proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

“A design of our Steel Slat Barrier which is totally effective while at the same time beautiful!” the president wrote in a caption for an image of what appeared to be a tall steel picket-designed fence.

The tweet from Trump came amid a debate over government funding. The Senate has been scrambling to take up a spending package with billions in funding for a border wall, as Trump made clear there is a “good chance” of a partial government shutdown at midnight. (Read more from “Trump Tweets Image of Proposed Border Wall” HERE)

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GOP Senators Float DACA Fix to Rescue Stalled House Border-Wall Bill

By The Hill. Some Senate Republicans are proposing a reauthorization of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in a last-ditch attempt to rescue funding for President Trump’s border wall.

As a motion to proceed to the House-passed measure providing $5.7 billion for the border wall and security stalled on the Senate floor, some Republicans proposed at a private lunch meeting to add protections for certain immigrants in order to pick up Democratic support.

“I don’t see any reason to proceed to a bill that can’t pass,” said Sen. Jeff Flake (Ariz.), a Republican who voted against a motion to proceed to the House bill, which keeps 25 percent of the government funded until Feb. 8.

Flake said he wants to “find a bill that can pass.”

“I think one that could — if we’re going to reopen this thing to add more money for a wall or steel slats, or whatever you want to call it, then throw DACA in, too,” Flake said, adding that several colleagues support his position. (Read more from “GOP Senators Float DACA Fix to Rescue Stalled House Border-Wall Bill” HERE)

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House Approves Spending Bill With Border Wall Funding

The House of Representatives approved a spending bill Thursday that includes $5.7 billion to build President Trump’s proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. It passed by a vote of 217-185, with no Democratic “yeas.” The legislation now heads to the Senate.

Among those who voted for the bill were the members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

“Republicans in Congress have continually told the American people that we would fight for wall funding, and today the House of Representatives took its first step toward fulfilling that promise,” the group said in a statement after the vote. “The Senate must follow our lead. It’s time we do what we said and work with President Trump and the American people to secure our borders.”

The Freedom Caucus introduced an amendment Wednesday night and gave a series of impassioned speeches about how the president had a duty to keep his promise to the American people. To have border security, the likes of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said, they had to fund the wall. He called it “common sense.” . . .

Considering Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi already insisted, in front of cameras at the White House last week, they are not paying for the border wall, we seem to be heading toward a partial government shutdown. The deadline is Friday.

(Read more from “House Approves Spending Bill With Border Wall Funding” HERE)

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