A List of the Criminals Protected by Sanctuary Mayors/Governors

Posted on June 26, 2019June 26, 2019 by Denise Simon

Sanctuary cities and states are building a new condition of terror where innocent Americans are living in fear and with extreme caution….

Most recently, Washington State governor, Jay Inslee explained the following when signing new sanctuary law, now the strongest in the nation: “We will not be complicit in the Trump administration’s depraved efforts to break-up hard-working immigrant and refugee families“. Okay governor, dude…..perhaps a lawsuit for aiding and abetting criminals may be in order…(BTW, Inslee is running for president as he announced in March)

Try some of these cases…(in part)

According to ICE, Rosalio Ramos-Ramos was arrested last January for murder and dismembering his victim.

It happened just months after Ramos was released from a Washington jail despite ICE’s request for an immigration detainer and notification of his pending release, neither of which were honored.

ICE also cites the case of Mexican national Martin Gallo-Gallardo, who was in a Clackamas County Oregon jail.

The statement said jail officials ignored ICE’s request for an immigration detainer and notification of release.

Gallardo was released and within months was re-arrested, this time for allegedly murdering his wife.

***

The most recent case involves Francisco Carranza-Ramirez, who was also in the U.S. illegally.

He was convicted of raping a wheelchair-bound Seattle woman twice.

He was sentenced to time served and released, under the judge’s order that he self-deport back to Mexico.

King County Sheriff’s officials say he eventually did return to Mexico, but not before assaulting his victim a third time.

***

Meantime, Washington state just passed what some immigration advocates are calling the strongest sanctuary state law in the country.

It forbids local jails and state prisons from honoring ICE immigration detainers and even prevents corrections officials from even letting ICE know about the pending release of a criminal illegal immigrant.

The law also instructs the attorney general to draft new rules restricting ICE agents from making immigration arrests at courthouses and hospitals.

Illegal alien arrested for murdering, dismembering victim after local police fail to notify ICE of his release

In October 2017, ICE identified Rosalio Ramos-Ramos who is an illegally present Honduran citizen with prior criminal convictions and four prior removals from the United States at a city jail in Washington.

ICE lodged a detainer, but he was released without notification to ICE. In January 2018, Ramos-Ramos was arrested again and booked at a local county jail for murder.

ICE has lodged another detainer with local jail officials.

County jail ignores ICE detainer, illegal alien suspected of killing wife after release

In March 2018, ICE located and lodged a detainer on Martin Gallo-Gallardo, a citizen of Mexico who was unlawfully present in the United States, after locating him in an Oregon county jail. Jail officials did not honor the immigration detainer and released the convicted criminal two days later, without notifying ICE.

Following his release, ICE made multiple, unsuccessful attempts to locate and arrest the man.

In October 2018, Gallo-Gallardo was arrested again, this time on a felony murder charges for allegedly killing his wife.

County jail ignores ICE detainer, Honduran mans suspected of murder after release

In September 2016, ICE located Elder Carceres-Coello, an illegally present Honduran man with multiple prior criminal convictions being held at a county jail in Washington.

ICE lodged a detainer with the jail, but in February 2017, county officials did not honor the detainer and released him.

In July 2017, Carceres-Coello was again arrested, this time for theft and property destruction.

In July 2017, despite criminal charges, convictions and previous immigration removals going back to 2005, county jail officials released Carceres-Coello without notifying ICE.

In August 2017, Carceres-Coello was arrested yet again, this time for homicide and robbery.

As of June 2019, he being held on both murder and robbery charges at a local county jail.

County jail releases illegal alien, man later kills wife and self in apparent murder-suicide

In December 2016, ICE located and lodged a detainer on Christian Octavio Parra, who was being held in a county jail in Washington.

Octavio Parra was a Mexican citizen who was illegally present in the U.S. and had prior immigration encounters.

Local jail officials did not honor the immigration detainer and released the convicted criminal in August 2017 without notifying ICE.

A little over a month later, Octavio Parra shot and killed his estranged wife before taking his own life.

County jail refuses to honor immigration detainer, releases child rapist

In January 2014, ICE encountered Jorge Luis Romero-Arriaga, an illegally present citizen of Honduras, at a county jail in Kent, Washington. Romero-Arriaga was being held on a charge of rape of a child. I

CE officers interviewed the man and determined that he was a citizen of Honduras and lodged an immigration detainer.

That same month, the immigration detainer was not honored and Romero-Arriaga was released to the community pending the disposition of his case.

In August 2015, the subject was convicted of multiple counts of assault.

In February 2017, ICE took the Romero-Arriaga into custody and removed him from the U.S. in March 2017.

County jail refuses to honor ICE detainer, releases illegal alien convicted of rape

In June 2013, ICE officers encountered Luis Fernandez-De La Torre at a local county jail in Kent, Washington.

ICE officers determined he was a citizen of Mexico and lodged an immigration detainer.

Fernandez-De La Torre was later convicted of rape and sentenced to more than a year in jail. After completion of his sentence, the Department of Corrections transferred Fernandez-De La Torre to a county jail on warrants for driving while impaired and violating a no contact order.

In February 2014, ICE lodged a subsequent detainer at the county jail.

The detainer was not honored, and that same month, Fernandez-De La Torre was released to the community.

In July 2014, ICE took the criminal alien into custody, and he was removed to Mexico in May 2015.

County jail refuses to honor ICE detainer of man who sexually assaulted dog

In February 2019, Fidel Lopez, an illegally present Mexican citizen, was encountered by ICE officials at a local Oregon county jail.

ICE lodged an immigration detainer on Lopez the same day for violating immigration laws.

In April 2019, Lopez was convicted of multiple charges involving animal abuse.

The county jail did not honor the immigration detainer and released him without notice to immigration officials.

ICE apprehended Lopez at his residence and served him a notice to appear.

He is currently being held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma pending immigration proceedings.

A detainer is a request to local law enforcement agencies that ICE be notified as early as practicable – ideally at least 48 hours – before a removable alien is released from criminal custody and then briefly maintain custody of the alien for up to 48 hours to allow ICE to assume custody for removal purposes.

Corpus Christie and Philadelphia Busts Prove the U.S. Cocaine Problem

Posted on June 26, 2019June 26, 2019 by Denise Simon

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — On their latest trip to South America, a CBP Air and Marine Operations aircrew spoiled cocaine smugglers’ best efforts when they contributed to the arrest of 11 smugglers and the seizure of almost $300 million worth of narcotics between June 17-21.

Small vessel carrying narcotics — This low-profile vessel is designed to be hard to detect
when moving in open waters.

“No one can hide from us on our watch,” said Director of Air and Marine Operations Bob “Thor” Blanchard. If smugglers are trying to bring drugs into the U.S., our dedicated and experienced crews will find them and they’ll go to jail.”

The crew of an AMO Lockheed P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft began its work by detecting a small fishing vessel or “panga” loaded with 1,656 pounds of cocaine. The next day, the crew was on patrol using its sophisticated radar system detected a purpose-built smuggling vessel. The “Low Profile Vessel” or, LPV, was loaded with 4,134 pounds of cocaine. On the last day of its trip and while heading back to the United States, the crew detected a hard to find semi-submersible vessel. That load was one of the Corpus Christi office’s largest ever seizures. The 16,938-pound load on this vessel brought their weekly total to 22,728 pounds, or roughly the weight of three heavy-duty pickup trucks.

An AMO P3 — A P-3 Orion Long Range Tracker patrols
the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Air Security Operations Center—Corpus Christi is a division of Air and Marine Operations and operates the Lockheed P-3 Orion conducting counterdrug patrol missions over the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Together with the National Air Security Operations Center in Jacksonville, Florida, Customs and Border Protection P-3 crews seized or disrupted 261,939 pounds of cocaine in 2018.

The mission of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations is to serve and protect the American people. It applies advanced aeronautical and maritime capabilities and employs its unique skill sets to preserve America’s security interests. With 1,800 federal agents and mission support personnel, 240 aircraft and 300 marine vessels operating throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands, Air and Marine Operations uses its sophisticated fleets to detect, sort, intercept, track and apprehend criminals in diverse environments at and beyond U.S. borders.

*** It was earlier this month that yet another cargo ship arrived at the Philadelphia shipping yard containing 15,000 kilos of cocaine. This ship named the MSC Gayane had traveled from Chile, Panama and the Bahamas before reaching the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Port on the Delaware River were the actual bust occurred. The MSC Gayane is a newer cargo ship that flies a Liberian flag yet is Swiss owned. The value of the cocaine aboard was over $1 Billion.

photo

Six crew of the cargo ship are in Federal custody.

The six men have been identified as Ivan Durasevic, Nenad Illic, Aleksandar Kavaia, Bosko Markovic, Laauli Pulu, and Fonofaavae Tiasaga, according to NBC10. Tiasaga and Durasevic were the first charged last Thursday with conspiracy to possess cocaine. Four of the five suspects waived their preliminary hearings while the fifth suspect asked from a continuance through his attorney, which was granted by the judge.

The nationalities of the six crew members had not been confirmed as of Monday. According to an attorney, one of the defendants is from Montenegro. There were two interpreters present in the court room that spoke Serbian and Samoan with the defendants, according to the Associated Press.

The crew members allegedly admitted to helping load cocaine onto the cargo ship while it was at sea off the west coast of South America, according to an affidavit. Authorities said 14 boats approached the ship on two separate occasions. Records show the previous ports of call were the Bahamas on June 13, Panama on June 9, Peru on May 24, and Columbia on May 19.

Odebrecht Files for Bankruptcy Protection

Posted on June 24, 2019June 24, 2019 by Denise Simon

When a huge global construction conglomerate like Odebrecht ends up in a John Podesta email released by Wikileaks, one should take some notice, right?

Odebrecht, the Brazilian company that is synonymous with corruption, decided to file for bankruptcy protection on Monday after years of graft scandals and trials involving top Latin American businessmen and politicians. Founded in 1944 as a construction company, Odebrecht expanded into the chemical and energy industries to become one of Brazil’s largest conglomerates. It counts among its building achievements the Miami International Airport, the Lisbon metro, and Brazil’s Transnordestina railway. At one point, its global success was seen to have symbolized Brazil’s economic boom.

In part published in 2017:

Odebrecht has confessed to paying $98 million in bribes to the governments of Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez and of his successor Nicolás Maduro over the last decade. If the allegations are true, Venezuela has received the most bribes from the construction group outside of Brazil. Next on the list is Panama with $59 million for which 17 executives and former officials have been charged while President Juan Carlos Varela has been accused. Varela, who had been advocating for proposed charges to be filed, became implicated in February by one of the partners of Mossack Fonseca —the law firm at the center of last year’s Panama Papers scandal —who said Varela admitted to him he accepted bribes from Odebrecht, accusations Varela has denied. Peruvian authorities, similarly to Varela, had been taking aggressive measures to fight Odebrecht-related corruption involving $30.4 million in bribes until their own names became implicated. Toledo, as well as former President Alan García, are being investigated by Operation Car Wash while a third former president, Ollanta Humala, has been implicated by Marcelo Odebrecht himself, but he has not been named in the investigations.

Notable projects in the U.S. include:

The first Brazilian company to complete a public project in the country, Odebrecht celebrates 20 years of operations in the United States in 2010. The construction company has completed 55 projects throughout its history and is currently present in Florida and Louisiana. In the country, Odebrecht has also been in California, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Odebrecht arrived to U.S. soil after it won the public bid to build a stretch of the Metromover, Miami’s above-ground subway. Soon after, in 1992, Odebrecht was responsible for building Route 56, a highway in the region of San Diego, California.
After these projects, the rhythm of the work continued to be intense. The following year, after winning the bid to work on the Santa Ana River chute, the company earned an important contract: The Seven Oaks Dam project in California, in the amount of US$ 168 million, with a construction period of 52 months. During this same year, 1993, the Company was responsible for the construction work on the Merrill Barber Bridge and the Golden Glades viaduct, which extends 2,464 meters to serve those who use the I-95 system, the federal highway that goes from Southern Florida to Canada. As a result of these experiences, Odebrecht was chosen to erect Garcon Point Bridge in Santa Rosa Bay, at the border between Florida and Alabama.
In the building construction area, Odebrecht was responsible for the American Airlines Arena, a sports and cultural complex in Miami, where it competed for the contract with major U.S. companies. It also built the Fortune House building, an apart hotel with 29 floors, the Ocean Steps building, with 15 residential floors, and the Ritz Carlton Key Biscayne Resort & Spa, a residential hotel project.
One of the company’s main clients is Miami-Dade County – with projects in the sector of aviation and mass transportation. The partnership has existed since 1993, when the construction company was responsible for building the American Airlines cargo building. Currently, Odebrecht is responsible for expanding the North Terminals of the Miami International Airport, building the lightweight vehicle that will run on the tracks (Mia Mover) and extending the subway (Airport Link).
The North Terminal Development Program, which involves investments of US$ 2.85 billion, is the center of a bigger venture, worth US$ 6.2 billion, called the “Capital Improvement Program.” Undertaken by Miami-Dade County, it was developed with aims of expanding and improving the aviation system. The complete project includes 52 new gates, four train stations, new installations for the United States Immigration and Citizenship Services, 123 counters, 119 self-service kiosks, 72 federal inspection service posts and a new luggage system. In September, the Sky Train operation began running, connecting the ends of the four main areas of the North Terminal in under five minutes. It is estimated that the program will be completed in 2011, while the construction work for the South Terminal began in 2001 and was completed in 2007. The project included Concourse J, a lobby with 15 departure gates for national and international flights, Concourse H, which already existed and was modernized, as well as a patio that surrounds the area of these buildings.
Also at the Miami International Airport, Odebrecht is heading the construction of the MIA Mover, an automatic vehicle that runs on tracks and will connect the Miami International Airport (MIA) to the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC), a terminal that connects different transportation services. The development, the result of a US$ 256 million investment, will be completed in September 2011.
Another project underway is the construction of the Airport Link, which will connect MIC at the airport to the Earlington Heights subway station. With an investment of US$ 360 million, the project extends nearly four kilometers, with the construction of three subway substations, a bus stop and highway access points.
Odebrecht was also at the Orlando Airport, working on the North Transversal taxi strip and South Terminal Complex. The project also involved the construction of access ramps and new viaducts.
In New Orleans since 2006, Odebrecht won two new contracts in 2010 in the city. In August, it signed a contract with the US Army Corps of Engineers to undertake preventive construction work for floods. In May, the company began constructing four water pumping stations, with aims of preventing floods caused by hurricanes. Recently, the company also delivered projects at Cataouatche Lake and in the region of Chalmette, work designed to reconstruct and fortify containment dikes. The construction works are part of the Hurricane Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS), which consists of 250 different projects and involves total investments of US$ 15 billion.

Main Completed Projects
South Terminal of the Miami International Airport – Miami, Florida
Containment Dike at Lake Cataouatche – New Orleans, Louisiana
Containment Dike at Chalmette Loop – New Orleans, Louisiana
American Airlines Arena – Miami, Florida
Expansion of the FIU Football Stadium
Expansion of the Northeast Terminal of the Orlando International Airport – Miami, Florida
Seven Oaks Dam – San Bernardino, California
Carnival Center for the Performing Arts – Miami, Florida
Miami International Airport Dolphin Garage Building – Miami, Florida
M-DWASD Head Office – Coral Gables, Florida
South Road System Extension – Miami International Airport – Miami, Florida
Miami International Airport North Terminal Extension – Miami, Florida
Fine Air Hangar at the Miami International Airport – Miami, Florida
Metromover – Miami, Florida
Western “U” Apron at the Miami International Airport – Miami, Florida
Fort Lauderdale International Airport Yard – Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Merrill Barber Bridge – Vero Beach, Florida
Santa Rosa Bridge – Santa Rosa County, Florida
Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne Resort & Spa – Miami, Florida
Route 56 – San Diego, California
Miami International Airport Lobby “A” – Miami, Florida
American Airlines Terminal – Miami, Florida
Federal Express Terminal – Miami, Florida
Challenge Air Cargo Terminal – Miami, Florida
Miami International Airport Western “U” Cargo Terminal – Miami, Florida
Miami International Airport Control Tower – Miami, Florida
Golden Glades Viaduct – Miami, Florida

Odebrecht Organization
Founded in Bahia in 1944, Odebrecht Engenharia & Construção is currently the largest company in the sector in Latin America. With earnings of over R$ 18.7 billion in 2009, 70% of its revenues originate from projects abroad. It is present on the three Americas, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, and employs some 87,000 people.
The company, which has already completed nearly 2,000 projects in 35 different countries, provides integrated services in the areas of engineering, supply, construction, assembly and management of projects in the civil construction, industrial and special technology areas. Odebrecht Engineering & Construction includes six companies, consolidated in 2010, based on the business or geographic area of operations: Odebrecht Energia, Odebrecht Industrial, Odebrecht Infraestrutura, Odebrecht Latin America and Angola, Odebrecht Venezuela and Odebrecht International.
In 2009, Odebrecht finished building the Doraleh container terminal in Djibuti, and started the construction work to rebuild over 240 km of railroad for Arcelor Mittal in Liberia. Among its current projects, worthy of note are the Tripoli Airport (Libya) and the construction of an ethanol plant in Ghana.

The Bribery Schemes

According to its admissions, Odebrecht engaged in a massive and unparalleled bribery and bid-rigging scheme for more than a decade, beginning as early as 2001. During that time, Odebrecht paid approximately $788 million in bribes to government officials, their representatives and political parties in a number of countries in order to win business in those countries. The criminal conduct was directed by the highest levels of the company, with the bribes paid through a complex network of shell companies, off-book transactions and off-shore bank accounts.

As part of the scheme, Odebrecht and its co-conspirators created and funded an elaborate, secret financial structure within the company that operated to account for and disburse bribe payments to foreign government officials and political parties. By 2006, the development and operation of this secret financial structure had evolved such that Odebrecht established the “Division of Structured Operations,” which effectively functioned as a stand-alone bribe department within Odebrecht and its related entities. Until approximately 2009, the head of the Division of Structured Operations reported to the highest levels within Odebrecht, including to obtain authorization to approve bribe payments. After 2009, this responsibility was delegated to certain company business leaders in Brazil and the other jurisdictions. To conceal its activities, the Division of Structured Operations utilized an entirely separate and off-book communications system, which allowed members of the Division of Structured Operations to communicate with one another and with outside financial operators and other co-conspirators about the bribes via secure emails and instant messages, using codenames and passwords.

The Division of Structured Operations managed the “shadow” budget for the Odebrecht bribery operation via a separate computer system that was used to request and process bribe payments as well as to generate and populate spreadsheets that tracked and internally accounted for the shadow budget. These funds for the company’s sophisticated bribery operation were generated by the Odebrecht Finance Department through a variety of methods, as well as by certain Odebrecht subsidiaries, including Braskem. The funds were then funneled by the Division of Structured Operations to a series of off-shore entities that were not included on Odebrecht’s balance sheet as related entities. The Division of Structured Operations then directed the disbursement of the funds from the off-shore entities to the bribe recipient, through the use of wire transfers through one or more of the off-shore entities, as well as through cash payments both inside and outside Brazil, which were sometimes delivered using packages or suitcases left at predetermined locations.

Odebrecht, its employees and agents took a number of steps while in the United States to further the scheme. For instance, in 2014 and 2015, while located in Miami, two Odebrecht employees engaged in conduct related to certain projects in furtherance of the scheme, including meetings with other co-conspirators to plan actions to be taken in connection with the Division of Structured Operations, the movement of criminal proceeds and other criminal conduct. In addition, some of the off-shore entities used by the Division of Structured Operations to hold and disburse unrecorded funds were established, owned and/or operated by individuals located in the United States. In all, this conduct resulted in corrupt payments and/or profits totaling approximately $3.336 billion.

Braskem also admitted to engaging in a wide-ranging bribery scheme and acknowledged the pervasiveness of its conduct. Between 2006 and 2014, Braskem paid approximately $250 million into Odebrecht’s secret, off-book bribe payment system. Using the Odebrecht system, Braskem authorized the payment of bribes to politicians and political parties in Brazil, as well as to an official at Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras (Petrobras), the state-controlled oil company of Brazil. In exchange, Braskem received various benefits, including: preferential rates from Petrobras for the purchase of raw materials used by the company; contracts with Petrobras; and favorable legislation and government programs that reduced the company’s tax liabilities in Brazil. This conduct resulted in corrupt payments and/or profits totaling approximately $465 million.

Now it is Human Smuggling VS. Immigration

Posted on June 11, 2019June 11, 2019 by Denise Simon

Let’s start calling it for what it is and it is profitable to epic levels. We cannot overlook that the Syrian refugees were also smuggled, so there is no longer much separating the United States from Europe in this human crisis and yet Congress is not acting.

Don Bartletti shares some of his most memorable images ...

Senator Lindsey Graham at least introduced a bill to address the asylum issue but is there Democrat on the House side that has visited the border or introduced anything? silence….

Arrests at the southwest border increased for the fourth straight month in May as authorities continued to grapple with an unprecedented influx of migrants from Central America. 132,887 people were arrested between ports of entry last month, up from 99,304 migrants in April, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection released Wednesday.

The cartels have shifted their business model to include smuggling and it has an annual value in the BILLIONS. (hat tip to Rand Corporation)

Unlawful migrants from Central America apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border each year often hire smugglers for assistance or pay others for rights of way at some point during their journey north. Policymakers face concerns that a substantial share of migrants’ expenditures on smuggling services could be flowing to transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), entities that represent a potential threat to homeland security.

In response to these concerns, the authors of this report conducted a scoping study to develop a preliminary estimate of TCOs’ revenues from smuggling migrants from the Northern Triangle region of Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador) to the United States and to characterize the TCOs’ structure, operations, and financing. They conducted interviews with subject-matter experts, a review of literature, and an analysis of governmental and nongovernmental data on migration and human smuggling and found that human smuggling involves many different types of actors and that most TCOs’ activities and revenues cannot be separated credibly from those of ad hoc groups, independent operators, and others who engage in human smuggling. They developed a preliminary estimate of revenues from human smuggling flowing to all types of smugglers, not just TCOs — ranging from about $200 million to $2.3 billion in 2017 — with uncertainty stemming largely from analytical challenges related to data limitations and time constraints. Separately, they also produced a preliminary estimate of the taxes, or pisos, that migrants pay to drug-trafficking TCOs to pass through their territories, ranging from about $30 million to $180 million.

Key Findings

Characteristics of actors that engage in human smuggling

Actors that engage in human smuggling range from independent operators, to ad hoc groups, to loose networks, to more-formally structured networks, such as TCOs.

Many of these actors are subcontractors that offer their services to different networks or groups or other independent operators at the same time.

Many of the actors engaged in human smuggling do not appear to meet the statutory definition of a TCO.

Relationship between human smuggling and drug trafficking

There is little evidence that drug-trafficking TCOs engage directly in human smuggling, but they maintain control of primary smuggling corridors into the United States and charge migrants a “tax,” known as a piso, to pass through their territories.

Drug-trafficking TCOs might also coordinate unlawful migrants’ border crossings to divert attention from other illicit activities and recruit or coerce migrants to carry drugs.

Preliminary findings on revenue estimation

Estimating revenues from human smuggling requires data on (1) the number of unlawful migrants, (2) the percentage hiring smugglers, and (3) typical payments. A lack of reliable information on each point contributes to uncertainty in revenue estimates.

The authors’ preliminary estimate of revenues to all types of smugglers from smuggling migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, combined, ranged from a total of about $200 million to a total of about $2.3 billion in 2017.

The authors’ preliminary estimate of taxes paid to drug-trafficking TCOs by migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador who passed through those TCOs’ territories ranged from $30 million to $180 million in 2017.

Recommendations

Target vulnerabilities of human smugglers. For example, consider expanding existing efforts to investigate payments made to human smugglers, especially in the United States, and working more closely with formal and informal banking services to identify suspicious payments. Also, consider expanding current efforts to work with foreign law enforcement partners to disrupt smuggling operations.

Use information about the value of the smuggling market to inform decisions about efforts to allocate resources to market disruption.

Consider standardizing and expanding the range of questions that border officials ask migrants during interviews to seek more consistent and detailed information from migrants about different types of smugglers, routes, and payments.

Use shared portal for data entry that can screen for errors and use a randomized survey process to reduce the administrative burden of data collection on frontline personnel and increase the likelihood of successful data entry.

$37 Million for Migrant Detention Facilities is NOT Enough

Posted on May 13, 2019May 13, 2019 by Denise Simon

Click this link to see the video of the new detention facilities.

Now after watching that video we see how the Border Patrol cant do their real job and the need for the military supplementing surveillance and security.

HOUSTON —

The Trump administration wants to open two new tent facilities to temporarily detain up to 1,000 parents and children near the southern border, as advocates sharply criticize the conditions inside the tents already used to hold migrants.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a notice to potential contractors that it wants to house 500 people in each camp in El Paso, Texas, and in the South Texas city of Donna, which has a border crossing with Mexico.

Each facility would consist of one large tent that could be divided into sections by gender and between families and children traveling alone, according to the notice. Detainees would sleep on mats. There would also be laundry facilities, showers, and an “additional fenced-in area” for “outside exercise/recreation.”

The notice says the facilities could open in the next two weeks and operate through year end, with a cost that could reach $37 million.

But the agency has said its resources are strained by the sharp rise in the numbers of parents and children crossing the border and requesting asylum. It made 53,000 apprehensions in March of parents and children traveling together, most of whom say they are fleeing violence and poverty in Central America. Many ultimately request asylum under U.S. and international law.

Immigrant children are led by staff in single file between tents at a detention facility next to the Mexican border in Tornillo, Texas, June 18, 2018.

In a statement Tuesday, CBP said it urgently needed additional space for detention and processing.

“CBP is committed to finding solutions that address the current border security and humanitarian crisis at the southwest border in a way that safeguards those in our custody in a humane and dignified manner,” the statement said.

The Border Patrol has started directly releasing parents and children instead of referring them to immigration authorities for potential long-term detention, but families still sometimes wait several days to be processed by the agency and released.

Land near the bridge in Donna was used last year as a camp by active-duty soldiers when they were ordered to South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley.

The Border Patrol also established a tent facility at Donna to hold migrants in December 2016, in the last weeks of the administration of former President Barack Obama, in response to a previous surge of migrants from Central America.

Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, said she had been allowed to visit the tent facility in 2016. She said that facility had been “open and clean,” but noted she visited before it began detaining people.

“Detention is never a good idea for any family,” Pimentel said. “I believe families are victims of a lot of abuse, and we just add to that abuse by the way we respond to handle and process them.”