File photo: Children hold hands during a march to mark “the court-ordered deadline for the Trump Administration to reunify thousands of families separated at the border, in Washington, U.S., July 26, 2018.
The Donald Trump administration proposed a new rule Thursday seeking to allow immigrant children to be held indefinitely while their parents are subject to legal proceedings.
The new rule by the Departments of Homeland Security Health and Human Services would lift court-imposed regulations on how long immigrant children can be kept in custody, enshrined in the Flores Agreement.
The 1997 settlement restricted the amount of time a migrant child can be held in detention to 20 days.
The new regulations are set to be published Friday in the Federal Register and would go into effect 60 days thereafter.
Children had been released with their parents under prior practice, which U.S. President Donald Trump has pejoratively called "catch and release." His administration tried to circumvent the rule earlier this year by separating the parents from their children and placing them in the care of Health and Human Services.
"Today, legal loopholes significantly hinder the Department’s ability to appropriately detain and promptly remove family units that have no legal basis to remain in the country,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in a statement.
Health and Human Services Alex Azar separately said the new rule "would implement the Flores Settlement Agreement and our duties under the law to protect the safety and dignity of unaccompanied alien children in our custody."
File photo: Immigrant children now housed in a tent encampment under the new
The administration's new proposal to hold children along with their parents in Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities for as long as it takes to settle their case is certain to spark a legal challenge from rights groups that could go all the way to the Supreme Court.
A previous attempt by the Trump administration to undo the Flores Agreement's 20-day cap was met with legal defeat in early July.
U.S. District Court Judge Dolly Gee said in her ruling that the administration's reasoning was "tortured" and a "cynical attempt" to shift immigration enforcement duties to the judiciary.
"Defendants seek to light a match to the Flores Agreement and ask this Court to upend the parties’ agreement by judicial fiat," Gee, who oversees the Flores Agreement's implementation, wrote in her decision.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has been at the forefront of many of the legal challenges to the administration's immigration policies, slammed the new rule.
"It is sickening to see the United States government looking for ways to jail more children for longer," said Omar Jadwat, the director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project.
"That’s the complete opposite of what we should be doing — and it’s yet another example of the Trump administration’s hostility toward immigrants resulting in a policy incompatible with the most basic human values," he added.
Many senior officials in President Donald Trump's administration have been working from within to frustrate parts of his agenda to protect the country from his worst impulses, an anonymous Trump official wrote in the New York Times on Wednesday.In the column, the official described "early whispers" among members of Trump's Cabinet to take steps to remove him as president, but added they decided against it to avoid a constitutional crisis.The official wrote that the root of the problem was that Trump is amoral and not moored to any discernible principles that guide his decision-making."It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room," the author wrote.Pompeo says did not author New York Times 'resistance' columnAsked about the column during a White House event, Trump called it a "gutless editorial," bashed the New York Times as "failing," and ticked off economic achievements that he said were proof of his leadership.Staring into the cameras, he said: "Nobody is going to come close to beating me in 2020 because of what we've done."The Republican president later fired off a one-word message on Twitter: "TREASON?"In another tweet, he said: "If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!"Trump thanks N.Korea's Kim, says 'we will get it done together'Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on a visit to India, said he was not the author of the memo."I come from a place where if you’re not in a position to execute the commander’s intent, you have a singular option, that is to leave," he told reporters at an impromptu briefing at the U.S. embassy in New Delhi."And this person instead, according to the New York Times, chose not only to stay but to undermine what President Trump and this administration are trying to do."The Times took what it called the rare step of publishing an opinion column by the official under an agreement to keep the author's name secret. It said the senior administration official's job would be jeopardized by its disclosure.The article further fueled accusations by critics that Trump was unstable and unfit for the presidency, and seemed likely to resurrect talk among some Democrats about potentially impeaching the president should they take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November elections.Worries over Trump shoot to top of German fear ranking25TH AMENDMENTThere was an immediate guessing game in Washington about who wrote the article and whether it came from someone within the White House or in another government agency.The opinion piece followed publication on Tuesday of the first excerpts from a book by famed Watergate reporter Bob Woodward describing chaos in the White House.Woodward reported that Defense Secretary James Mattis rejected a recommendation from Trump for the U.S. military to kill Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to excerpts published by the Washington Post.Mattis dismissed the book as "a uniquely Washington brand of literature," and Trump has called it "total fiction."Trump denies claim he sought Assad's assassinationIn the Times piece, the official wrote: "Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the Cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president."But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until — one way or another — it’s over," the author added.Under the 25th Amendment, adopted in 1967, the vice president and a majority of either Cabinet officials or "such other body as Congress may by law provide" may declare in writing that the president "is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."Trump rips Nike for Kaepernick ad campaignIt has never been used to strip a president from power and would be a complicated process."We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous," the writer said. "But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic."
Senior Trump official describes resistance inside administration: NY Times Op-Ed
Concern over the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump has shot to the top of an annual ranking of Germans' biggest fears, easily outstripping worries about refugees and terrorism, a survey showed on Thursday.The "Fears of the Germans" survey from R+V Versicherung showed that 69 percent are worried that Trump is making the world a more dangerous place with his policies, which have included withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal and Paris climate accord.That compared to 63 percent who expressed fear that Germany risked being overwhelmed by refugees and 59 percent who listed terrorism as a top concern, down sharply from 71 percent last year."Trump's brutal 'America First' stance, his hostility to international agreements and his aggressive trade and security policies, including towards allies, are frightening a majority of the population," said Manfred Schmidt, a political scientist in Heidelberg who advises R+V on the survey."Trump's attacks on Germany are having a growing impact on sentiment," he added, referring to the president's frequent verbal assaults on Germany's trade surplus and relatively low levels of defence spending.Among other concerns in the survey, 57 percent of Germans expressed fear about political extremism and 56 percent said they were worried about natural catastrophes.The survey of roughly 2,400 Germans was conducted in June and July, before far-right protests in the eastern city of Chemnitz following the fatal stabbing of a German man, allegedly by two migrants, drew worldwide attention.Terrorism had topped the fears ranking in the previous two years. In the five years prior to that, the top concern had been the cost of the euro crisis for German taxpayers.The 2018 survey was released a day after an anonymous senior official in the Trump administration penned a column in the New York Times describing the president as amoral and unmoored, and detailing how members of his team are thwarting parts of his agenda in order to protect the United States.Earlier this week, excerpts of a new book by veteran Watergate reporter Bob Woodward painted a picture of chaos in the White House and disdain among top aides over how the president is doing his job.
Worries over Trump shoot to top of German fear ranking
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday denied claims in a forthcoming book that he sought the assassination of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and his top officials after a deadly chemical attack.During a brief photo opportunity with Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, Trump said the proposal was "never even discussed" after details of Bob Woodward's "Fear: Trump in the White House" were published Tuesday by The Washington Post."That was never even contemplated, nor would it be contemplated and should not have been written about in the book. It's just more fiction," said Trump.Woodward, the longtime Post investigative journalist, reported that following an April 2017 chemical attack blamed on the Syrian regime, Trump called on Defense Secretary James Mattis to come up with plans to kill Assad and his top cadre."Let’s f***ing kill him! Let’s go in. Let’s kill the f***ing lot of them,” Trump said, according to Woodward.New book alleges chaos in Trump White HouseAssad regime shells Syria's IdlibMattis told him he would quickly draw up the plans but then told a senior aide: "We’re not going to do any of that. We’re going to be much more measured."Mattis later issued a statement disputing the book as "a product of someone's rich imagination".Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Woodward's book, which is set to be released next week, suggesting in a series of tweets Wednesday that the U.S. should change its laws to make it easier to sue for libel."Isn’t it a shame that someone can write an article or book, totally make up stories and form a picture of a person that is literally the exact opposite of the fact, and get away with it without retribution or cost," he said. "Don’t know why Washington politicians don’t change libel laws?"Top US general warns against major assault on Syria's IdlibBut the book appears to be corroborated at least in part by an anonymous New York Times op-ed in which the author, who is described as a senior Trump administration official, acknowledges that he or she is part of a group "working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations".The author was referring to Trump."We believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic," the official wrote. "That is why many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump’s more misguided impulses until he is out of office."The Times kept the official's identity anonymous but said it knows who he or she is.The White House sharply criticized the Op-Ed, saying the author “has chosen to deceive, rather than support”.“He is not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people. This coward should do the right thing and resign,” spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.Amid a looming offensive on the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib, Trump warned during his meeting with al-Sabah that the regime, Iran and Russia "will hopefully be very, very judicious and careful. Because the world is watching. That cannot be a slaughter"."If it's a slaughter, the world will get very, very angry and the United States will get very angry too," he said.
Trump denies claim he sought Assad's assassination
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday slammed sports apparel giant Nike for its decision to include former National Football League (NFL) quarterback Colin Kaepernick in a recent ad campaign."Just like the NFL, whose ratings have gone WAY DOWN, Nike is getting absolutely killed with anger and boycotts," Trump said on Twitter. "I wonder if they had any idea that it would be this way?"Nike has been the focus of protests for some after it chose to include Kaepernick in its "Just Do It" campaign. Those who have taken issue with the decision posted videos on the Internet of them burning Nike shoes and other apparel. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback has been at the center of player protests seeking to draw attention to injustices experienced by the black community in the U.S.Kaepernick has not played since the 2016 season when he began the protests, which typically include players taking a knee during the National Anthem.Nike's advertisement includes a black and white portrait of Kaepernick with a prominently displayed caption reading: "Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything."Trump has been a vocal critic of the player protests, but offered a relatively nuanced take Tuesday telling the conservative Daily Caller news website that while he thinks "it’s a terrible message" for Nike to be including Kaepernick "it is what this country is all about.""You have certain freedoms to do things that other people think you shouldn’t do, but I personally am on a different side of it," he said.Nike is the NFL's exclusive apparel provider through 2028, and after posting a modest loss Tuesday on Wall Street, the company is in positive territory on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
Trump rips Nike for Kaepernick ad campaign