FILE – In this Sept. 18, 2021, file photo Haitian migrants use a dam to cross into the United States from Mexico in Del Rio, Texas. President Joe Biden embraced major progressive policy goals on immigration after he won the Democratic nomination, and he has begun enacting some. But his administration has been forced to confront unusually high numbers of migrants trying to enter the country along the U.S.-Mexico border and the federal response has inflamed both critics and allies. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing bipartisan criticism over its approach to immigration, the Biden administration on Thursday announced new rules that require authorities to only pursue migrants who recently crossed into the country without permission or are deemed to pose a threat to public safety.

The new guidelines replace interim rules issued in February that were initially blocked by a federal judge in August as part of a lawsuit brought by Texas and Louisiana. They break from a more aggressive approach to immigration enforcement under former President Donald Trump, who early in his presidency directed authorities to apprehend anyone who was illegally in the country.

The release comes as President Joe Biden has come under fire from allies for his reliance on a Trump-era public health authority to rapidly expel migrants encountered on the U.S.-Mexico border while also facing Republican criticism that he hasn’t done enough to counter a sharp increase in migrants seeking to enter the country.

The Biden administration has expelled about 5,000 Haitians who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border at Del Rio, Texas, in recent weeks. A federal appeals court in Washington on Thursday cleared the administration to continue expelling families under the public-health authority known as Title 42. The appeals court put on hold a lower court order barring the expulsions of families hours before the ban was to take effect.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters that the new policy was based on the reality that the U.S. can’t go after all people in the country without legal status and shouldn’t try because many “have been contributing members of our communities for years.”

Authorities will be directed to focus on noncitizens who have crossed recently, defined as after Nov. 1, 2020, or who determined to be a threat because of national security or “serious criminal activity.” Homeland Security includes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol.

Unlike the interim rules, the criminal activity is not limited to the category known in legal terms as an aggravated felony but will depend on the “totality of the facts and circumstances,” Mayorkas said. Anyone would be considered a priority if they are engaged or even suspected of terrorism or espionage, according to the memo. The new rules take effect Nov. 29.

Immigration authorities would be prohibited from arresting and seeking to deport someone in retaliation for exercising First Amendment rights, such as joining a protest or taking part in union activities.

“We are requiring and frankly empowering our workforce, critically empowering our workforce, to exercise their judgment, their law enforcement judgment,” the secretary said.

Advocates for strict immigration enforcement have criticized the interim guidelines, which were similar in intent as the newly released rules, because they were seen as a top-down approach and one that precluded low-level arrests that might yield investigative leads into bigger cases or help serve as a deterrent to illegal immigration.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said on Twitter that Biden has “welcomed” the migrants who have crossed and would now promise those already in the country that “they may stay in the U.S. without repercussions” with the new rules.

Immigrant advocates, including some who have in the past called for eliminating ICE and immigrant detention altogether, welcomed limits on enforcement but are wary given the rapid detention and expulsion of thousands of Haitians at Del Rio.

“This policy is only going to be as good as the results,” said Jacinta Gonzalez, senior campaign organizer of Mijente. “If detention numbers continue to rise, as deportations continue to happen, if we still see human rights abuses at the border, this policy won’t mean anything.”

A federal judge in Texas blocked the interim rules in August, ruling that the administration did not have discretion to choose which migrants to detain, but a federal appeals court allowed the guidelines to take effect while the lawsuit proceeds.

Mayorkas said it makes little sense to pursue all of the estimated 11 million people in the country without legal status, even if the U.S. had the law enforcement capacity to do so.

“They contribute to the well-being of our country and justice requires that we exercise our discretion accordingly,” he said. “The fact that an individual is a removeable non-citizen should not alone be the basis of an enforcement action against them.”

Trump’s administration took hundreds of measures to restrict both legal and illegal immigration, including a zero-tolerance policy on border crossings that resulted in the forcible separation of thousands of families and requiring asylum seekers to await the processing of their cases in Mexico.

In the end, total deportations were higher under the first term of President Barack Obama, who enacted enforcement priorities similar to Biden’s, than under Trump. That was due in part to a lack of cooperation from many cities and states whose leaders opposed Trump’s immigration policies.

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Associated Press writer Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.

Source:  https://apnews.com/article/immigration-donald-trump-joe-biden-mexico-arrests-af64610730b9c603b592101e4a7ddfa8

The post New Biden rules would limit arrest, deportation of migrants first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The House and Senate on Thursday passed a short-term funding bill that staved off a government shutdown and ensured funding to resettle thousands of Afghan refugees.

In a 65 to 35 vote the Senate approved funding that would provide $6.3 billion for Afghan resettlement, along with ensuring the federal government remains operational through Dec.  3.

“This is a good outcome — one I am happy we are getting done,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said from the Senate floor ahead of the vote. “With so many things happening in Washington, the last thing the American people need is for the government to grind to a halt.”

HOUSE ALIGNS WITH SENATE AND VOTES TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN WITH SHORT-TERM FUNDING BILL

The House voted 254-175, and President Biden signed the bill Thursday evening.

The administration has said it expects upwards of 95,000 refugees to be brought to the U.S. over the next year, following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

The funds will be designated for housing evacuees at facilities, screening, and resettlement.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said that “Overall, this is encouraging progress,” though both the McConnell and Schumer noted ticket items they would have liked to see included in the legislation.

But some Republicans are frustrated over language included in the bill at the request of the White House.

If an Afghan refugee enters the U.S. between July 2021 and the end of September 2022, they will be permitted to apply for a green card after residing in the U.S. for one year through an expedited process.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton accused President Biden of trying “to award unlimited green cards to people who didn’t serve alongside our troops and who may even threaten our safety and health — all while exempting them from the normal refugee screening process.”

Cotton introduced legislation that would have cut aid from resources like housing and medical benefits for Afghan refugees admitted into the U.S. after March 31, 2023, first reported The New York Times. But a tied vote on the senator’s amendment struck down the proposed changes.

The bill now heads to President Biden’s desk ahead of a federal funding lapse, which would occur at midnight.

Fox Business’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/government-short-term-funding-bill-includes-billions-afghan-resettlement-funds

The post President Biden signed the bill Thursday evening first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Good morning and welcome to Fox News First. Here’s what you need to know as you start your day

Biden faces new criticism on Afghanistan withdrawal 
President Biden said earlier that he promised to stay in Afghanistan until every American is evacuated, but after Monday’s withdrawal, critics say he did not live up his vow.

Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. announced Monday evening that the last of the U.S. troops stationed at the Kabul airport had left, completing the military’s drawdown in the country, even though hundreds of Americans likely remain.

McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, said some American citizens who wanted to leave Afghanistan remained in the country.

“We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out,” he said.

President Biden told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos during an interview on Aug. 18 that the U.S. military objective in Afghanistan was to get “everyone” out, including Americans and Afghan allies and their families.

“That’s what we’re doing now, that’s the path we’re on. And I think we’ll get there,” he said. “If there’s American citizens left, we’re gonna stay to get them all out.”

A senior State Department official told Fox News on Monday that there remained a “small number” of Americans inside Afghanistan.

That official put the number of Americans at “below 250,” adding that some additional Americans have departed Afghanistan in recent hours. The official added that the State Department also was committed to evacuating “those who worked with us,” referring to Afghan “partners.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON OUR TOP STORY.

Sen. Tom Cotton, who appeared on “The Ingraham Angle” on Monday night, said Biden kept his promise to the Taliban to be out by Aug. 31, but not to the Americans still in the country.

In other developments:
– Last US troops have departed Afghanistan
– Taliban brags: US troops left Kabul, Afghanistan ‘gained full independence’
– Blinken pledges support to Americans left in Afghanistan after withdrawal: ‘We will help them leave’
– Biden emphasizes ‘unanimous recommendation’ of military leaders to meet Aug. 31 Afghanistan exit deadline
– NBC’s Richard Engel: Biden’s Afghan withdrawal was ‘the worst capitulation of western values in our lifetimes’
– Veterans organization works to evacuate Afghan interpreters desperate to find safety as US troops withdraw

Marine who criticized military leaders over Afghan exit said he was ordered to undergo mental health screening

A U.S. Marine officer who was relieved of his command for breaking rank and calling out the brass over the chaotic and deadly evacuation of American troops from Afghanistan in which 13 service members were killed said Monday that he was ordered to undergo a mental health screening.

Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller was fired after posting a video on social media where he criticized military leaders over the botched exit. In the footage, the 17-year Marine, just three years shy of a full pension, said took leaders to task.

“I’m not saying we need to be in Afghanistan forever, but I am saying, did any of you throw your rank on the table and say, ‘Hey, it’s a bad idea to evacuate Bagram Airfield, a strategic airbase, before we evacuate everyone?'” Scheller said last Thursday. “Did anyone do that? And when you didn’t think to do that, did anyone raise their hand and say, ‘We completely messed this up?'”

In an online post on Monday, Scheller said his commanding officer ordered him to go to a hospital for the mental health screening. He said he was evaluated by mental health specialists and “then sent on my way.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE.

In other developments:
– Fathers of Marines killed in Kabul blast rip Biden: ‘He talked more about his son than my son’
– Wounded Marine rips Blinken, Gen. McKenzie on Taliban praise: ‘How dare you do that’
– Grieving father remembers Utah Marine killed in Kabul attack: ‘He had the biggest heart in the world’
– Marines post photo of dignified transfer of fallen service members killed in Kabul

Taliban take control of Kabul airport, celebrate ‘enjoyable moment of victory’
Taliban leaders took over control of the Kabul airport Tuesday and marked the departure of the last U.S. plane from the country by taking a symbolic walk across the airport’s sole runway, according to a report.

“The world should have learned its lesson and this is the enjoyable moment of victory,” Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, said in a livestream video, according to the Associated Press. He spoke to reporters at the Hamid Karzai International Airport and said Americans “could not achieve their goal through military operations,” according to Al Jazeera.

Celebratory gunfire could be heard throughout Kabul before dawn, Reuters reported. A reporter from the Los Angeles Times posted video of Taliban fighters inspecting a hanger after the U.S. departure.

The AP reported that vehicles carrying the Taliban raced back and forth along the airport’s sole runway.

Before dawn broke, heavily armed Taliban fighters walked through hangars, passing some of the seven CH-46 helicopters the State Department used in its evacuations before rendering them unflyable. CLICK HERE FOR MORE.

In other developments:
– Hannity calls on Biden to resign for abandoning US citizens in Afghanistan
– Unvetted Afghan refugees allowed to leave Wisconsin military base unsupervised: Rep. Tiffany
– ‘Don’t trust the Taliban,’ hundreds gather outside White House
– Taliban offered Kabul to US, but Americans said no: report

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Source: https://www.foxnews.com/us/biden-breaks-promise-to-remain-in-afghanistan-until-last-american-evacuated

The post Biden criticized for appearing to break promise on American evacuation from Afghanistan first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

With much of the country now under quarantine, the nation desperately needs reliable information about the coronavirus. Unfortunately, politics has infected much of the mainstream media’s coverage of the threat. Rather than taking their obligation to inform the public seriously, prestige outlets use each new development as a cudgel with which to beat President Trump.

On the heels of the president’s announcement of a sweeping travel ban from other countries and declaration of emergency, a Sunday CNN chyron read: “Trump on Coronavirus: From ‘Hoax’ to National Emergency.”

The trouble is that Trump never called the coronavirus a “hoax” — this is an inaccurate and misleading distortion of what he has said, created and propagated by major media. And CNN won’t stop repeating it.

On Feb. 28, Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank tweeted out, “Remember this moment: Trump, in South Carolina, just called the coronavirus a ‘hoax.’ ” The tweet has since been “liked” more than 162,000 times. Milbank subsequently wrote a column repeating the claim.

But anyone watching Trump’s rally in the Palmetto State that day knows this wasn’t what Trump said. “Trump said that when he used the word ‘hoax,’ he was referring to Democrats finding fault with his administration’s response to coronavirus, not the virus itself,” noted FactCheck.org, which generally leans left. Milbank was forced to update his column, noting “Trump said Saturday the ‘hoax’ referred to [was] Democrats’ pinning blame for the virus” on him.

Milbank’s misleading tweet is still up, however, shamelessly uncorrected.

Do a quick scan of social media, and the talking point that Trump called the coronavirus a hoax is still being spread far and wide, more than two weeks later. In fact, Joe Biden cut an ad this week repeating the false claim, prompting The Washington Post’s fact-checker to slap the ex-veep with four Pinocchios for the ad. And Biden is the third Democratic candidate to make this “hoax” claim after dropouts Mike Bloomberg and Pete Buttigieg.

There’s simply no excuse for CNN to still be repeating a false claim that happens to be a Democratic talking point. And this is just one example from a mountain of similar distortions; politically loaded errors have been a prominent feature of coronavirus coverage.

The Washington Post, for example, accused GOP Sen. Tom Cotton of fanning “the embers of a coronavirus conspiracy theory that has been repeatedly debunked by experts,” namely that the Chinese may have engineered the virus in a lab. But as Cotton noted on Twitter, he was merely laying out one among several hypotheses about the virus’ origin, including that the virus may have originated from a well-known biological testing facility in the Wuhan region — a possibility that can’t be ruled out, even though Cotton admitted it was unlikely. The Washington Post appeared more determined to slap down GOP lawmakers for airing hypotheses than, you know, investigate the Beijing regime.

And The New York Times quoted anonymous sources to say the White House was “muzzling” Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. This prompted Fauci to cry fake news. “I have never been muzzled, ever, and I have been doing this since the administration of Ronald Reagan. I am not being muzzled by this administration.”

The Trump administration isn’t above criticism for how they’ve handled the coronavirus threat, and it’s the media’s job to hold them accountable when the president and his team fall short. But the media don’t seem interested in real accountability at this critical moment — too often, major outlets have failed to report the truth because they seem more concerned with influencing November’s election than making sure your family survives the next few months.

Mark Hemingway is a senior writer at RealClearInvestigations. Twitter: @Heminator

Source: https://nypost.com/2020/03/16/even-during-coronavirus-crisis-liberal-media-cant-resist-spreading-lies/

The post Even during coronavirus crisis, liberal media can’t resist spreading lies first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

In his statement, Mekdad accused Israel of using violence and harming the regional stability, as well as expressed his outrage at the intention of the United States to pass a law recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Last week, Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton, together with Democratic Party Representative Mike Gallagher, sent such a bill to the Senate. The authors of the bill argue that it is time to recognize political realities and abandon the expectations of a peace agreement between Israel and Syria, which could lead to the withdrawal of Israel from the Golan Heights.

The bill received the preliminary support of the leader of the majority in the House of Representatives of the US Congress, Democrat Congressman Steny Hoyer.

The statement of the deputy head of the Syrian Foreign Ministry, which was addressed to the head of the UNTSO, contains a direct threat to Israel.

” We are also not scared away by its [Israel’s] supporters who are helping to perpetuate the occupation of the Golan,” the World Israel News quoted Mekdan as saying.

Source: http://uawire.org/damascus-syria-is-ready-for-war-with-israel

The post Damascus: Syria is ready for war with Israel first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.