Mexican Illegal Cartoons

Central America battles corruption, violence despite billions in US aid

MEXICO CITY –  U.S. foreign policy in Central America has long been a considered a two-way street. America provides aid to promote stability, economic progress and reduce violence. In return, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador are supposed to reduce illegal immigration.
Last week, President Trump suggested that America isn't getting what it paid for: "When countries abuse us by sending their people up, not their best people, we are not going to give any more aid to those countries. Why the hell should we? Why should we?"
As a fresh wave of refugees from the so-called North Triangle reaches the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump isn't the only one asking if Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are keeping their end of the bargain.
"The violence is bad, the conditions horrible, but at the same time it is not the responsibility of the U.S.A. to solve all the problems of other countries," says Ana Quintana, executive director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies.
Over the past decade, U.S. taxpayers have provided $1.5 billion in aid to El Salvador, $1.4 billion to Guatemala and $1.1 billion to Honduras, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Yet according to the thousands of migrants seeking asylum in the U.S., all three countries remain mired in poverty and beset by gang and drug violence. Corruption, they say, has never been worse.
"In Honduras we just can't live anymore because of the gang," says Mirna Ruiz, who has fled her home nation and is currently in Tijuana. "We can't even go shopping because we are afraid."
Vice President Pence met with leaders of all three nations Thursday in Guatemala and told them the U.S. expects to see them do more to control their own borders. And while President Trump proposed cutting their aid in next year's budget, many Democrats think that’s a mistake.
"We are working on infrastructure in the Northern Triangle," Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., told reporters last week at an immigrant detention center outside of San Diego. "Let's continue that policy, let’s continue to help them in their own country."
Addressing the root causes of illegal immigration is a long-term proposition. Advocates say it would cost more in the long run to abandon Central America now.
Others argue it's time to demand more accountability. Historically foreign aid budgets have passed through Congress with little debate. Congressional committees rubber-stamped State Department requests, and the gravy train continued.
Immigration from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala increased by 25 percent between 2007 and 2015, compared to just a six percent increase in arrivals from Mexico, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census data. In 2011, 42,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended from those three countries combined. Last year, the number of apprehensions had skyrocketed to 163,000 — 50,000 more than apprehensions of people from Mexico.
And while these immigrants tell Border Patrol agents and asylum officers they are being persecuted at home, surveys of recently deported immigrants from those countries admit 95 percent went to the U.S. for work, not because of violence.
"The United States is not and should not be in a position to be complacent and accept countries who are not fulfilling their obligations," says Quintana. "Until there is a serious focus by the administration, a serious focus by Congress to really delve into this we are not going to see the crisis at the border stop."

California's sweeping data-privacy bill signed into law

California Gov. Jerry Brown speaks during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., March 7, 2018.  (Associated Press)

California lawmakers gave consumers unprecedented protections for their data and imposed tough restrictions on the tech industry, potentially establishing a privacy template for the rest of the nation.
The law, which was rushed through the legislature this week and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday, broadens the definition of what constitutes personal information and gives California consumers the right to prohibit the sale of personal data to third parties and opt out of sharing it altogether. The bill applies to internet giants such as Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google but also will affect businesses of any size that collect data on their customers.
Ashkan Soltani, a digital researcher and former chief technologist for the Federal Trade Commission, said the regulations are the first of their kind in the U.S.
While the law only applies to consumers in California, tech companies will likely shift their policies to conform to the new law given the complexity of carving out conflicting standards. It may also spur Congress to consider federal legislation, coming after multiple hearings in which legislators peppered industry executives with questions about whether they were taking data privacy seriously enough.
The bill doesn’t go into effect until 2020 and could still be amended. It is almost certain that major tech firms will lobby heavily to get certain concessions, and an industry group said Thursday that it would push for changes.
By passing the bill, the legislature headed off a more restrictive ballot initiative that recently qualified to appear before California voters in November. The ballot initiative was strongly opposed by most of the tech industry, which broadly viewed the legislation as the lesser of two evils.

Billionaire liberal Tom Steyer joins George Soros in backing Florida Dem for governor

Andrew Gillum, mayor of Tallahassee, Fla., is seeking the state's Democratic gubernatorial nomination.  (Facebook)

Florida gubernatorial hopeful Adam Gillum received another big boost Thursday in his bid to win the state’s Democratic nomination.
A second billionaire liberal activist has pledged to support the mayor of Tallahassee as he looks to move from City Hall to the Statehouse.
Gillum, 38, who already has the endorsement of Democratic donor George Soros, has now attracted support from billionaire Tom Steyer as well, the Tampa Bay Times reported Thursday.
Steyer’s NextGen America organization announced Thursday that it has pledged $1 million to Gillum’s campaign, the newspaper reported.
Steyer, 60, is a Californian and former Farallon Capital executive who has appeared in national TV ads calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
“As we battle for the heart and soul of this nation, Andrew Gillum is the kind of leader we need on the front lines,” Steyer said in a written statement late Thursday. “He’s someone we can trust to do the right thing, to put the people before the powerful, and who is unafraid to stand up for justice, now when we need it most.”
The backing from both Soros and Steyer is expected to boost Gillum’s candidacy as he takes on four big-money Democrats in the state’s primary election Aug. 28.
Those other Democrats are former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene, Orlando businessman Chris King and former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine.
Gillum, the election’s only African-American candidate, frequently reminds crowds that he lacks the financing of his Democratic rivals, Politico reported.
On the Republican side, the two top candidates are Florida Agriculture Commissioner Ada Putnam and U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, who sparred Thursday in a debate on Fox News Channel.

Putnam, DeSantis spar over Trump support, shootings in Fox News GOP debate in Florida

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and Rep. Ron DeSantis sparred Thursday in Fox News’ Florida Republican gubernatorial debate over their support for President Trump, while DeSantis championed his relationship with the president and Putnam argued he’s more focused on local issues than his opponent.
Putnam, who spent 10 years in Congress before being elected statewide in Florida, used his opening statement to portray DeSantis, elected to Congress in 2012, as a creature of Washington. “What an exciting time to be in front of a live audience of 1,000 Florida Republicans,” Putnam said in his opening remarks. “It's different than a Washington, D.C. studio. Welcome to Florida, congressman.”
DeSantis played up Trump’s endorsement of his campaign, expressing doubt that Putnam adequately supports Trump. “I am proud to have the endorsement of President Trump in this race,” he said.
Added DeSantis, “When Donald Trump was trying to win Florida in 2016, Adam Putnam did not attend a single rally with him. You couldn’t find Adam Putnam if you had a search warrant.”
But Putnam played up his support for Trump, saying, “I support our president's agenda for our country.” He later emphasized: “I am focused on Florida.”
The two candidates took shots at each other throughout the hour-long debate. But on the issues, they both called on Trump to appoint a conservative to the Supreme Court, criticized California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters for her controversial recent comments and expressed concern over school shootings while defending Second Amendment rights.
Thursday’s debate, moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, took place at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee ahead of the Aug. 28 primary.
The debate unfolded amid breaking news of the mass shooting at the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland, where police said at least five people were killed. The candidates discussed gun control, referencing the recent infamous massacres in Florida at a nightclub and a high school.
FOX NEWS POLL: FLORIDA GOP GUBERNATORIAL PRIMARY
“It is critically important that we defend our rights and protect our students in the schools,” Putnam said. “Those two things are not incompatible.”
“My wife and I have two young kids under the age of two,” DeSantis said. “The thought that someone would come and shoot them fills me with rage.”
Both called for the removal of Scott Israel, the sheriff of Broward County who came under criticism after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in February.
“I would have removed that sheriff from Broward County. He failed his citizens and he should have been removed,” DeSantis said.
“Sheriff Israel is under investigation and he needs to go,” Putnam said.
Thursday’s televised showdown is part of Fox News’ series of debates leading up to the 2018 midterm elections.
Though Trump endorsed DeSantis, a recent Fox News poll of Florida likely GOP primary voters finds Putnam ahead of DeSantis by a 32-17 percent margin. However, 39 percent of voters said they're unsure who they will back in the primary. Meanwhile, 46 percent of those supporting a candidate say they could still change their mind.
Meanwhile, there’s a crowded Democratic primary for governor, including Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene, former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, Orlando businessman Chris King and former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine.
The current governor of Florida, Republican Rick Scott, is challenging incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson for the Senate.

Obama immigration Cartoons

DHS formally asks Pentagon to house 12,000 migrant family members

The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday formally requested that the Department of Defense help house and care for 12,000 migrant family members and locate potential facility locations.
The Pentagon was asked to locate appropriate facilities and — when necessary — construct semi-separate, soft-sided camp facilities in Arizona, New Mexico, California and Texas.
On Sunday, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the military has housed people in the past, including Vietnamese fleeing their country as well as Americans needing shelter in the wake of natural disasters.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis  (Associated Press)

HHS has assessed facilities on four military bases: Little Rock Air Force Base in
Arkansas, plus three bases in Texas: Dyess Air Force Base, Goodfellow Air Force Base and Fort Bliss.
The DHS request for the Pentagon to house comes a week after the Defense Department was asked to house up to 20,000 unaccompanied alien migrant children. All told, the Pentagon has now been asked to house 32,000 migrants, 2,000 beginning in the next 45 days.
An administration official tells Fox News the migrant families will be housed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. The migrant children will be housed at Goodfellow Air Force Base, roughly 400 miles to the east in central Texas.

Stormy Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, also represents planned pot farm: report

His soon to be ex wife.

Before he gained media attention for representing an X-rated film star in a lawsuit against the president of the United States, attorney Michael Avenatti spent a lot of time working for a company that plans to build an indoor cannabis farm and processing plant in the California desert.
In fact, in much of 2017 it was not unusual for Avenatti to write emails and attend public meetings on behalf of Desert Harvest Development LLC, which expects to employee more than 500 people and generate more than $14 million in tax revenue for the city of Desert Hot Springs, if the plan is approved, the Desert Sun reported.
So in early 2018, when the same Avenatti began making regular appearances on cable TV, arguing on behalf of Stephanie Clifford (aka Stormy Daniels) in a lawsuit against President Donald Trump, many people in the small city were surprised.
“It was a little bit of a shocker when we saw him on the national news,” Doria Wilms, a Desert Hot Springs city spokeswoman, told the Desert Sun. “But it didn’t take away from the fact that he is one of many projects here in the city, and we want his project to be developed just like we want everybody else’s.”
But although Desert Harvest’s plans received city approval in November 2017, the company has not yet purchased the 65-acre parcel of land it eyed for the complex, the newspaper reported.
It added that Avenatti wrote in an email that the company intends to purchase the land soon and still intends to proceed with the venture.
Meanwhile, Fox News previously reported that Avenatti’s personal business dealings have come under scrutiny in recent months. Fox News confirmed in May that Avenatti was under investigation by the California State Bar over allegations related to his stewardship of the bankrupt Tully’s Coffee chain. The ownership group, Global Baristas LLC faced a lien for unpaid federal taxes worth approximately $5 million.
Avenatti has also claimed that the tax lien in question "is related to an entity that was owned by another company that I used to have an interest in." He told Fox News, "At no point in time was I ever responsible for any taxes for Global Baristas US LLC, nor was I ever a member of that entity, nor did I own any direct interest in that entity."
Court records detail Avenatti’s extravagant lifestyle, with monthly expenses running to about $40,000. He’s a noted collector of watches and artwork, uses a private jet to travel, and leases expensive cars, his wife claimed in case documents. Lisa Storie-Avenatti has suggested he was avoiding their divorce proceedings.