A sampling of today’s headlines on immigration, race, and related stories.
October 29, 2018
Top Story:
Defense Department to hold briefing today at 4pm (per Sarah Sanders in today’s WH briefing). Live coverage should be available on CSPAN when the event begins.
The DOD may send up to 5000 troops to the border, but at the moment it is unclear what role the military will play. CBP wants the military for have a more active role in enforcement, but history shows that such border deployments consist largely of humanitarian relief in the form of medical, engineering, and/or support staff and supplies. CBP union chief wants the military to play a more active enforcement role, DHS Secretary Nielsen is waffling, but the decision will ultimately be left to Defense Secretary Mattis.
Given that the caravan’s arrival is months away, we can assume this ramp-up is mostly meant to serve as a sort of “October surprise” ahead of midterm elections.
More Related Coverage:
From the Daily Beast: "Bolton Kept DHS in the Dark in His Push to Seal the Border Against the Migrant Caravan"
From Politico: “DHS secretary: ‘This caravan is not getting in’”
From Newsweek: “DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen says US has no plans 'right now' to shoot at caravan”
From the Associated Press: “Trump escalates threats against migrant caravan”
From the Washington Post: “Trump preparing to deliver major immigration speech just days before midterms”
"Trump is considering steps that would bar migrants from crossing the border and deny them a chance to apply for asylum in the United States, measures that legal scholars and immigrant rights groups say would contravene U.S. laws and international treaties, likely triggering challenges in federal court.
"The president, undeterred, has been buoyed by rising approval ratings in recent weeks and eager to cudgel his Democratic rivals on border issues, depicting the migrant caravan moving through Mexico as a menace to U.S. security.
"Administration officials with knowledge of the speech preparations said the exact measures Trump will announce remain under discussion, as attorneys from the Department of Homeland Security, Justice Department and White House attempt to craft policies that put the administration on the least-vulnerable legal footing."
Other News:
From the New Yorker: “Larry Krasner’s Campaign to End Mass Incarceration: Philadelphia’s District Attorney reinvents the role of the modern prosecutor”
CBP union endorses Democrats, drawing President's ire.
Census bureau says citizenship question is not the most efficient or cost-effective way to gather citizenship data.
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