About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 2018)
6A Friday, December 7, 2018 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com WASHINGTON/POLITICS Separations at border down, but many still affected Despite executive order, judges ruling, 81 children separated from parents BY COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON - The Trump administration separated 81 migrant children from their fami lies at the U.S.-Mexico border since the June executive order that stopped the general practice amid a crackdown on illegal cross ings, according to government data obtained by The Associated Press. Despite the order and a federal judge’s later ruling, immigration officials are allowed to separate a child from a parent in certain cases — serious criminal charges against a parent, concerns over the health and welfare of a child or medical concerns. Those cave ats were in place before the zero- tolerance policy that prompted the earlier separations at the border. The government decides whether a child fits into the areas of concern, worrying advocates of the families and immigrant rights groups that are afraid parents are being falsely labeled as criminals. From June 21, the day after President Donald Trump’s order, through Tuesday, 76 adults were separated from the children, according to the data. Of those, 51 were criminally prosecuted — 31 with criminal histories and 20 for other, unspecified reasons, accord ing to the data. Nine were hospital ized, 10 had gang affiliations and four had extraditable warrants, according to the immigration data. Two were separated because of prior immigration violations and orders of removal, according to the data. “The welfare of children in our custody is paramount,” said Katie Waldman, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Secu rity, which oversees U.S. immigra tion enforcement. “As we have already said — and the numbers show: Separations are rare. While there was a brief increase during zero tolerance as more adults were prosecuted, the numbers have returned to their prior levels.” At its height over the summer, more than 2,400 children were separated. The practice sparked global outrage from politicians, humanitarians and religious groups who called it cruel and cal lous. Images of weeping children and anguished, confused parents were splashed across newspapers and television. A federal judge hearing a law suit brought by a mother who had been separated from her child barred further separations and ordered the government to reunite the families. But the judge, Dana Sabraw, left the caveats in place and gave the option to challenge further separa tions on an individual basis. Ameri can Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt, who sued on behalf of the mother, said he hoped the judge would order the government to alert them to any new separa tions, because right now the attor neys don’t know about them and therefore can’t challenge them. “We are very concerned the government may be separating families based on vague allega tions of criminal history,” Gelernt said. According to the government data, from April 19 through Sept. 30, 170 family units were sepa rated because they were found to not be related — that included 197 adults and 139 minors. That could also include grandparents or other relatives if there was no proof of relationship. Many people fleeing poverty or violence leave their homes in a rush and don’t have birth certificates or formal docu ments with them. Senators wrestle with rebuke for Khashoggi killing BY MARY CLARE JAL0NICK Associated Press WASHINGTON - Sena tors are considering mul tiple pieces of legislation to formally rebuke Saudi Arabia for the slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, with momentum building for a resolution to call Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman complicit in the killing. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said Thursday that senators are looking at mov ing three measures — a reso lution to condemn the crown prince for Khashoggi’s mur der, a bill to suspend arms sales to the kingdom and a resolution to call on Presi dent Donald Trump’s admin istration to pull back U.S. help for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. “We have three differ ent efforts underway, all of which have a lot of momen tum,” Corker, R-Tenn., said after meeting with other senators to negotiate on Thursday. Corker said that most senators “in some form or fashion are going to want to speak to Saudi Arabia and where they are and send a message.” It’s unclear how strong that message will be. The Senate is expected to vote next week on the Yemen resolution, but senators are wrestling with how to limit amendments to prevent a freewheeling floor debate that would allow votes on unrelated issues. Corker said the Foreign Relations panel may vote on the other two measures related to Saudi Arabia, Republican House lead ers haven’t indicated they will take up any of the mea sures, meaning any action by the Senate is likely to be symbolic, for now. Demo crats taking over the House in January have introduced bills similar to the Senate legislation and would be more likely to rebuke Saudi Arabia. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said the chamber will have a briefing from intelligence officials next week on Khashoggi and “well know more after that. ” Huawei arrest complicates trade talks, shows clash over technology Pelosi takes hard line on paying for Trump’s proposed border wall BY PAUL WISEMAN AND FRANK BAJAK Associated Press WASHINGTON - The dramatic arrest of a Chinese telecommunications execu tive has driven home why it will so hard for the Trump administration to resolve its deepening conflict with China. In the short run, the arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer heightened skepticism about the trade truce that Presidents Don ald Trump and Xi Jinping reached last weekend in Buenos Aires, Argentina. On Thursday, U.S. stock mar kets tumbled on fears that the 90-day cease-fire won’t last before regaining most of their losses by the close of trading. But the case of an execu tive for a Chinese company that’s been a subject of U.S. national security concerns incident carries echoes well beyond tariffs or market access. Washington and Bei jing are locked in a clash over which of the world’s two largest economies will command economic and political dominance for decades to come. “It’s a much broader issue than just a trade dis pute,” said Amanda DeBusk, chair of the international trade practice at Dechert LLP. “It pulls in: Who is going to be the world leader essentially.” Huawei, the world’s big gest supplier of network gear used by phone and internet companies, has long been seen as a front for spying by the Chinese military or secu rity services. A U.S. National Security Agency cybersecu rity adviser, Rob Joyce, last month accused Beijing of violating a 2015 agreement with the U.S. to halt elec tronic theft of intellectual property. Other nations are increas ingly being forced to choose between Chinese and U.S. suppliers for next-generation “5G” wireless technology. Washington has been push ing other countries not to buy BY MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON — House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday rejected the idea of paying for President Donald Trump’s border wall in exchange for help ing hundreds of thousands of young immigrants avoid deportation. Funding for the wall — a top Trump priority — and legal pro tections for so-called Dreamers, a key Democratic goal, should not be linked, Pelosi said. “They’re two different subjects,” she said. Her comments came as the House „ . . and Senate approved a stopgap bill Thursday to keep the government funded through Dec. 21. The measure, approved by voice votes in near-empty chambers, now goes to the White House. Trump has promised to sign the two-week extension to allow for ceremonies this week honoring former President George H.W. Bush, who died Nov. 30. But he wants the next funding package to include at least $5 billion for his proposed wall, something Democrats have rejected. Trump is set to meet Tuesday at the White House with Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. Pelosi, who is seeking to become House speaker in January, said the lame-duck Con gress should now pass a half-dozen govern ment funding bills that key committees have already agreed on, along with a separate measure funding the Department of Home land Security, which oversees the border. Funding for the homeland agency should address border security and does not neces sarily include a wall, Pelosi said. Most Democrats consider the wall “immoral, ineffective and expensive,” Pelosi said, noting that Trump promised during the 2016 campaign that Mexico would pay for it, an idea Mexican leaders have repeatedly rejected. Even if Mexico did pay for the wall, “it’s immoral still,” Pelosi said. Protecting borders “is a responsi bility we honor, but we do so by hon oring our values as well,” she added. Schumer said Thursday that a bipartisan Senate plan for $1.6 bil lion in border security funding does not include money for the 30-foot-high concrete wall Trump has envisioned. The money “can only be used for fencing” and technology that experts say is appropri ate and makes sense as a security feature, Schumer said. If Republicans object to the proposal because of pressure from Trump, Schumer said lawmakers should follow Pelosi’s advice and approve six appropriations bills and a separate measure extending current funding for Homeland Security. Either option would avert a partial gov ernment shutdown, which lawmakers from both parties oppose, he said. “The one and only way we approach a shutdown is if President Trump refuses both of our proposals and demands $5 billion or more for a border wall,” Schumer said. NG HAN GUAN I Associated Press Foreigners look at a Huawei computer at a Huawei store in Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 6. the equipment from Huawei, arguing that the company may be working stealthily for Beijing’s spymasters. The Huawei execu tive, Meng Wanzhou, was detained by Canadian authorities in Vancouver as she was changing flights Sat urday — the same day that Trump and Xi met at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina and produced a cease-fire in their trade war. The Globe and Mail news paper, citing law enforce ment sources, reported that Meng is suspected of try ing to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran. She faces possible extradition to the United States, according to Cana dian authorities. Beijing protested the arrest but signaled that it doesn’t want to disrupt prog ress toward settling its trade dispute with the Trump administration. Chinese Commerce Ministry spokes man Gao Feng said China is confident it can reach a deal during the 90 days that Trump agreed to suspend a scheduled increase in U.S. import taxes on $200 bil lion worth of Chinese products. In the view of the United States and many out side analysts, China has embarked on an aggres- sive drive to overtake America’s dominance in technology and global economic leadership. According to analysts, China has deployed predatory tactics, from and forcing American and other foreign companies to hand over trade secrets in exchange for access to the Chinese market to engaging in cyber-theft. 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