The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, December 21, 2018, Image 4

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The times., December 21, 2018, Image 4

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Newspaper Page Text4A Friday, December 21,2018 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com ★ WASHINGTON/POLITICS Migrants to stay in Mexico as asylum is weighed BY MOLLY O’TOOLE Associated Press WASHINGTON — Thousands of migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. will be forced to wait in Mexico while their cases are considered — a process that can often take well over a year — the Trump admin istration and Mexico’s government announced Thursday. The dramatic change in long standing U.S. policy will alter life for tens of thousands of Central Americans stuck on the border. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen hailed the shift as a “historic” measure that would “bring the illegal immigration crisis under control.” ‘“Catch and release’ will be replaced with ‘catch and return,”’ Nielsen said in a statement. But opponents called the move a misguided denial of a well-estab lished legal right to seek protec tion in the U.S. from persecution in other countries. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat and the incoming chair man of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, called the new policy “the single biggest assault to date by this administration on the world’s most vulnerable populations coming to America — legally — and in search of a better life.” Democratic lawmakers and immigration advocates tied the policy shift to Trump’s frustrations over his inability to get Congress to pay for his proposed border wall. The president is “refusing to admit defeat” Rep. Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi, the rank ing Democrat on the House Home land Security committee, said in a statement. “The administration is now hell-bent on taking out its frus tration on vulnerable people fleeing violence by making our asylum pro cess even more difficult.” Under current policy, asylum applicants are often detained in the U.S. while their petitions move through the system. Because of the large caseload, lengthy backlog, and a shortage of detention space, many are ultimately given a court date and released, a practice that Trump has repeatedly denounced. Under the new policy, migrants who enter the United States from Mexico and ask for asylum, whether or not they present them selves to U.S. authorities at a legal port of entry, may be returned to Mexico while they await further proceedings. That would be a major change for Mexico, which traditionally has refused to accept the return of migrants who aren’t Mexican. Under the new policy, which the U.S. imposed unilaterally, but which Mexico said it would coop erate with “on a temporary basis,” third-party nationals or non-Mexican migrants will be allowed to remain in Mexico due to “humani tarian reasons,” officials at Mexico’s embassy in Wash ington said. “Mexico reaffirms its sovereign right to admit or reject the entry of foreigners into its territory, in the exercise of its migration policy,” Mexico’s foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that Mexico was taking the steps “for the benefit of the migrants” and to “protect their right” to claim asylum in the United States. The foreign ministry said Mexico had rejected a U.S. proposal known as “safe third country,” under which Central Americans seek ing asylum would generally have to seek protection in Mexico, not in the U.S., similar to a U.S. under standing with Canada. The new policy preserves the right of Cen tral Americans and others arriving at the southwest border to apply for asylum in the United States. Domestic critics, however, are likely to assail Mexico’s new gov ernment for doing Washington’s bidding, a criticism leveled at the previous Mexican admin istration. At U.S. urging, former President Enrique Pena Nieto bolstered enforcement along Mexi co’s southern border, and in recent years, Mexico has deported more Central Americans than the United States has. Many of the mechan ics of the agreement are still being worked out, Homeland Security officials told reporters. Migrants given a “notice to appear” will have access to immigration attor neys and to the United States for court hearings, they said, but how asylum applicants will be noti fied of changes in court dates and other developments in their cases remains unclear. Also uncertain is whether their cases would be heard in immigra tion courts in U.S. border cities such as San Diego and El Paso, or in other venues. People whose claims are ulti mately upheld by U.S. judges will be allowed into the United States, while others will be deported to their home countries, the officials said. Trump has consistently sought to frame the situation at the border as a problem of illegal immigration. He maintains that the southwestern border is being “overrun” by immi grants crossing illegally, many of whom he claims are “criminals” and terrorists.” The new policy, however, targets asylum-seekers — many, perhaps most, of whom are not violating U.S. laws. Apprehensions at the border — the most common measure of ille gal immigration — are near historic lows. In the fiscal year that ended in September, border authorities apprehended 521,090 people. By comparison, from the 1980s to the mid-2000s, the government usually apprehended more than 1 million migrants a year. The number of families arriving at the border and asking for asylum, however, has increased, and the administration says that the Bor der Patrol has been overwhelmed by the surge. In November, Border Patrol agents apprehended 25,172 family members on the border, a record, and 5,283 unaccompanied minors. Nielsen Trump’s AG pick critical of Mueller probe in memo BY ERIC TUCKER ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Presi dent Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Wil liam Barr, sent an unsolic ited memo to the Justice Department this year criti cizing a central prong of the special counsel’s Russia investigation, attacking as “fatally misconceived” the idea the president could have obstructed justice. The memo, sent in June while Barr was in private practice and months before he was selected by Trump for the Justice Department job, could factor into his future confirmation hear ings before the Senate Judi ciary Committee and may prompt questions about his ability to oversee the special counsel’s investigation in an open-minded and impartial manner. The document argues there could be disastrous consequences for the Jus tice Department and the presidency if special coun sel Robert Mueller were to conclude that acts a presi dent is legally permitted to take — whether firing an FBI director or granting a pardon — could constitute obstruction because of a sub jective determination that they were done with corrupt intent. “Mueller should not be permitted to demand that the President submit to interrogation about alleged obstruction,” Barr wrote. “Apart from whether Muel ler (has) a strong enough factual basis for doing so, Mueller’s obstruction theory is fatally misconceived.” Barr acknowledged that a president can commit obstruction of justice by destroying evidence or tam pering with witnesses. But, he said, he is unaware of any accusation like that in the Mueller investigation, and he said it would “do lasting damage to the Presidency and to the administration of law within the Executive branch” if an act like the firing of ex-FBI chief James Comey could amount to obstruction. Some Senate Democrats, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, expressed alarm over the memo. The outgoing Republican chair man of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley, said he was con fident Barr would address questions over it, noting: “It may be a very serious issue, or it may be a less serious issue. Or it may not be an issue at all.” Sen. Lindsey Graham, the incoming committee chairman, said he wasn’t bothered by the document though he noted he didn’t agree with everything in it. “People can have opin ions. They can express them,” Graham said. “They can be advocates. It doesn’t mean they’re disqualified.” Mueller and his team of prosecutors have spent the last year and a half investi gating not only whether the Trump campaign coordi nated with Russia but also whether the president might Barr have obstructed justice by, among other actions, asking Comey to drop an investiga tion into his national secu rity adviser and firing the FBI director months later. That firing paved the way for Mueller’s appointment. In drafting the document, Barr weighed in on contentious legal questions sur rounding the scope of the president’s executive power. Trump and his law yers have resisted answering ques tions related to the obstruction inquiry, saying prosecutors can’t second-guess actions the president takes in office. “I know you will agree that, if a DOJ investiga tion is going to take down a democratically-elected president, it is imperative to the health of our system and to our national cohesion that any claim of wrongdoing is solidly based on evidence of a real crime — not a debat able one,” Barr wrote. “It is time to travel well- worn paths; not to veer into novel, unsettled or contested areas of the law; and not to indulge the fancies by over- zealous prosecutors,” he added. The memo’s existence was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. It was sent to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller, and to Steven Engel, the head of the Jus tice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which pro vides legal advice to execu tive branch agencies. The document was produced to the Judiciary Committee, which released it along with questionnaire responses that Barr submitted to the panel. Rosenstein downplayed its significance at an unre lated news conference Thursday, defending Barr’s record as attorney general — he served from 1991 to 1993 under President George H.W. Bush — and saying he’ll be “outstand ing” again if confirmed for the job. “Lots of people offer opin ions to the Department of Justice, but they don’t influ ence our own decision mak ing,” Rosenstein said. “We have very experi enced lawyers and obviously our deci sions are informed by our actual knowl edge of the facts of the case, which Mr. Barr didn’t have.” The memo adds to a record of other statements from Barr over the last year or so about the Mueller investigation. Those include comments to a newspaper expressing concern that multiple members of the Mueller team had made political contributions to Democratic political candi dates. Acting Attorney Gen eral Matthew Whitaker has criticized the investigation in even more pointed ways. A spokesman for Mueller declined to comment. Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Rupee said Barr’s views were based solely on publicly available information and were expressed “on his own initiative.” In the memo, Barr says he is writing “as a former official deeply con cerned with the institutions of the Presidency and the Department of Justice.” He acknowledged he was “in the dark about many facts.” Rupee said in a statement: “Following the announce ment of Mr. Barr’s nomi nation, senior Department ethics officials were con sulted and advised that, under the applicable rules of professional conduct, Mr. Barr’s memo would present no conflict as to his duties as Attorney General. Mr. Barr has stated that, if confirmed, he will make any decisions based on the actual facts and circumstances of any particular matter.” EARLY DEADLINES FOR CHRISTMAS DAY Because of the upcoming Christmas Day holiday The Times will alter its advertising and legals deadline as follows: Retail Display Ads Publication The Times Date Deadline Wednesday 12/26 Friday, 12/21 Thursday 12/27 Friday, 12/21 Classified Line Ads Publication The Times Date Deadline Wednesday 12/26 Friday, 12/21 @3pm Legal Ads Publication The Times Date Deadline Wednesday 12/26 Wednesday, 12/19 @ 5pm Thursday 12/27 Wednesday, 12/19 @ 5pm She Sfmes gainesvilletimes •com will be CLOSED Tuesday, December 25th, in observance of Christmas. Dems to start presidential primary debates June 2019 BY BILL BARROW Associated Press Democrats will hold at least a dozen presi dential primary debates starting in June 2019 and running through April 2020, with party Chair man Tom Perez prom ising rules that will give everyone in a potentially large field a fair shot at voters’ attention. Making public his first in a series of decisions on the 2020 debate cal endar, Perez said Thurs day that the national party will sponsor six debates in 2019 and six more in 2020. That could be extended if the nomi nation process drags deep into the spring. Exact dates, loca tions, media partners and qualifying thresh olds will be announced in early 2019. But Perez says early voting states of Iowa, New Hamp shire, Nevada and South Carolina won’t host debates until 2020. The first two debates in June and July will have two rounds, pos sibly over two nights, to accommodate what is expected to be an unwieldy field. Candi dates will be assigned at random, Perez said, to avoid the party pick ing and choosing who is a top-tier contender, as Republicans did dur ing their 2016 primary debates. “Democrats want to put our eventual nomi nee in the strongest posi tion possible to defeat Donald Trump,” Perez said. He said officials have “listened to voices across our party about how we can make the pri mary process better” and set rules that “will help every candidate feel like they got a fair shake.” National figures like for mer Vice President Joe Biden and Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey likely would have no trouble qualifying for the debate stage regardless of the rules. But for upstart candi dates, from governors and mayors to little-known members of Congress, get ting a slot in the initial debates could be a make- or-break opportunity. One such candidate, Rep. John Delaney of Maryland, has already invested consid erable time and money in Iowa and New Hampshire. In a statement Thursday, he called it “encouraging that the DNC is really embrac ing a fair process.” Perez’s announcement Thursday comes after months of discussions among party officials, tele vision networks and previ ous presidential campaigns. Mary Beth Cahill, who ran Sen. John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign, has led the process for Perez. EARLY DEADLINES FOR NEW YEARS DAY Because of the upcoming New Years Day holiday The Times will alter its advertising and legals deadline as follows: Retail Display Ads Publication Date Deadline The Times Wednesday 1/2 Friday, 12/28 Thursday 1/3 Friday, 12/28 Publication Classified Line Ads Date Deadline The Times Wednesday 1/2 Friday, 12/28 @ 3pm Publication Legal Ads Date Deadline The Times Wednesday 1/2 Wednesday, 12/26 @ 5pm Thursday 1/3 Wednesday, 12/26 @ 5pm She Sfmes gainesvilletimes •com will be CLOSED Tuesday, January 1st, in observance of New Years Day Call Wolfman Charlie to keep you warm this winter! 835 Oak Street, Gainesville, Georgia http://lanier-hvac.net/ 678-943-1351 o LRNIER HVOC SERVICES WE STRIVE TO SERVE YOU