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World’s biggest volcano erupts, Black Friday and Cyber Monday break records

November 28, 2022

The World’s biggest volcano is erupting; a recall is issued for sippy cups; and this Cyber Monday could break records. These stories and more highlight the midday rundown for Monday, Nov. 28, 2022.

World’s most active volcano erupts

The world’s largest active volcano is erupting in Hawaii for the first time in nearly 40 years. Even though Mauna Loa has been dormant since 1984, officials have noticed an increase in seismic activity over the past few months. The volcano covers half of the island.

Lava is not threatening downhill communities, but there is an ash-fall advisory in place.

U.S. eases sanctions on Venezuela

Over the weekend, the Biden administration eased oil sanctions on Venezuela, and the Treasury Department granted Chevron permission to pump oil in Venezuela and expand its operations.

Venezuela was slapped with the sanctions 15 years ago for human rights abuses, drug trafficking and corruption. A vast portion of migrants entering the U.S. for asylum come from Venezuela to escape persecution. The move was an attempt to curb revenue to a country that holds the world’s largest oil reserves.

The Biden administration is easing sanctions after the Venezuelan government opened the door to its opposition party to discuss humanitarian crises.

Recall issued on stainless steel sippy cups

An important recall alert has been issued for parents of toddlers. Potential lead poisoning has caused thousands of sippy cups to be recalled. The stainless steel bottles from Green Sprouts are sold at popular retailers like Whole Foods and Bed Bath and Beyond.

The danger is that if the bottle breaks, it could potentially expose your toddler to a toxic metal that can cause poisoning if ingested.

Black Friday, Cyber Monday break records

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for retail, after a booming Black Friday set records on spending. Cyber Monday is projected to do the same thing.

Black Friday raked in more than 9 billion dollars in sales and now Cyber Monday is projected to break online purchasing record with $11 billion in sales.

Holiday promotions are tempting consumers even amid high inflation.

Word of the year: Gaslighting

“The word of the year for 2022 from Merriam-Webster is gaslighting. The act or practice of grossly misleading someone, especially for one’s own advantage,” said Merriam-Webster Editor at Large Peter Sokoloski.

Webster’s word of the year is “gaslighting.” Searches of the word on their website increased 1,700% compared to last year. It’s a term frequently heard on the dating scene.
Mobile processing centers help officials amid El Paso immigrant influx

November 15, 2022

The Border Patrol took in more than 300,000 immigrants in El Paso, Texas, last fiscal year. That’s more than a third of the surrounding county’s population. It’s an influx that overwhelmed the area and led to migrants sleeping on the streets. But the Border Patrol, city and county governments were quick to act and each created mobile processing centers.

The immigrants’ first steps into America are in downtown El Paso on a shallow section of the Rio Grande River. This allows them to cross, walk around an opening in the border fence and turn themselves in to the waiting Border Patrol agents.

When Straight Arrow News visited the area, hundreds waited in Juarez, Mexico, chanting “queremos trabajar” or “we want to work.” But they’re unlikely to cross successfully because of newly implemented rules from the Biden administration. On Oct. 12, the Department of Homeland Security announced that all Venezuelans who cross illegally will be sent back to Mexico. The U.S. will also work to bring in up to 24,000 Venezuelan immigrants who have a financial sponsor, pass a national security screening and complete a series of vaccinations and other health requirements.

Nearly 2,000 people per day turn themselves in at the Border Patrol mobile processing center. Upon arrival, they’re separated into three lines: families and unaccompanied children, single adults, and single adults from Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba. Next, their belongings are put into a bag, and they are given food and any necessary medical treatment. Finally, they receive a fingerprint and retinal scan and have their documents authenticated.

Querlie and Jose Louis arrived in El Paso after leaving Ecuador. They said the journey took nearly a month.

“They were extorting us, they asked for money and if we didn’t pay they would kill one of our children,” Querlie said.

The family said they have a friend in the states they can stay with.

“We want to be here because we feel much safer here. We want to work, and keep moving forward without fear that they will kill one of us,” Querlie said.

From the mobile processing center, migrants who aren’t deported may ultimately end up at the county welcome center. It helps migrants coordinate transportation to family or sponsors in other areas of the country but doesn’t pay for it. According to the commissioners on the County Court, 99% of the immigrants who enter El Paso do not stay.

“These are single adults that do have actual sponsors or do have, you know, somebody who’s helping them,” Commissioner David Stout said.

Commissioners on the court voted unanimously to approve the welcome center. Stout said the decision was made possible by an agreement with the federal government that it would pay for everything.

“We have been talking to the federal government for many, many years and letting them know — look, we should not be forcing local taxpayers to pick up the burden, the financial burden, of this federal issue,” Stout said.

It’s a one-year contract at a cost of $6.9 million plus $146,000 to lease the building. There’s an option for a second year if necessary. They said they have already received the check from FEMA to pay for everything through December.

“It’s important for us to do the best that we can to try to help them, welcome them and make sure that they’re taken care of. That they’re treated in the most humane way possible,” Stout said.

But money aside, Stout said El Paso is a welcoming, pro-immigrant community that will work to ease the burden on families like Querlie and Jose Louis.

This is one story in a series of four original Straight Arrow News reports from the border.
Border Patrol morale low as agents react to 2022 migration record

November 2, 2022

A new record has been set at the southern border, as the Department of Homeland Security revealed Border Patrol agents encountered more than 2.3 million immigrants in the 2022 fiscal year. It’s a 37% increase compared to last year and more than five times the number of encounters from 2020.

Customs and Border Protection said the surge was driven by an influx of migrants from “authoritarian regimes” in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba. In fact, Border Patrol encounters with people from those countries increased 245% in September compared to the same month last year.

“CBP and DHS will continue to work with our partners in the region to address the root causes of migration, expand legal pathways, facilitate removals, and take thousands of smugglers off the streets. No matter what smugglers say, those who do not have a legal basis to remain in the country will be removed and people should not make the dangerous journey,” CBP Commissioner Christopher Magnus said in a statement.

This has taken a toll on the Border Patrol’s morale. One senior agent who spoke anonymously to Straight Arrow News said agents are “frustrated”, have a sense of “hopelessness,” and are “physically and emotionally exhausted.”

Another senior agent wrote, “Feel like we aren’t doing the job we were hired to do which is secure the border with HONOR.”

William Jackson retired from the Border Patrol in December 2021 after 24 years of service. He’s able to speak more openly.

“The problem with the Biden administration is they’re using the executive orders as a way to change the way that we enforce the law,” Jackson said. “They can’t do that. The legislative branch is responsible for that.”

Jackson said when this many people are crossing, the system can get overwhelmed.

“So I can see to some degree how they would want to go ahead and streamline it for the people that are coming in. The problem with that is the safety and security of our country is at risk. We are streamlining things to the point we’re allowing people into our country, unvetted,” Jackson said.

There’s also increased scrutiny on the performance of agents. In September 2021, a picture of a Haitian migrant and an agent on horseback led to accusations of agents whipping the immigrants. But an investigation found the agents never whipped anyone, although it did determine they used unnecessary force and vulgar language.

“We know that those images painfully conjured up the worst elements of our nation’s ongoing battle against systemic racism,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said at the White House after the images were initially published.

More than a year after the incident took place, emails revealed Mayorkas was told two hours before those comments that the photos were being misconstrued.

“I’ve never seen them whip anyone,” the photographer said.

Jackson said that comment from Mayorkas showed there was no support for the troops on the ground.

“Even the president and the DHS secretary coming up online and saying, ‘Hey, you know what, we got it wrong this time,’ would have shown the American public how humble our executive branch is, how humble our DHS secretary is to print a retraction. But when you blatantly, you know, lie and continue the lie regardless of the truth,” Jackson said.

One agent told Straight Arrow News he believes Mayorkas should resign if not be fired.

“He turned the president, the administration, and millions of Americans against us,” the agent told SAN.

President Biden also made a public statement.

“I promise you, those people will pay,” President Biden said of the agents involved.

Jackson said the president’s comment “destroys” morale.

“The problem with the president coming online is there wasn’t a full investigation yet,” Jackson said.

The agency’s 2022 fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30, was also the deadliest 12 months for border-crossers. 856 migrants died trying to enter the U.S. According to Border Patrol figures, drowning and heat exhaustion were among the top causes.

“If you want to go ahead and have a solution to this problem, first of all you gotta enforce the law. Let’s enforce the law. However we can make amends and get people through the legal system here to make a judicial decision. Then let’s do it. Let’s find a way,” Jackson said.
Immigration from Venezuela decreases as migrants wait in Mexico

October 27, 2022

The number of illegal border crossings by Venezuelan immigrants has fallen from 1,200 a day early in October to just 150 a day in the wake of new rules implemented by the Biden administration. Now according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, tens of thousands are stranded in Mexico sleeping on the streets, in tents and overflowing shelters.

On Oct. 12, the Department of Homeland Security announced that all Venezuelans who cross illegally will be sent back to Mexico. The U.S. will also work to bring in up to 24,000 qualifying Venezuelan immigrants who have a financial sponsor, pass a national security screening and complete a series of vaccinations and other health requirements.

“While failing regimes in Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua continued to drive a new wave of migration across the Western Hemisphere, the number of Venezuelans arriving at the southern border decreased sharply nearly every day since we launched additional joint actions with Mexico,” Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus said in a statement after the rules were implemented.

Many of the Venezuelans were expecting to come into the United States and apply for asylum, but now they are stuck and said they are running out of money.

The decrease in migrants from Venezuela is coming shortly after the Biden administration announced that fiscal year 2022 was a record for immigrant encounters on the southern border. Border Patrol agents encountered more than 2.3 million immigrants. That’s a 37% increase compared to last year and more than five times the number of encounters from 2020.

Most of the crossings, 949,055, happened in South Texas, largely in the Del Rio and Rio Grande Valley sectors. But there was also a 170% increase in the Yuma sector in Arizona and a 58% increase in the El Paso sector. They both had over 300,000 crossings each.

As per demographics, the vast majority of the immigrants who entered, 1.5 million, were single adults, 482,000 came together as families, and 149,000 were unaccompanied children.

There was also a statistic that largely goes unnoticed. Border Patrol performed more than 22,000 search and rescues. Agents say crossing is dangerous whether it’s in the Rio Grande which can have strong currents, or in the hot desert in West Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.

Straight Arrow News will be publishing a series of four stories from El Paso, Texas over the next week. The reporting will include the perspectives of immigrants, Border Patrol agents, local politicians and residents. The series will provide an account of what it is like living in a border community during migrant influxes.
AP: Border Patrol sending migrants to ‘fake’ office buildings with no notice

October 24, 2022

According to 13 recently-arrived migrants who shared documents with The Associated Press, U.S. Border Patrol agents are sending migrants to office buildings that get no advanced notice of their arrival. Most of the migrants had no idea where they were going.

Addresses on documents shown to AP included administrative offices of Catholic Charities in New York and San Antonio; an El Paso, Texas, church; a private home in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts and a group operating homeless shelters in Salt Lake City. A Venezuelan family that came to the American Red Cross administrative offices in Denver was referred to multiple shelters before someone volunteered to take them in.

“I don’t understand why Border Patrol would do something like this, they have been told that the addresses that they’re writing on paperwork is false information,” Colorado Housing Asylum Network Executive Director Denise Chang said. “We have requested to coordinate with Border Patrol, so that we can receive people properly and that has not been done, either.”

According to AP, Customs and Border Protection, which oversees the Border Patrol, did not respond to repeated questions about the migrants interviewed and the addresses of the buildings assigned to them. The report comes as a surge in migration from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua brought the number of illegal crossings to the highest level ever recorded in a fiscal year. The buildings that the migrants get sent to often don’t have space to house migrants.

“I worry that there’s going to be more people and that they’re going to be coming faster than I can make arrangements for,” Chang said. “I’m hoping that the organizations will step up and say, ‘We’re going to do it all…’ just tell me, somebody.”
Venezuelan migrants seeking asylum will be expelled to Mexico

October 13, 2022

Asylum-seeking Venezuelan migrants, who cross the border illegally, will be expelled back to Mexico. Wednesday, a new migration agreement was announced by the U.S. and Mexico. It invokes the use of a pandemic-era border policy known as Title 42, which President Biden vowed to cancel.

Under Title 42, Venezuelan migrants crossing the southern border illegally to seek asylum will now be expelled back to Mexico.

At the same time, the Biden administration is also creating a new immigration program which will allow up to 24,000 Venezuelans to move to the states legally. The administration says it’s a move to deter migrants from attempting the dangerous, and sometimes deadly, crossing.

The U.S. Border Patrol in Del Rio, Texas reported that – just last week – they apprehended 9,516 migrants trying to cross the border, and that they were unable to stop more than 3,344 from entering the United States.
Following OPEC oil production cut, US could be considering Venezuela

October 6, 2022

As the OPEC decision to cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day leaves America scrambling to find additional sources, Venezuela could be one of them. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday the Biden administration is preparing to scale down sanctions on Venezuela. This would allow Chevron to resume pumping oil in the country. The White House has refuted the report.

“Our sanctions policy on Venezuela remains unchanged. We will continue to implement and enforce our Venezuela sanctions,” National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said. “There are no plans to change our sanctions policy without constructive steps from the Maduro regime.”

This reportedly includes Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro resuming talks with the country’s opposition party to discuss conditions needed to hold free and fair presidential elections in 2024 after a controversial dictatorship rule.

In addition to potentially working out a deal with Venezuela, the White House said the Department of Energy is taking out 10 million more barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to send to market next month. President Biden said he was disappointed in OPEC+ cutting oil production.

“We’re looking at what alternatives we may have,” Biden told reporters at the White House. He said no decision has been made yet on how to respond to the OPEC+ move.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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