International
López Obrador denies that there will be more migrants deported to Mexico due to restrictions in the United States
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador denied that he increased the number of migrants deported to Mexico after the new restrictions on asylum in the United States promulgated last week by the Joe Biden government.
The president argued in his morning conference that after a “crisis” in December, with 12,000 daily migrants intercepted at the U.S. border with Mexico, the figure has fallen almost 56% to 5,506 on May 9, so he expects this trend to continue.
“No (it implies more migrants returned to Mexico), we are like this (with this trend). We’re doing well,” López Obrador replied to the express question in his morning conference.
The Mexican ruler referred to the rule promulgated on Thursday by the Biden government to instruct immigration agents to prohibit people considered a “risk to public or national security” from applying for asylum and being, therefore, admitted within the United States.
The US authorities immediately expel rejected applicants to Mexico or enter a formal deportation process, depending on their nationality.
But López Obrador asserted that the measures that Biden has adopted, such as opening legal alternatives for migrants from certain Latin American countries, “are helping to prevent the migratory flow from overflowing.”
On the day Washington announced the new restrictions, last Thursday, the Mexican president received Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Biden’s National Security adviser, and the United States ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, at the National Palace.
“It was basically (the meeting) on the migration issue, we are working in a coordinated way. Of course, we do not take our finger off the line so that there are investments by the United States Government to poor countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, addressing the causes,” López Obrador said now.
The president indicated that his Government will “help in the protection of migrants and order the migratory flow.”
“The only thing we want is to be good neighbors, that there is a policy of good neighbourliness, and I have already said it many times, we must integrate more and more economically, we are the main commercial partner in the world, Mexico and the United States, we need each other,” he said.
Although arrests at the common border have decreased during the first months of this year, in 2023 the United States reported a record of more than 2.3 million arrests of migrants.
While Mexico recorded a year-on-year increase of almost 200% in irregular migration intercepted by the Government in the first quarter, up to almost 360,000 people.
Biden and López Obrador agreed at the end of April “to work together to immediately implement concrete measures in order to significantly reduce irregular border crossings and at the same time protect human rights.”
International
Trump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that it will begin construction in September on a new 8,000-square-meter ballroom at the White House.
The announcement was made by Karoline Leavitt, the administration’s press secretary, during a briefing in which she explained that the expansion responds to the need for a larger venue to host “major events.”
“Other presidents have long wished for a space capable of accommodating large gatherings within the White House complex… President Trump has committed to solving this issue,” Leavitt told reporters.
The project is estimated to cost $200 million, fully funded through donations from Trump himself and other “patriots,” according to a government statement. Construction is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to be completed before Trump’s term ends in 2028.
The Clark Construction Group, a Virginia-based company known for projects such as the Capital One Arena and L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., has been selected to lead the project.
The new ballroom will be built on the East Wing of the White House, expanding the iconic residence with a space designed for state dinners, official ceremonies, and large-scale events.
International
Three salvadorans in Florida sentenced in $146 million construction tax fraud scheme
Three Salvadoran residents living in Orlando, Florida, were sentenced for conspiracy to commit tax fraud and wire fraud involving a scheme exceeding $146 million in the construction industry, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. The sentence was handed down by federal judge Timothy J. Corrigan on Tuesday, July 29.
Eduardo Aníbal Escobar (45) was sentenced to 4 years and 9 months in prison, Carlos Alberto Rodríguez (36) to 3 years and 4 months, and Adelmy Tejada (57) to 18 months in prison, followed by 6 months of house arrest. All three pled guilty on April 3, 2025.
In addition to the prison terms, the court ordered restitution payments totaling $36,957,616 to the IRS for unpaid payroll taxes, and $397,895 to two insurers for workers’ compensation claims related to the scheme.
Escobar and Rodríguez are permanent legal residents originally from El Salvador, while Tejada is a naturalized U.S. citizen of Salvadoran origin.
International
Kremlin hails preparedness after Kamchatka quakes leave no casualties
The Kremlin expressed relief that the earthquakes that struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula today —the first being the strongest since 1952— resulted in no casualties, and emphasized that the region is well prepared to face such natural disasters.
“Thank God, there were no victims,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during his daily press briefing.
The presidential representative stated that “all alert systems were activated in time, and evacuations were organized for residents in areas requiring it in response to tsunami threats.”
“Overall, the seismic resilience of the buildings proved effective (…) Therefore, we can say that the technological preparedness demonstrated a high level,” Peskov added.
Honduras sees ongoing killings of land defenders and attacks on press, warns NGO
Trump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
Daniel Ortega’s last historic sandinista ally detained in Managua
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
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