International
Desolation at the Mexican border in the face of the new restrictions on asylum in the United States
The new standards for applying for asylum announced this week by the United States Government arouse desolation among activists and migrants who wait in shelters or next to the Rio Bravo, on the northern border of Mexico.
Pastor Gigio Heredia, representative of the Humanitarian Hub Center in Ciudad Juárez, bordering El Paso, warned EFE that this measure will cause more and more migrants to cross irregularly through the Rio Bravo with the risks that this entails.
“We have seen it again and again, every time migrants arrive here with us we see that, encountering so many restrictions, seeing all the refusals to be able to get to the place where they thought since they left their places, it is a strong blow to the mood and especially to the dreams they had,” he said.
The activist referred to the rule promulgated by the Joe Biden Government to instruct migrant agents to prohibit people considered a “risk to public or national security” from applying for asylum and being, therefore, admitted within the United States, although the rule is still under review.
These filters are already applied when studying asylum cases, but this new measure allows them to be used during the “credible fear” interview phase, where it is decided if a person meets the requirements to request protection after crossing the border with Mexico.
The rule has consequences for border cities in Mexico, such as Ciudad Juárez, since “every decision made by the United States Government on the migration issue in one way or another has repercussions on the border, since this would close the door to many families who would have to stay,” according to Heredia.
The religious pointed out that, when faced with so many laws and restrictions, migrants go into despair. For this reason, they take riskier routes and expose themselves to organized crime.
“They are a prisoner for organized crime since they are vulnerable, we have had many cases where we have seen that their belongings have been stolen, where they have been outraged they have been threatened and that is a risk for them,” he said.
Likewise, he considered that “they would be forced to spend some time here and that would cause contingencies, a greater number of migrants stranded here at the border.”
The rules occur in the midst of growing operations to stop migrants in the United States and Mexico. In the first quarter of 2024, irregular migration intercepted by the Mexican Government grew by about 200% per year to almost 360,000.
Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel 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.”
This already has effects on migrants such as Denis Ramos. A Guatemalan who has been waiting for four months in a hostel in Juárez for his appointment to enter the United States.
For him, the news of the tightening of the rules for applying for asylum is “very hard”.
“It is quite complicated for those of us who are already here, as well as for those who are on their way, because there are some who are not aware of the news and every day it gets a little more complicated,” the migrant told EFE.
He added that many travel companions are already desperate in the face of the difficulty of the journey, so they prefer to risk an irregular crossing.
“We who come from Guatemala, which is a neighboring country, feel that it is ‘very distant’ (too far away), let’s not say they come from Colombia, Venezuela, from different countries of the world. The course of the trip already brings them desperate and that leads them to surrender once and for all,” he said.
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.
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