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Sixty-seven percent of Americans say it is unacceptable to separate children from parents who have been caught trying to enter the United States illegally according to a recent CBS News poll.

The poll found that 90 percent of Democrats and 66 percent of Independents, compared to 39 percent of Republicans found family separation unacceptable. And 68 percent of Americans said they are a lot about what happens to the separated children.

In Bristow, Virginia, an unincorporated community 64 kilometers west of Washington, the separation policy and immigration in general have taken on new resonance because a local shelter for troubled youth is now housing some of the separated migrant children.

Youth for Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization, provides behavioral and other services. Its Bristow location, amidst upper-middle-class managed communities, came as a shock to some residents.

For Dan Ryan and his wife, Gery, the facility is located about four kilometers, or a six-minute drive, from where they live. While acknowledging the need for border security, Dan Ryan voiced concern for the children’s welfare.

“I don’t know a simple answer,” said Dan Ryan, a defense contractor. “I think we have to respect the humanitarian needs that these people have, but we have to maintain our borders. We have to do that. I’m struggling a little bit here,” he added.

Gery Ryan, who is retired, expressed similar concerns.

“I was shocked to hear it, because when the kids were being shipped here in Bristow, it kind of made it real to me — very close and very personal to the fact that it brought it to life more than anything. I knew that the kids were being taken away and housed somewhere, but to say it’s in my own neighborhood, it just kind of set me back for a while.”

Separately, a woman in her 30s who did not wish to be identified said she was against separating children from their parents, but said similar scenarios occur when people are sent to jail for one reason or another. She also suggested that the migrant children would fare better at the shelter.

“Maybe kids will be better off in the facility because they will get services and conveniences that they didn’t have,” she said.

The facility did not respond to VOA requests for comment. A VOA reporter was not allowed to tour the facility last Saturday.

Last week, Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine toured Youth for Tomorrow, which has accepted unaccompanied minor children for six years, according to his office.

Kaine’s office said that in addition to the unaccompanied minors, between 10 and 20 children have arrived at the facility since April after being separated from their parents under U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration policy. He said those who arrived in the past two months were between the ages of 10 and 17. Many were said to be “traumatized.”

Kaine has voiced concern that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, along with the Department of Homeland Security, have not said whether children who have been separated from their parents are being sent to other locations in Virginia.

“The Trump administration needs to assure us that every single one of the children they separated from their parents is quickly and safely returned to their families,” Kaine said. “The first step toward that goal is identifying where every child is being held, releasing a list of those facilities, and letting members of Congress visit all of those locations.”

Last Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order to end the practice of separating children from parents who cross into the United States illegally. Before Wednesday, the administration’s zero-tolerance policy required adults to be criminally charged, which meant under U.S. law, children could not stay with their parents but have to be sent to centers run by the Department of Health and Human Services.

VOA Urdu reporter Deepak Dobhal contributed to this report

 
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Sixty-seven percent of Americans say it is unacceptable to separate children from parents who have been caught trying to enter the United States illegally according to a recent CBS News poll.

The poll found that 90 percent of Democrats and 66 percent of Independents, compared to 39 percent of Republicans found family separation unacceptable. And 68 percent of Americans said they are a lot about what happens to the separated children.

In Bristow, Virginia, an unincorporated community 64 kilometers west of Washington, the separation policy and immigration in general have taken on new resonance because a local shelter for troubled youth is now housing some of the separated migrant children.

Youth for Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization, provides behavioral and other services. Its Bristow location, amidst upper-middle-class managed communities, came as a shock to some residents.

For Dan Ryan and his wife, Gery, the facility is located about four kilometers, or a six-minute drive, from where they live. While acknowledging the need for border security, Dan Ryan voiced concern for the children’s welfare.

“I don’t know a simple answer,” said Dan Ryan, a defense contractor. “I think we have to respect the humanitarian needs that these people have, but we have to maintain our borders. We have to do that. I’m struggling a little bit here,” he added.

Gery Ryan, who is retired, expressed similar concerns.

“I was shocked to hear it, because when the kids were being shipped here in Bristow, it kind of made it real to me — very close and very personal to the fact that it brought it to life more than anything. I knew that the kids were being taken away and housed somewhere, but to say it’s in my own neighborhood, it just kind of set me back for a while.”

Separately, a woman in her 30s who did not wish to be identified said she was against separating children from their parents, but said similar scenarios occur when people are sent to jail for one reason or another. She also suggested that the migrant children would fare better at the shelter.

“Maybe kids will be better off in the facility because they will get services and conveniences that they didn’t have,” she said.

The facility did not respond to VOA requests for comment. A VOA reporter was not allowed to tour the facility last Saturday.

Last week, Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine toured Youth for Tomorrow, which has accepted unaccompanied minor children for six years, according to his office.

Kaine’s office said that in addition to the unaccompanied minors, between 10 and 20 children have arrived at the facility since April after being separated from their parents under U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration policy. He said those who arrived in the past two months were between the ages of 10 and 17. Many were said to be “traumatized.”

Kaine has voiced concern that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, along with the Department of Homeland Security, have not said whether children who have been separated from their parents are being sent to other locations in Virginia.

“The Trump administration needs to assure us that every single one of the children they separated from their parents is quickly and safely returned to their families,” Kaine said. “The first step toward that goal is identifying where every child is being held, releasing a list of those facilities, and letting members of Congress visit all of those locations.”

Last Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order to end the practice of separating children from parents who cross into the United States illegally. Before Wednesday, the administration’s zero-tolerance policy required adults to be criminally charged, which meant under U.S. law, children could not stay with their parents but have to be sent to centers run by the Department of Health and Human Services.

VOA Urdu reporter Deepak Dobhal contributed to this report

 
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As Washington and Beijing teeter on the brink of a possible trade war, the European Union and China have agreed to launch a working group to promote reform at the World Trade Organization. The move is part of an effort to upgrade the global trade system’s toolbox and ward off growing threats to the multilateral trade system and body.

According to a top EU official, the reform group would look at ways to modernize regulations and address the problem of state subsidies and other unfair trade practices.

How willing a participant Beijing will be in that effort is unclear as most of the EU’s proposed upgrades are connected to unfair trade measures, practices and policies that exist in China. The same concerns are driving the administration of President Donald Trump to press forward with the possible threat of heavy tariffs on some $34 billion in Chinese goods.

The Trump administration announced Monday that it is also mulling restrictions on foreign investments in technology. 

European Union Vice President Jyrki Katainen admits that the effort to try and promote reform of WTO rules will not be easy. He said it would take time and that China would have different views on priorities. 

But, Katainen added that if nothing is done, “the environment for multilateral trade will vanish.”

State media in China has portrayed Monday’s meetings with EU officials, a high-level dialogue ahead of next month’s EU-China summit, as the two teaming up to combat “unilateralism and protectionism” and promote globalization and protecting the global economy.

The European Union wants the reform effort to address issues such as industrial subsidies and unfair trade practices such as the forced transfer of technology in exchange for market access. 

“The two issues together are some of the reasons why, not the only reasons but some of the reasons why the president of the United States is taking unilateral action,” Katainen said, adding that the issue instead has to be solved in an orderly manner.

The basic idea is to update the WTO so that it is better suited to the current realities of the modern world, he said.

“The EU is not siding with any party or any country, the only thing we are siding with is rules-based trade,” Katainen said.

Chinese state media have portrayed the effort as a sign that Washington’s trade actions are creating a united front between the EU and China. A report in the Beijing-based newspaper Global Times called the joint effort to combat “unilateralism” and “protectionism” a “clear rebuttal of punitive U.S. tariffs on European and Chinese goods” and defense of the “multilateral trade system.” 

A report in the China Daily highlighted how trade frictions were bolstering closer trade ties between the EU and China. 

At the release of a survey on the business climate in China last week, the head of a top European businesses lobby noted that some companies, perhaps one or two, have already seen benefits from the ongoing trade dispute. 

Mats Harborn, president of the European Chamber of Commerce, said that it was not possible to tell if that is a trend but added that trade tensions are not good for business. 

“We don’t want companies to benefit from this trade war, we would like to see that we are all competing on a level playing field in China,” Harborn said.

In remarks following meetings with Katainen on Monday, Vice Premier Liu He did not mention the reform working group proposal for the WTO specifically. He did say that both countries agreed to pay attention to market access issues facing businesses on both sides and that they agreed to “reform the multi-lateral trade system and keep it advancing with the times.”

At a so-called “press conference” with Katainen, where journalists were not allowed to ask questions, Liu said “unilateralism and trade protectionism” was on the rise and that the European Union and China agreed to prevent such practices from impacting the world economy or dragging it into recession. 

Monday’s high-level dialogue was held in preparation for the EU-China Summit, which will be held next month on July 16-17th. During that meeting the two are looking to move forward a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment and to exchange market access offers. 
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As Washington and Beijing teeter on the brink of a possible trade war, the European Union and China have agreed to launch a working group to promote reform at the World Trade Organization. The move is part of an effort to upgrade the global trade system’s toolbox and ward off growing threats to the multilateral trade system and body.

According to a top EU official, the reform group would look at ways to modernize regulations and address the problem of state subsidies and other unfair trade practices.

How willing a participant Beijing will be in that effort is unclear as most of the EU’s proposed upgrades are connected to unfair trade measures, practices and policies that exist in China. The same concerns are driving the administration of President Donald Trump to press forward with the possible threat of heavy tariffs on some $34 billion in Chinese goods.

The Trump administration announced Monday that it is also mulling restrictions on foreign investments in technology. 

European Union Vice President Jyrki Katainen admits that the effort to try and promote reform of WTO rules will not be easy. He said it would take time and that China would have different views on priorities. 

But, Katainen added that if nothing is done, “the environment for multilateral trade will vanish.”

State media in China has portrayed Monday’s meetings with EU officials, a high-level dialogue ahead of next month’s EU-China summit, as the two teaming up to combat “unilateralism and protectionism” and promote globalization and protecting the global economy.

The European Union wants the reform effort to address issues such as industrial subsidies and unfair trade practices such as the forced transfer of technology in exchange for market access. 

“The two issues together are some of the reasons why, not the only reasons but some of the reasons why the president of the United States is taking unilateral action,” Katainen said, adding that the issue instead has to be solved in an orderly manner.

The basic idea is to update the WTO so that it is better suited to the current realities of the modern world, he said.

“The EU is not siding with any party or any country, the only thing we are siding with is rules-based trade,” Katainen said.

Chinese state media have portrayed the effort as a sign that Washington’s trade actions are creating a united front between the EU and China. A report in the Beijing-based newspaper Global Times called the joint effort to combat “unilateralism” and “protectionism” a “clear rebuttal of punitive U.S. tariffs on European and Chinese goods” and defense of the “multilateral trade system.” 

A report in the China Daily highlighted how trade frictions were bolstering closer trade ties between the EU and China. 

At the release of a survey on the business climate in China last week, the head of a top European businesses lobby noted that some companies, perhaps one or two, have already seen benefits from the ongoing trade dispute. 

Mats Harborn, president of the European Chamber of Commerce, said that it was not possible to tell if that is a trend but added that trade tensions are not good for business. 

“We don’t want companies to benefit from this trade war, we would like to see that we are all competing on a level playing field in China,” Harborn said.

In remarks following meetings with Katainen on Monday, Vice Premier Liu He did not mention the reform working group proposal for the WTO specifically. He did say that both countries agreed to pay attention to market access issues facing businesses on both sides and that they agreed to “reform the multi-lateral trade system and keep it advancing with the times.”

At a so-called “press conference” with Katainen, where journalists were not allowed to ask questions, Liu said “unilateralism and trade protectionism” was on the rise and that the European Union and China agreed to prevent such practices from impacting the world economy or dragging it into recession. 

Monday’s high-level dialogue was held in preparation for the EU-China Summit, which will be held next month on July 16-17th. During that meeting the two are looking to move forward a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment and to exchange market access offers. 
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As the U.S. prepares to roll out its Middle East peace plan, President Donald Trump meets with King Abdullah of Jordan about stalled Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on a deal. So far the White House has not disclosed details about the peace process. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has more from the White House.
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U.S. defense officials say the Trump administration has chosen two military bases in Texas — Fort Bliss and Goodfellow Air Force Base — to house detained migrants.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record about a pending announcement.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had said Sunday that two bases had been selected but he would not identify them.

One official said unaccompanied children detained after crossing the U.S. border would be sheltered at one of the bases and the other base would house families of migrant detainees. Under the arrangement, the Defense Department would provide the land but the operations would be run by other agencies.
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U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday again assailed judicial review for illegal border crossers, contending that the migrants ought to immediately be sent back to their homelands.

The American Civil Liberties Union said Sunday that the U.S. leader’s call to end legal hearings for undocumented immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S. was unconstitutional. But Trump rejected that view in a pair of new Twitter comments.

“Hiring many thousands (sic) of judges, and going through a long and complicated legal process, is not the way to go – will always be dysfunctional (sic),” he said. “People must simply be stopped at the Border and told they cannot come into the U.S. illegally.”

He contended that if children and their parents are sent home, “illegal immigration will be stopped in it’s (sic) tracks – and at very little, by comparison, cost. This is the only real answer – and we must continue to BUILD THE WALL!”

Trump’s latest comments echoed his thoughts Sunday when he first called for ending judicial review of asylum claims, saying “when somebody comes in, we must immediately, with no Judges or Court Cases, bring them back from where they came.”

“We cannot allow all of these people to invade our Country,” he said. “Our system is a mockery to good immigration policy and Law and Order.” Trump claimed that the U.S. immigration law is “laughed at all over the world, is very unfair to all of those people who have gone through the system legally and are waiting on line for years!”

The ACLU said what Trump is suggesting “is both illegal and unconstitutional. Any official who has sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution and laws should disavow it unequivocally.”

The United States for years has granted court hearings to migrants fleeing violence in Mexico and Central American countries and from elsewhere in the world, and who are looking for better economic fortunes in the United States.

Trump’s demand to end that legal process would face stiff opposition in Congress, which for years has been stalemated on changes to U.S. immigration policies and has been unable to enact new migration laws.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is planning to vote this week on comprehensive immigration policy changes after last week defeating a tougher version of new immigration controls.

Also last week, Trump signed an executive order maintaining his “zero tolerance” policy of detaining and prosecuting everyone entering the country illegally, but ending the practice of separating immigrant parents and children.

Logistical questions about those being detained have sent multiple government agencies in search of solutions, including how to provide housing.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters traveling with him on a trip to China that the Pentagon is working closely with the Department of Homeland Security to build temporary camps on two military bases. Mattis said he could not yet name them, but promised to provide those details Monday.

He said military personnel do not play any enforcement role that is carried out by DHS, but have experience in supporting refugees and victims of natural disasters.

“This is something that we can do again — whether it be refugee boat people from Vietnam, people who have been knocked out of their homes by a hurricane — absolutely it’s appropriate the military provide logistics support however it’s needed,” Mattis said.

The U.S. says it knows the location of 2,053 children it is holding who were separated from their parents in recent weeks as they entered the country illegally along its southern border with Mexico. The U.S. said it is now working to reunite the families. The Department of Homeland Security said over the weekend it has returned 522 children to their parents, with many of them held together in detention centers while awaiting court proceedings to consider their bids for asylum.

But how quickly the remaining reunifications might occur remains an open question. A processing center in the southwestern state of Texas has been set up for the reunifications, which could lead to the deportation of some of the families.
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U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will visit Brazil this week, but the focus of his trip will be the deteriorating humanitarian situation in neighboring Venezuela.

It’s the vice president’s third trip to the region, and previous visits also emphasized efforts to isolate the socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro.

The trip also comes at a time when U.S.-Brazil relations are in a holding pattern. The South American country is reeling from a colossal corruption scandal, struggling to recover from a deep recession and trying to look beyond the remaining months of President Michel Temer’s lame duck administration ahead of October elections.

 
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