Stef W. Kight

Stories by Stef W. Kight

The big picture: Caravan of Honduran immigrants advances into Mexico

Hondurans in caravan jump the gate to Mexico — Honduran migrants climb the gate of the Guatemala-Mexico international border bridge. Photo: Pedro Pardo / AFP via Getty Images

Honduran immigrants in the caravan of about 4,000 people heading toward the U.S. tore down a border gate between Guatemala and Mexico on Friday afternoon, the AP reports. A small group crossed into Mexico Thursday night.

The big picture: President Trump has threatened to cut off federal aid for countries such as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, reevaluate his proposed trade deal with Mexico and even "close our southern border" in response to the caravan. Mexico has sent additional police to the border and requested that the UN set up a migrant processing center on the border, according to the Washington Post.

Situational awareness: Mexico is granting humanitarian visas to members of the caravan, but only 100 per day, the Wall Street Journal reports. This will allow them to be legally present in Mexico while their cases are being reviewed, but also does not stop them from heading to the U.S. border.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is meeting with top Mexican officials on Friday.
This all comes weeks before the midterm elections, which means immigration will be back in the limelight — something both Republicans and Democrats will spin to their advantage.

September saw a record-breaking number of arrests of immigrant family members at the Southern Border — signaling the administration's border crackdown and family separation policy have been ineffective at deterring illegal immigration. The new numbers reportedly sparked outrage from Trump and fierce arguments between top White House officials.

What to watch: Trump and Republicans continue to blame Democrats for obstructing their efforts to implement stricter immigration laws which they claim would have prevented the surge in border crossers and the caravan. Meanwhile, expect Democrats to remind voters about Trump's hostile rhetoric toward immigrants and the family separation policy, which earlier this year launched nation-wide protests, an executive order and a chaotic family reunification process.

Between the lines: Many of the migrants in the caravan are fleeing violence in their home countries in the hopes of finding asylum in the U.S. But the caravan also serves as a political protest in the face of the Trump administration's immigration policies.

Immigration

Stef W. KightOct 18

Televangelist defends Saudi arms deals: "not something you want to blow up"

An old photograph of Pat Robertson speaking at a podium with a sign that says "Christian Coalition" underneath it — Pat Robertson, 1994. Photo: Wally McNamee/Corbis via Getty Images

Pat Robertson, a prominent evangelical, defended the U.S.'s relationship with Saudi Arabia in an appearance on "The 700 Club," calling the Saudis "key allies."

"We’ve got an arms deal that everybody wanted a piece of… it’ll be a lot of jobs, a lot of money come to our coffers. It’s not something you want to blow up willy-nilly."

Why it matters: His support comes in the wake of reports that Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi had been brutally murdered at the hands of the Saudis. Many companies have been backing away from doing business with Saudi Arabia citing the alleged incident and subsequent investigation.

Saudi Arabia

Mike Allen, Stef W. KightOct 17

Trump's border crisis is back

Illustration of yield signs showing running kids — Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

President Trump's signature issue is back in the spotlight less than three weeks before Election Day, with surging arrests at the border and a high-profile caravan on the way from Honduras.

Why it matters: The Trump administration's severe measures to deter border crossings don't appear to be working.

Roughly 4,000 Honduran migrants are now in Guatemala, heading north, NBC News reports.

"Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Mexico to meet with his counterparts on Friday, where plans to stop the caravan will be a 'prominent' topic of discussion," they report.
Trump has personally threatened aid to Honduras if they don't stop the caravan, which is no longer within its borders.

Between the lines: "Border Patrol agents arrested 16,658 family members in September, the highest one-month total on record and an 80 percent increase from July," the Washington Post reports.

If accurate, that's more than a 50% jump from last year, which was already an outlier.
"In September, U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 41,400 undocumented immigrants, up from 37,544 in August," NBC News reports.

The big picture: Even if Trump reinstated a form of family separation in an attempt to deter migrants, they would overwhelm Health and Human Services. The agency already struggles to house and care for more than 13,000 migrant children.

P.S. Nancy Pelosi yesterday: “It happens to be like a manhood issue for the president, building a wall, and I’m not interested in that..."

“We can’t allow him to say we’re not interested in protecting the border... That isn’t the only way to protect the border. In fact, it’s probably the worst way to protect the border.”

The bottom line: After two very abnormal years in politics, the stakes from November look increasingly familiar ... taxes, health care and immigration.

Go deeper: Trump's kids crisis gets worse

Immigration