illegal immigration

Hold Bonamicci's Feet to the Fire - Rep. Bonamici to hold Town Halls in August

Alert date: 
July 30, 2016
Alert body: 

Rep. Bonamici to hold Town Halls in August

For Congressional District 1 residents

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici announces Town Hall meetings in several towns. She says: "Town Hall meetings provide an opportunity for the Congresswoman to discuss issues, answer questions, and gather ideas."

Please attend one of these events near you if possible. Below the list of Town Halls is a link to suggested subjects for questions and comments to her. You can also, if you wish, print out her report card from NumbersUSA and give it to her.

Here is the schedule, taken from her website announcement.

Rainier Town Hall Meeting
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
1:30 to 2:30 pm
Rainier Senior Center, 48 W 7th Street, Rainier, OR 97048

Seaside Town Hall Meeting
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
6:00pm to 7:00pm
Clatsop Community College, South County Campus, Rooms 2 and 3 – 1455 N Roosevelt Drive, Seaside, OR 97138

Portland Town Hall Meeting
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
6:00pm to 7:00pm
Friendly House, Keeston Room  1737 NW 26th Ave, Portland, OOR 97210

Tigard Town Hall Meeting
Thursday, August 4, 2016
6:00pm to 7:00pm
Tigard Public Works Building, Auditorium  8777 SW Burnham St.., Tigard, OR 97223

Hillsboro Town Hall Meeting
Monday, August 8, 2016
6:00 PM to 7 PM
Hillsboro Civic Center Auditorium, 150 E. Main St., Hillsboro, OR 97123

Dundee Town Hall Meeting
Thursday, August 11, 2016
6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Dundee Woman's Club, Community Center, 1026 N. Highway 99W, Dundee, OR 97115

TALKING POINTS

Perhaps you have your own questions and comments already. Helpful, in addition, are the excellent Town Hall talking points on important immigration issues available from Numbers USA. These cover H-2B visas, Trans-Pacific Partnership, Criminal justice reform, Refugees/Asylees, and Sanctuary cities.

Also NumbersUSA includes a list of Town Hall Do’s and Dont’s, advising on best conduct for achieving our purposes. Scroll down to the bottom of the page link above to see the Do’s and Dont’s.

Please invite a friend or neighbor to attend with you and show up at one of these Townhall meetings.  Always be respectful, but also remember - she works for YOU!

OFIR VP lays out Trump's path to victory in Oregon

OFIR Vice President Richard LaMountain has clearly laid out a reasonable path to an Oregon win for Donald Trump's bid for the Presidency.

Oregon has a blue reputation, but, in this particular case, it may be tenuous at best.  

Read LaMountain's VDare article and then consider helping the first presidential candidate, in decades, that has openly and meaningfully addressed the problems surrounding illegal immigration.
  Read more about OFIR VP lays out Trump's path to victory in Oregon

Murder suspect indicted as details of his past emerge

Second charge of attempted aggravated murder added regarding June 27 shooting

Bonifacio Oseguera-Gonzalez has now been charged with a second count of attempted aggravated murder in addition to three aggravated murder charges for a fatal shooting last month east of Woodburn.

On July 8, a grand jury indicted Oseguera-Gonzalez on the attempted aggravated murder charge for “intentionally attempting to cause the death” of witness Jesus Zavaleta-Bahena. This is in addition to three counts of aggravated murder and another count of attempted aggravated murder with a firearm.

According to a probable cause statement, Oseguera-Gonzalez admitted to having shot four people on the morning of June 27 at a berry farm on Killiam Road.

Two of the victims — Ruben Rigoberto-Reyes, 60, and Edmundo Amaro-Bajonero, 26 — were found dead at the scene and another —Katie Gildersleeve, 30 — died hours later at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland. Refugio Modesto-DeLaCruz, 27, suffered serious injuries but is expected to survive, according to Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials are still investigating and have declined to comment on a motive.

An additional case against Oseguera-Gonzalez has resurfaced from an incident in Marion County from 2009, for which there has been an active warrant for his arrest. In that case, he was charged with knowingly giving a false name to a police officer and unlawfully operating a motor vehicle without insurance.

After his arraignment June 28, the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency released a statement stating Oseguera-Gonzalez had been deported six times between 2003 and 2013

One of those times he was deported was following his 2009 arrest, according to an email from Virginia Kice, western regional communications director for ICE.

She also noted that Oseguera-Gonzalez voluntarily returned to Mexico in 2003, but was then arrested by ICE officials in October 2007 and deported two months later.

In November 2009, following his Marion County arrest, Oseguera-Gonzalez was taken into ICE custody and deported two weeks after that. The fourth and fifth times he was taken into custody and repatriated was in 2010, with both arrests being made in southern Arizona. In 2013, he was arrested again in southern Arizona.

“At that time, CBP-Border Patrol presented him for federal prosecution and he pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of illegal entry,” Kice said in the email. “After fulfilling his court imposed 180-day sentence, which included credit for time served, ERO (enforcement and removal operations) removed Mr. Oseguera to Mexico through El Paso.”

A status check in the murder case is scheduled before Judge Susan Tripp at 1:15 p.m. July 14.

Lindsay Keefer contributed to this story.
  Read more about Murder suspect indicted as details of his past emerge

UAMs and Family Unit Border Surge Continues Undeterred

New statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reveal that the surge of unaccompanied alien minors (UAMs) and family units crossing the southwest border is continuing undeterred. (See CBP Apprehension Statistics) The statistics, released last week, show that 5,669 UAMs — many coming from Central America — were apprehended crossing the southwest border in May. (MRC, June 17, 2016)

Additionally, some 6,788 family units were apprehended during the same time period. (Id.) Overall, the total number of all illegal alien apprehensions at the southwest border so far in FY 2016 is up roughly 19 percent from FY 2015 numbers during the same time period. (Id.) CBP reported catching 2,231 more illegal aliens in May than they did in April, which until last month was the record-holder for monthly apprehensions so far in FY2016. (Id.)

In a press release announcing the new statistics, CBP touted that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson recently visited Central America to reiterate that America's borders are not open to illegal migration. (See CBP Apprehension Statistics) However, the actions of the Obama administration say otherwise, as they have repeatedly refused to actually address the underlying causes of the illegal migration from Central America, notably the fact that UAMs and family units who cross the border know they will get to stay in the U.S. once they arrive.

Specifically, once Central American UAMs and family units are apprehended at the border, they receive papers setting court dates and are then released into the U.S. (FAIR Legislative Update, Dec. 1, 2015) These documents are known as "notices to appear," but illegal aliens refer to them as "permisos," or free passes, because they give permission to stay in the country while they await their appearance in already backlogged immigration courts. (Id.)

Testifying before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing late last year, Chris Cabrera of the National Border Patrol Council stated that "[these documents] are now known as the ‘notice to disappear' — 80 percent, 90 percent of those folks will not show up for that hearing." (See Cabrera Testimony, Oct. 21, 2015; FAIR Legislative Update, Oct. 27, 2015) The decisive solution to the crisis at the border, according to Cabrera, is for illegal border crossers to be "detained, adjudicated, and repatriated." (Cabrera Testimony, Oct. 21, 2015) Read more about UAMs and Family Unit Border Surge Continues Undeterred

Deadlocked Supreme Court blocks Obama on immigration

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court blocked President Obama's effort to protect more than 4 million undocumented immigrants from the threat of deportation Thursday, deadlocking 4-4 over a plan that had divided the nation as well as the justices.

The tie vote leaves intact lower federal court rulings that stopped the program in its tracks more than a year ago...

It was a sudden, crushing defeat for millions of parents who came to the country illegally and have lived in the shadows, often for decades. The administration had hoped that at least one of the more conservative justices -- possibly Chief Justice John Roberts -- would rule that the plan posed no financial threat to the states and therefore could not be challenged in court.

...the one-sentence opinion simply announced that the court was "equally divided" and unable to muster a majority for either side.

That's all opponents needed to block the "deferred action" program, which would have offered qualifying parents of children who were born in the United States or are legal residents the right to remain in the country...

The immigration battle was waged on two fronts before the court: The administration fought with the states as well as with the House of Representatives, which previously blocked the president's effort to confer legal status to some of the nation's more than 11 million illegal immigrants...

Obama announced the "Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents," or DAPA program, in November 2014. It would extend protections to more than 4 million parents who meet the criteria, just as a 2012 program did for immigrants brought to the United States as children. More than 700,000 have qualified for that earlier program.

Once qualified, parents also could apply for work authorization, pay taxes and receive some government benefits, such as Social Security. Those with criminal backgrounds or who have arrived since 2010 would not qualify.

Texas challenged Obama's authority to implement the policy by executive action, rather than going through Congress. Federal district court Judge Andrew Hanen in Brownsville, Texas, upheld the challenge in February 2015 and blocked the program from being implemented nationwide. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld that ruling last November in a 2-1 decision.

The Supreme Court agreed in January to hear the case, expanding its scope to include whether Obama's action violated the Constitution's "Take Care Clause" by failing to faithfully execute the nation's immigration laws.

In written briefs and oral arguments, the Justice Department contended that the policy only would make official what was happening anyway — undocumented immigrants who do not have criminal records and are not priorities for deportation are generally left alone. The government only has enough funds to deport about 400,000 a year, they said.

Lawyers for Texas and the House of Representatives countered that while the president can decide not to deport individual immigrants, only Congress can defer action on a class-wide basis.

The state's injury claim focused on what it said would have been the need to spend money issuing driver's licenses to hundreds of thousands of immigrants. Federal officials said that was Texas' choice, and not a ground for a lawsuit. Read more about Deadlocked Supreme Court blocks Obama on immigration

Supreme Court blocks Obama immigration plan

The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked President Obama’s immigration executive actions, in a tie decision that delivers a win to states challenging his plan to give a deportation reprieve to millions of illegal immigrants. 

The justices' one-sentence opinion on Thursday effectively kills the plan for the duration of Obama's presidency.

The 4-4 tie vote sets no national precedent but leaves in place the ruling by the lower court. In this case, the federal appeals court in New Orleans said the Obama administration lacked the authority to shield up to 4 million immigrants from deportation and make them eligible for work permits without approval from Congress.

Texas led 26 Republican-dominated states in challenging the program Obama announced in November 2014. Congressional Republicans also backed the states' lawsuit. 

The decision lands in the middle of a heated election season...

Democrats have, in turn, called his rhetoric racially divisive..

The case dealt with two separate Obama programs. One would allow undocumented immigrants who are parents of either U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents to live and work in the U.S. without the threat of deportation. The other would expand an existing program to protect from deportation a larger population of immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. 

Obama decided to move forward after Republicans won control of the Senate in the 2014 midterm elections...

The Senate had passed a broad immigration bill with Democratic and Republican support in 2013, but the measure went nowhere in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives.

The states quickly went to court to block the Obama initiatives.

Their lawsuit was heard initially by U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in Brownsville, Texas. Hanen previously had criticized the administration for lax immigration enforcement. Hanen sided with the states, blocking the programs from taking effect. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled for the states, and the Justice Department rushed an appeal to the high court so that it could be heard this term.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Read more about Supreme Court blocks Obama immigration plan

A letter from The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers to the American People

The appointment of Mark Morgan as Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol is the same as President Obama sitting in that chair.

By now Americans that are paying attention realize that our way of life is under attack by this administration and our institutions have been systematically corrupted by their influence.  This message to the American people is to assist those that do care and are paying attention to connect the dots about how this administration is proceeding with their anti-American agenda to further corrupt border security.   These similarly embedded corruptive agents that remain throughout government after this administration expires will continue their agenda if permitted to do so.

We watched in disgust as the ACLU, SPLC and the Department of Justice joined hands to attack the U.S. Border Patrol for unnecessary violence which was a bogus claim.  We understood at the time those were the first major shots fired by this administration to fundamentally transform and cut the effectiveness of the U.S. Border Patrol to zero when it began. 

Unfortunately, few in Washington D.C. care about National Security and Public Safety and gleefully go along with the administrations attack program that coincides with the Central American surge and the vast un-vetted numbers coming in under the guise of Refugee Resettlement.  Silence is as effective an assent as a yea vote to these plans.

Such official D.C. chicanery gives credence to those doubting any actions by this government consider what is best for the American people.

This  "appointment" is quite obviously another glaring example at first glance. 

Zack Taylor, Chairman and Border Security Expert

NAFBPO.org

------------------------------------------------------------

From: COMMISSIONER KERLIKOWSKE
Sent: Monday, June 20, 2016 7:57 AM
Subject: Commissioner's Message: Commissioner Kerlikowske Announces Border Patrol Chief (Kerlikowske reports to Jeh Johnson who reports to President Obama.)

This morning I will be announcing that I have selected Mark Morgan as chief of the U.S. Border Patrol.  You will see from Mark's long career in law enforcement and the leadership positions he has held that he will fulfill at the highest level the obligations and responsibilities of leading the outstanding law enforcement organization that is the Border Patrol.  There was a national search for a chief and a professional and objective process used to select Mr. Morgan.  The pool of candidates who applied yielded an array of extremely experienced, dedicated, and professional law enforcement executives in federal law enforcement and within the Border Patrol who sought this critical position. 

I also want to address very directly the selection of someone who is not a part of the Border Patrol, (which is obviously part of the objective criteria?)   The position of a law enforcement chief at the local, state, or federal level is one that demands an exhausting commitment of time; time that must be spent analyzing its future in light of rapid changes and time charting a course from a variety of perspectives.  (NAFBPO comment, based on political objectives not related to enforcing existing law which constitutes a fundamental transformation.)  That is why almost all federal law enforcement agencies have at various times chosen someone from outside their ranks to make that assessment and chart that course.  (The border patrol did not make this choice, the Obama Administration made the choice which is the same as President Obama filling the position in person.)  The U.S. Capitol Police (Vince Foster), U.S. Park Police, Coast Guard CID, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, ATF (fast & furious), and DEA among others have done the same in addition to large local and state law enforcement organizations across the country.  None of those decisions to have a leader from outside the organization (officially) reflected negatively on the current leadership of those agencies.  In the case of the Border Patrol, the current leadership across the top, from Headquarters to the field, consists of the finest group of men and women that I have worked with in my more than 40 years in law enforcement.

I welcome Mark as an important member of President Obama's leadership team at CBP and DHS and firmly believe that his experience listed below and long and successful career in law enforcement will be of great value to the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol.  (We doubt very seriously that Mark Morgan will benefit the National Security and Public Safety of America or the American people.) 

R. Gil Kerlikowske  Commissioner

_________________________________________________

Mark Morgan

Mark Morgan joins U.S. Customs and Border Protection with a 30-year career in the military and law enforcement related to anti-terrorism and border security operations.  (Specifically, what were each and all of his contributions in fact, not in vague undefined terms?)

Mr. Morgan has a 20-year career at the Federal Bureau of Investigation where he is an Assistant Director. During his time at the FBI, which began as a special agent in 1996 assigned to the Los Angeles Field Office, Mr. Morgan served in multiple leadership positions. 

In 2008, Mr. Morgan served as the Deputy On-Scene in Baghdad, Iraq where he was responsible for all FBI personnel and operations within the Iraq Theater of Operations within the Counterterrorism Division. (Specifically, what did he do?  Did he assist in drafting the rules of engagement for U.S. Military there?  Perhaps screening information deemed not appropriate for the American public? )  

In 2010, he was named the Section Chief of the Strategic Information and Operations Center, with responsibility for leading the FBI’s global command and strategic intelligence center.  (During the phase of the rise of ISIS what specifically were all of his recommendations, published and unpublished?)

The following year,  2011, Mr. Morgan was appointed as the Special Agent in Charge of the El Paso Division, where he was responsible for leading all threat-based and intelligence driven counterterrorism, criminal, cyber, and counterintelligence operations extending from the western tip of Texas to the City of Midland.  (Was he involved in ensuring final development of the Transnational Crime Corridor from Juarez, CHIH, Mexico, into the United States by Wilderness Designations created by an Obama Executive Order in the Potrillo Mountains over the will of the people in the Southwest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7PiDPbV0z0&index=5&list=PLZgh-ICwJq-sI5BipuSRUTFqmCMPqUgGY

From 3 minutes 58 seconds to 14 minutes 8 seconds.

In 2013, as the Deputy Assistant Director, Inspection Division, Mr. Morgan directed day to day operations to ensure compliance and facilitate the improvement of performance by providing independent, evaluative oversight of all FBI investigative and administrative operations. (Specifically, did this include removing all training references to radical islamic jihad, Muslim Brotherhood and similar material from training texts and existing investigators guides ?)

In, 2014, Mr. Morgan served in a detail assignment with CBP as the Acting Assistant Commissioner for Internal Affairs where he planned, organized, and coordinated the complete re-design of CBP’s Use of Force Incident Response protocols. He directed operations related to the screening of potential employees for suitability, implemented internal security measures, and launched CBP’s criminal and serious administrative misconduct investigative unit. In this position, he was responsible for obtaining CBP’s new authority to investigate allegations of misconduct against CBP employees.  (Specifically, did this include commendation medals for Agents engaged in deadly force situations wherein they did not use deadly force?  Objectively speaking, what exactly did he cause to be implemented ?)

In 2015, he was appointed as Assistant Director of the FBI’s Training Division, in Quantico, Virginia, with responsibility for overseeing the delivery of training, professional development and defensive systems to the FBI workforce, and domestic national security, law enforcement, and international partners throughout the world.  (Specifically, did part of this training serve as a policy blindfold to investigators for incidents like Fort Hood, San Jose and Orlando?)

Mr. Morgan was an active-duty member and reservist in the U.S. Marine Corps.  Before joining the FBI, he served as a deputy sheriff in Platte County, Missouri and as an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Central Missouri State University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  (Major Hassan was on active duty with the U.S. Army.  Mateen was a security guard for Wackenhut before he became front page in Orlando.  Whatever else are Morgan's qualifications we can be assured his main qualification is carrying out the Obama administrations policies as being levied against law enforcement agencies nationwide and further avoids protecting National Security and Public Safety through strict enforcement of existing Immigration Law Read more about A letter from The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers to the American People

Americans First — National Think-Tank Briefs Media on Immigration's Impact on America

WASHINGTON, D.C.– A media briefing by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) highlighted the issues of illegal aliens, legal immigration, and the economic, job, social, cultural, and political costs caused to average Americans. These factors have made these issues national topics of discussion during this presidential election.

...to attend a one-day seminar hosted by CIS. On the night before the seminar, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) spoke at a reception for the attendees at the National Press Club. He addressed re-shaping immigration policy so that it serves the interest of Americans.

Americans want to know who is coming into the country, and why, and they want to know how it is affecting their bottom line. They want to know how it is affecting the “America” they grew up in. Americans are also insecure about the intentions of those who come into our country and about the crimes they perpetrate.

Americans want to know if the refugees, asylees, and immigrants allowed in our country will “assimilate” to America, or if they will demand that our society conforms to their culture...

Salaries have not increased for years, job benefits are being cut, including health benefits. The amount of taxes U.S. citizens have to pay for social services benefits, and for educating the children of illegal aliens, matters to Americans in a day when wages, health benefits, and job opportunities are shrinking. The federal government is demanding that more and more immigrants be allowed in the country, and the government is increasing the number of visas to allow foreigners into the country to work.

Organizations like the Center for Immigration Studies is helping educate the public on these issues by educating those who have the ability to communicate to vast numbers of Americans.

The Center for Immigration Studies describes its organization as “an independent, non-partisan, non-profit, research organization.” They explain, “Since our founding in 1985, we have pursued a single mission – providing immigration policymakers, the academic community, news media, and concerned citizens with reliable information about the social, economic, environmental, security, and fiscal consequences of legal and illegal immigration into the United States.”

CIS says that the information collected by the Center over the past twenty-five years “has led many of our researchers to conclude that current, high levels of immigration are making it harder to achieve such important national objectives as better public schools, a cleaner environment, homeland security, and a living wage for every native-born and immigrant worker.”

The seminar covered research relating to the issues of the impact of immigration on Americans, immigration and public security, the present number of deportations, removals, and apprehensions, along with other immigration-related issues.

The website for the Center for Immigration Studies says that many of their researchers are “animated by a ‘low-immigration, pro-immigrant’ vision of an America that admits fewer immigrants but affords a warmer welcome for those who are admitted.

Lana Shadwick is a writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge in Texas. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2.
  Read more about Americans First — National Think-Tank Briefs Media on Immigration's Impact on America

David Cross - foreign national crime tracker attends DC conference

You may have heard David Cross on the Lars Larson Show each Thursday afternoon, reporting about the foreign national criminal of the week.  You may have read David's detailed Guest Opinion pieces in newspapers across the state.  You may have received or seen posted on our OFIR website, his reports on foreign national criminals held in the Oregon prison system.

David Cross is well known for his accurate, detailed research about foreign national crime and it hasn't gone unnoticed.  The Center for Immigration Studies invited David to attend an immigration briefing at the National Press Club in Washington DC. this past weekend.

Read more about Breitbart's interviews at the event.

 

 


  Read more about David Cross - foreign national crime tracker attends DC conference

'At the limit,' Mexico buckles under migrant surge to U.S.

A resident walks by a section of the border fence between Mexico and the United States on the outskirts of Tijuana

A resident walks by a section of the border fence between Mexico and the United States on the outskirts of Tijuana, Mexico April 5, 2016.
REUTERS/Jorge Duenes

TAPACHULA, Mexico/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mexico is struggling to stem the flow of Central American migrants traveling to the United States ahead of the U.S. presidential election, causing major concern in Washington, which is weighing sending more agents to help.

In 2014, Mexico moved to strengthen its southern border when a surge in child migrants from Central America sparked a political crisis in the United States.

Last year, Mexico detained over 190,000 migrants, more than double the number in 2012.

But official data examined by Reuters shows that fewer migrants have been captured in Mexico this year even as the number caught on the U.S. border has soared.

The slowdown in detentions on Mexican soil is frustrating U.S. officials who feel that Mexico could be doing more, according to a source familiar with internal briefings on the topic at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Illegal immigration is stoking a fierce debate ahead of the U.S. election on Nov. 8 with Republican candidate Donald Trump vowing to deport millions of people and build a wall along the Mexican border if elected president.

Mexico says its National Migration Institute (INM), which regulates migration in the country, is already working flat out...

The number of families stopped at the U.S.-Mexico border jumped 122 percent between October 2015 and April 2016...

The number of detained "unaccompanied minors" - children traveling without relatives - was 74 percent higher. Most of the Central Americans come from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

Despite those increases, fewer migrants are being caught as they move through Mexico....

The DHS is considering sending more agents south to train Mexican officials on how to track human traffickers and stop migrants crossing the Mexico-Guatemala border, according to an internal briefing document obtained by Reuters.

U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar, who sits on the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, said DHS officials told him they hope to help Mexico strengthen its southern border.

"When you're constantly working at full speed and don't have all the resources because your primary mission is to fight the drug cartels, yeah, you're going to be stretched," Cuellar said....

Roque Villanueva attributed the migrant surge to people finding new routes past checkpoints...

LEAKY BORDER

In 2014, Mexico launched the "Plan Frontera Sur" to tighten border controls, register migrants and stop them using the perilous network of trains known as "La Bestia", or "The Beast".

But migrants quickly adapted.

Elisabel Enriquez, Guatemala's vice-consul in Tapachula, said migrant smugglers now rent trucks and shuttling migrants from southern Mexico all the way to the U.S. border over 2,000 km away for up to $8,000 per person.

Two such trucks were stopped in recent weeks, she said, one stuffed with about 115 migrants and the other about 60.

Some migrants immediately apply for asylum on arrival in Mexico. Once granted a refugee visa, they can travel through Mexico without fear of being deported, said Irmgard Pund, who runs the local Belen migrant shelter.

So far this year, asylum applications with Mexican refugee agency COMAR are up over 150 percent compared with 2015...

The rise in families heading north is partly due to a 2015 U.S federal court decision limiting the time mothers and children can be held in detention, which has created the mistaken impression they can stay in the United States, U.S. officials say.

A regional drought in Central America has also increased pressure to leave, while some migrants are trying to cross ahead of the election in case Trump wins and follows through on his campaign promises, making it more difficult for them in the future.

Compared to their U.S. counterparts, Mexico's migration authorities get by on a shoestring. The INM spent 4.14 billion pesos ($228.37 million) in 2015, less than 2 percent of the CBP's budget request for 2016.

The United States has tripled its border force under President Barack Obama to 60,000 staff, while the INM has 5,383 employees.

Roque Villanueva said the fall in the price of oil, which funds about a fifth of Mexico's federal budget, makes it even harder to put new resources into the INM.

Nonetheless, he said Mexico and the United States would continue to work closely together as Washington has plenty of reasons for wanting a robust southern Mexican border.

"The Americans are not so worried by how many Central Americans get through, but rather about making sure nobody with even the slightest chance of being a terrorist does," he said.

($1 = 18.1287 pesos) Read more about 'At the limit,' Mexico buckles under migrant surge to U.S.

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