WASHINGTON ( Number of Children Caught Crossing U.S. Border Drops ) haha

WASHINGTON – The number of unaccompanied undocumented children apprehended on the southern border of the United States dropped in July to 5,508, compared with more than 10,000 in both May and June, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said.

DHS said it was the first time this year that the number has been lower than in the previous month.

“While the decrease in apprehensions in July is good news and reflects a positive trend that we hope continues, the current numbers are still higher than the number of apprehensions for children and adults with children during past years,” Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said.

Since October, almost 63,000 children, most of them from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, have been caught trying to cross unaccompanied into the U.S., which has caused a humanitarian crisis beyond federal agencies’ capacity to deal with it.

The number of minors taken into custody was 7,176 in March, 7,702 in April, 10,579 in May, and 10,628 in June, according to DHS figures.

Johnson repeated the message of the U.S. government that “our border is not open to illegal migration.”

“Unless you qualify for some form of humanitarian relief, we will send you back consistent with our laws and values,” the secretary said.

President Barack Obama asked Congress for $3.7 billion in special funds to manage the situation, but lawmakers departed for their summer recess without approving the financing.

“I was disappointed that Congress left for its August recess without acting on the President’s request for supplemental funding to support the men and women of this department who have worked overtime to respond to the urgent situation,” Johnson said.

“In the meantime, to avoid running out of money, I have been left with no choice but to reprogram money away from other homeland security missions,” he said.

DHS is diverting $405 million from other tasks “to support the response to this situation,” the secretary said.

TUCSON AZ ( Arizona Police Chief: Aim of SB1070 Was Scaring Immigrants )

TUCSON, Arizona – The Tucson police chief expressed the opinion that Arizona’s controversial SB1070 immigration law was designed to make the immigrant community afraid of law enforcement authorities and leave the state.

“This law was originally designed so that undocumented immigrants would be afraid of the police, be afraid of coming to ask for help, feel themselves to be a target and, in that sense, I think that the law was successful, given that some of them have left the state voluntarily,” said Roberto Villaseñor in an interview with Efe.

Arizona’s Hispanic community has continued to fight against SB1070 since it entered into force in 2010, and they complain about cases of abuse by the law enforcement agencies.

At the heart of the debate is the law’s controversial Section 2(B), also known as the “show me your papers” provision, that since 2012 requires police officers to ask about the immigration status of people they “suspect” of being undocumented.

Villaseñor said that his officers comply with SB1070 by contacting the Border Patrol as soon as they determine there is probable cause to believe a person may be undocumented, rejecting accusations that the Tucson Police Department discriminates against the immigrant community.

“The idea exists that the police have the option to call the Border Patrol or not, but the truth is that we don’t,” said Villaseñor, who was appointed police chief in 2009.

The TPD has been the target of protests after a confrontation last Sunday between police, Border Patrol agents and activists who lay down underneath official vehicles to try and prevent an undocumented immigrant from being handed over to immigration authorities.

“I understand the confusion and the dissatisfaction that exists among activists and members of the community about the interpretation of the law. The way in which SB1070 is written gives no other option to police departments than to verify the immigration status of the detained person,” Villaseñor said.

According to TPD figures, from June 12 to August 10 its officers verified the immigration status of 3,109 people under SB1070.

On those occasions, the Border Patrol responded just 45 times and took 24 people into custody.

One of the main things leading the police to ask for the immigration papers of drivers is the lack of a driver’s license or other official identification issued by the state.

According to the TPD, 43.1 percent of the people whose immigration status was verified under SB1070 were of Hispanic origin, which, according to Villaseñor, is in line with the proportion of Latinos in Tucson.

Mexico ( Human Rights Commission Investigates Acid Spill in Mexican River )

MEXICO – Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) has opened an investigation into the toxic spill from the Buenavista del Cobre mine into the Bacanuchi and Sonora rivers in the northwest of the country, that has affected local inhabitants and killed fish and livestock in the area.

According to information published by the media and quoted by the CNDH, there was a spillage last Thursday from one of the dams containing solutions with sulphuric-treated copper and other metals that found its way into the rivers.

A 60-kilometer (38-mile) orange slick was seen in the municipalities of Arizpe, Banamichi, Baviacora, Aconchi, Cananea, Hermosillo and Ures, all of them in the state of Sonora.

Mexico’s National Human Rights Commissioner Raul Plascencia said inspectors will be sent to the area to gather information and provide legal advice.

The National Water Commission has restricted water supply in the seven affected municipalities to prevent putting the inhabitants’ health at risk.

The federal prosecutor for environmental protection (PROFEPA) said a well containing the chemical substances near the mine overflowed due to heavy rains last Thursday.

The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) as well as PROFEPA are coordinating efforts to protect the flora and fauna of the region.

PROFEPA has also ordered the Buenavista del Cobre company, owned by mining giant Grupo Mexico, “to provide full remediation” for the spill.

Sonora is the country’s leading producer of gold, copper and graphite

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Mexico ( Nine Mexican Navy Service Members Killed in Accident )

MEXICO CITY – Nine Mexican navy service members died when the military vehicle in which they were riding overturned in the central state of San Luis Potosi, the Navy Secretariat said in a statement.

The accident occurred at around 5:00 p.m. Friday on the Matehuala-San Luis Potosi highway, the secretariat said.

It said it “deeply regrets the deaths of nine of its personnel and shares the sadness of their family members,” who are legally entitled to financial assistance.

Twelve navy service members who were injured in the accident “have already been taken to the General Military Hospital of San Luis Potosi for immediate care,” the statement said.

Mexico ( Gunmen Kill 3 Attending Children’s Party in Mexico )

VERACRUZ, Mexico – Gunmen killed three people and wounded two others who were attending a children’s birthday party in the Mexican Gulf state of Veracruz, police and city officials said.

The shooting occurred Friday night in Juan Diaz Covarrubias, a community outside the city of Hueyapan de Ocampo.

The gunmen, who were wearing masks and armed with AK-47 assault rifles, opened fire on people attending the party at the El Gran Chaparral restaurant, which is located on the side of the Matamoros-Puerto Juarez federal highway.

The three fatalities included two men and a boy, officials said, adding that the two people wounded in the attack were transported to a clinic.

Veracruz, Mexico’s third most populous state, has been plagued by a turf war between rival drug cartels that has sent the murder rate skyrocketing in the past few years.

The Gulf, Los Zetas and Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartels, as well as breakaway members of the once-powerful Familia Michoacana organization, are fueling the violence in the state.

The port city of Veracruz will be the site of the 24th Ibero-American Summit of heads of state and government and will host the 22nd Central American and Caribbean Games later this year.