Mexican troops drew weapons on American soldiers on US side of the border

by Daniel Jativa

| April 20, 2019 11:14 AM

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/mexican-troops-drew-weapons-on-american-soldiers-on-u-s-side-of-the-border

Mexican troops questioned two U.S. soldiers along the two countries' border earlier this month. The American soldiers were on the U.S. side of the border conducting a routine surveillance operation, defense officials say.

Military officials from the U.S. Northern Command said that "five to six Mexican military personnel questioned two U.S. Army soldiers who were conducting border support operations."

The soldiers were in an unmarked Customs and Border Protection vehicle near the southwest border in the vicinity of Clint, Texas.

Officials confirmed that the Mexican troops were armed with what seemed to be assault riffles. They drew their weapons when they saw the two U.S. soldiers and ordered the U.S. troops to return their weapons to a military vehicle. According to officials, the two Americans obliged "in an attempt to de-escalate a potential volatile situation."

"Throughout the incident, the U.S. soldiers followed all established procedures and protocols," Northern Command said in a statement.

While the two U.S. troops were on the south side of the security perimeter, officials say that they were still north of the Rio Grande and thus were firmly inside American territory. After the incident, military and Department of Homeland Security officials sent an inquiry to the Mexican government demanding an explanation.

"An inquiry by CBP and DOD revealed that the Mexican military members believed that the US Army soldiers were south of the border," said Northern Command, referring to Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Defense.

"Though they were south of the border fence, U.S. soldiers remained in U.S. territory, north of the actual border," the statement said, adding that "after a brief discussion between the soldiers from the two nations, the Mexican military members departed the area."

Did anyone catch the segment on Fox just a bit ago with Kris Kobach?

When asked about the Sanctuary Cities proposal……He mentioned that what we are doing now is not working and that "we are giving them a 6 year ticket..a piece of paper that says come for your asylum hearing in 6 years, and oh and by the way here is a work permit"

Anybody know anything more about this?

>>6253771

When Can Asylum Applicants Get a Work Permit (EAD Card)?

Asylum applicants don't qualify for a work permit until their case is won or 180 days have passed with no decision.

By Ilona Bray, J.D.

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/asylum-applicants-work-permit-timing-32297.html

Under U.S. immigration laws, only certain immigrants are allowed to work, usually after they apply for a work permit called an Employment Authorization Document (or EAD). Some years ago, asylum applicants were allowed to get an EAD as soon as they'd submitted their application for asylum and work while their case was being considered, but no longer.

Now, in order to be granted a work permit, you have to either

win your asylum case (which may take several years), or

be left waiting 180 days or more with no initial decision on your application from the asylum office or from the immigration court. After 150 days, you can apply for a work permit and you are eligible to receive it after you have been waiting 180 days.

If you win your asylum case, you not only gain the right to work in the U.S., but don't need to apply for an EAD with which to do so. Your asylum grant allows you to obtain an unrestricted Social Security card, which is all you need to present to an employer.

Now let's look at some unique issues raised by the second option, of applying for a work permit if there's been no decision on your case within 150 days of your application.

Given that long waits are a common part of every type of immigration application, especially asylum applications in recent years, it got so people could count on 150 days passing without any decision on their asylum application if you filed it with an asylum office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Likewise, if you are in removal (deportation) proceedings in immigration court and want to apply for asylum, you could easily be waiting more than 150 days for a court date to see an immigration judge.

But USCIS has been taking steps to combat what it sees as a problem of people applying for asylum mainly to get a work permit. In 2018, it therefore began scheduling recent asylum applicants BEFORE those who'd applied earlier, just to make sure they had less of a chance of receiving a work permit. (Speak to an attorney for the latest on how long you are likely to wait.)

In any case, you will want to start the asylum application process as soon as possible, so the clock can start running. If you're applying with USCIS, you'll get a receipt notice telling you when it received your application, which will be the date the clock starts.

>>6253954

If you're in removal proceedings, fortunately you don't have to be in front of an immigration judge to get the process started. You can just go to the court and "lodge" (give to the court) your asylum application. The court will stamp your copy of the application with a notation that it has been lodged, so that when you apply for your EAD you can prove to USCIS that the clock started that day. (You still have to officially "file" your asylum application with the court when the judge tells you to.)

Your wait to apply could be even longer than 150 days. Various things can occur to "stop the clock" (stop the counting up of the 150 days). For example, if you request more time or fail to show up for a fingerprinting appointment, the government will stop the clock during this time. If USCIS requests more evidence from you in order to be able to make its decision, the clock will stop until it receives your response. If you're in removal proceedings, the clock will stop if you ask for your case to be postponed so you can get an attorney; if you ask for more time to prepare your case; if you say no when the judge asks you if you want your asylum claim to be heard sooner than normal; or if you file a motion that delays your case. Applicants in removal proceedings can track the progress of their "asylum clock" by calling the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)'s immigration case status information number, 800-898-7180.

Various problems with the 150-day clock process have been observed, too. In many cases, the clock got stopped without the applicant even knowing or hearing about it, perhaps based on a government mistake. Applicants then found it very hard to get the clock started up again. This led to a court settlement, which enabled a more open asylum-clock process.

Once 150 days have passed and you have applied, the government has 30 days to give you (or deny) your EAD.

If You're Allowed to Apply for a Work Permit

If 150 days pass with no initial decision on your asylum application, you'll need to take steps to apply for a work permit.

The application process involves filling out USCIS Form I-765. For more detailed instructions on how to complete this form as an asylum applicant, see How to Apply for a Work Permit as an Asylum Applicant.

For in-depth information on asylum and refugee protections and all key immigration law issues, see U.S. Immigration Made Easy by Ilona Bray (Nolo).