DHS Announces Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras Have Signed Asylum Cooperation Agreement

Release Date:

December 29, 2020

Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras have all signed the Asylum Cooperation Agreement (ACA) and all three ACAs have entered into force. This is a historic milestone for the Trump Administration, Central America, and the American people. During Fiscal Year 2019, more than 71% of migrants apprehended at the U.S. Southwest border came from El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras—this ACA agreement confronts illegal migration at the source.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, DHS is using every available tool at its disposal to mitigate the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis at the border,” said Acting Secretary Chad F. Wolf. “Implementation of the agreements will further strengthen the overall asylum capabilities in the Northern Triangle countries and across the region and will allow asylum seekers to access protection closer to their home. I want to thank our partners in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras for their hard work and leadership to get these agreements across the finish line.”

Now that all three ACAs have entered into force and implementation accords have been concluded, the United States, in coordination with the appropriate participating country, will be able to remove certain eligible migrants seeking humanitarian protection to each of the ACA countries. Through the implementation of the ACAs, the Northern Triangle countries and the United States reaffirm their commitment to combating mutual threats, including transnational criminal organizations and gangs, migrant smuggling, drug trafficking, and human trafficking.

The United States, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras pledge to promote economic prosperity, regional security and stability, democratic institutions, and the protection of human rights, for the benefit of all nations involved.

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2020/12/29/dhs-announces-guatemala-el-salvador-and-honduras-have-signed-asylum-cooperation

https://www.breitbart.com/border/2020/12/29/exclusive-mexican-government-covers-up-christmas-cartel-attack-near-texas-border/

Flooding NorthAmerica w/Meth and Fentanyl is the wrong move

HOOAH

Statement from the Press Secretary

HEALTHCARE

Issued on: December 29, 2020

ALL NEWS

Today, the D.C. Circuit affirmed a signature initiative of the Trump Administration, which ensures that American patients have access to the hospital pricing information they need when they need it, beginning on January 1.

This transformative hospital price transparency rule has been fought at every step by the swamp and defenders of the status quo. Today’s ruling should reassure the American people that President Donald J. Trump refuses to bow to the influence of special interests who would prefer to keep patients in the dark. This initiative is just one in a series of rules that will bring unprecedented price transparency to all elements of healthcare.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-122920/

Northern District of Illinois

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Additional Charges Filed Against Suburban Chicago Couple in Federal Child Labor Trafficking Investigation

CHICAGO — A federal investigation into child labor trafficking has resulted in additional criminal charges against a couple residing in a Chicago suburb who allegedly forced two undocumented Guatemalan children to provide labor and services for the couple’s private financial gain.

SANTOS TEODORO AC-SALAZAR, 24, and OLGA CHOC LAJ, 31, both of whom resided in Aurora, are charged with conspiracy to conceal, harbor, and shield from detection the two children, who were 15 years old and approximately ten years old when they entered the United States in 2019, according to an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The indictment also charges the defendants with individual harboring counts in connection with both victims, a forced labor charge relating to the younger victim, and a forced labor charge that was previously filed earlier this year in relation to the older victim.

The defendants are in law enforcement custody. Arraignments are scheduled for Dec. 30, 2020, at 11:00 a.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; James M. Gibbons, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; and Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General in Chicago. Substantial assistance in the investigation has been provided by the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Aurora Police Department, and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Prashant Kolluri.

According to the indictment, Ac-Salazar and Choc Laj are Guatemalan citizens who agreed to separately enter the United States unlawfully. The pair used smugglers and third parties to locate the victims in Guatemala as the children with whom the pair would unlawfully enter into the U.S., the indictment states. Once in the U.S., Ac-Salazar and Choc Laj allegedly harbored the victims in a residence in Aurora by, among other things, failing to enroll the victims in school, prohibiting them from leaving the residence except in limited circumstances, and instructing them to provide false information to third parties, including law enforcement authorities. Ac-Salazar and Choc Laj also are alleged to have forced the victims to provide labor and services for the couple’s private financial gain.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/additional-charges-filed-against-suburban-chicago-couple-federal-child-labor

Northern District of Oklahoma

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Miami Woman Sentenced to 10 Years for Methamphetamine Drug Conspiracy

TULSA, Okla. – A Miami woman was sentenced today in U.S. District Court for conspiring with her sister to distribute over 50 grams of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Trent Shores.

U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Megan Nicole Hollenbeck, 29, to 10 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.

“Whether an addiction or a vice, Megan Hollenbeck contributed to the methamphetamine problem in Miami. She conspired with her sister to deal meth for profit,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “She will now spend the next 10 years in federal prison as a result of her criminal choices.”

Hollenbeck previously pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy. Her sister also pleaded guilty to taking part in the conspiracy and is set to be sentenced in February 2021. On Aug. 15, 2019, Hollenbeck and her sister Monica conspired to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine, during a law enforcement “controlled buy” that was captured on video. The two were arrested in Miami, Oklahoma, as part of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Operation “Pullin’ Chains.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Miami Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Duncombe prosecuted the case.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndok/pr/miami-woman-sentenced-10-years-methamphetamine-drug-conspiracy

https://youtu.be/2wtJwBz6juQ