🇺🇸💥 US Tariffs on Canada and Mexico Take Effect, China Hits Back with Farm Export Tariffs
🏛️💰 Texas Refugee Aid Group Sues Trump Administration Over $36 Million Resettlement Funding Freeze 🇺🇸🚧 White House Tough on Illegal Immigration but Avoids E-Verify Crackdown
🇺🇸💥 US Tariffs on Canada and Mexico Take Effect, China Hits Back with Farm Export Tariffs
By Josh Boak, Paul Wiseman & Rob Gillies, AP.— President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico took effect Tuesday, marking a dramatic escalation in trade tensions. Canadian energy products face 10% tariffs, while Trump doubled Chinese tariffs to 20%, prompting Beijing to retaliate with up to 15% tariffs on U.S. farm exports.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded by imposing $107 billion in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, which will be rolled out in stages. Mexico has yet to announce countermeasures, though officials warned of an impact on bilateral trade.
Trump argues that tariffs will boost U.S. industry, while critics fear inflation, economic instability, and a full-scale trade war. Businesses and lawmakers warn of job losses, and sectors like agriculture and manufacturing brace for supply chain disruptions. Meanwhile, Trump signals that more tariffs could be coming, keeping global markets on edge.
Mexico has bolstered border security, deployed 10,000 National Guard troops, extradited 29 cartel figures, and dismantled over 100 synthetic drug labs to meet U.S. demands. Sheinbaum’s Cabinet remains in talks with U.S. officials, but Trump insists there is “no room left” for Mexico or Canada in tariff negotiations.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged Mexico’s offer to match U.S. tariffs on China, but Trump remained firm. Sheinbaum pledged a unified Mexican response, though the economic impact of the tariffs remains uncertain.
🇺🇸🌵 Unclaimed and Forgotten: The Tragic Fate of a Migrant in the Arizona Desert
By Kimberly Rocío López, Plaza Pública.— The skeletal remains of a man found in the Arizona desert remain unidentified, even though authorities retrieved an ID listing him as Edvin Ronaldo Molina Felipe, Guatemalan. The name may be false, a common tactic among migrants to avoid tracking by U.S. Border Patrol. His DNA is preserved in case a family ever comes looking.
Discovered on February 18, 2024, beneath a dry shrub near Arivaca, Arizona, his death reflects the brutal reality of border crossings. More than 4,000 migrants have perished in the Sonoran Desert since 2000, with many never identified. Extreme heat, dehydration, and exhaustion claim lives—migrants often carry insufficient water and food for the treacherous journey.
Border Patrol agents warn against the dangers, yet migration and smuggling networks persist, adapting tactics to evade authorities. Humanitarian groups, like Humane Borders, place water stations in the desert, but some are destroyed by gunfire. Activists like Álvaro Enciso place crosses to mark the sites where migrants died, acknowledging those whose lives ended unseen.
DNA analysis is the last hope for identifying the deceased. More than 550 bodies remain unclaimed in Pima County’s morgue. Families fear contacting authorities due to their own immigration status. Whether Edvin Ronaldo Molina Felipe was his real name or not, one thing is certain: he had dreams, a family, and a life that ended alone in the desert.
🏛️💰 Texas Refugee Aid Group Sues Trump Administration Over $36 Million Resettlement Funding Freeze
By Dion Nissenbaum, Houston Landing. Catholic Charities Fort Worth has sued the Trump administration, alleging the illegal freezing of $36 million in federal refugee aid. The lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., names Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and accuses the government of blocking funds for more than 100,000 refugees in Texas.
The funding halt has forced 750 layoffs across 24 of 29 aid organizations, cutting 64% of refugee services, leaving 10,000 people without financial aid, and leading to evictions. The freeze, which primarily impacts Ukrainian, Afghan, and Cuban refugees, comes after Trump halted refugee resettlement programs in January.
Texas is reportedly the only state affected, raising concerns about political motives. Aid groups argue that the freeze violates federal law and erodes public trust in refugee support programs. Despite legal challenges that have led to reinstated federal grants elsewhere, Texas aid groups have yet to receive funding.
🇺🇸🚧 White House Tough on Illegal Immigration but Avoids E-Verify Crackdown
By Tim Sullivan & Rebecca Boone.— Despite the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown, it has largely ignored enforcing E-Verify, a decades-old federal system that checks if potential employees are legally authorized to work. While workplace raids and deportations escalate, businesses hiring undocumented workers remain mostly untouched.
E-Verify is voluntary for most employers, and though major corporations like Walmart and Home Depot use it, only 20% of U.S. businesses comply. Republican-led states, including Idaho, have resisted making it mandatory, fearing severe labor shortages, particularly in agriculture and construction.
Even Trump’s own businesses were slow to adopt E-Verify, raising questions about the administration’s commitment to worksite enforcement. While officials promise more workplace raids, the lack of a broader crackdown on employers suggests the administration is balancing policy and economic reality.
🚧🇺🇸 Trump Administration Delays El Paso's $700M Border Crossing Renovation Amid Lawsuit
By Diego Mendoza-Moyers, El Paso Matters.— The Trump administration has paused the $700 million renovation of the Bridge of the Americas (BOTA) in El Paso, citing a review of environmental policies and a legal dispute over federal labor agreements. The delay raises concerns over the future of the long-planned modernization of the international crossing, which is funded by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The General Services Administration (GSA) had planned to award construction contracts in August but has now halted the project for at least 45 days. Additionally, a lawsuit challenging Biden-era labor agreements forced GSA to cancel its initial contract solicitations.
Meanwhile, local officials worry that the funding could be redirected elsewhere amid broader federal spending cuts. Environmental justice groups support plans to ban diesel trucks from the bridge, but the Trump administration’s rollback of environmental policies could alter or scrap these measures. Businesses argue the ban would drive up transportation costs.
With tariffs, trade, and border security high on Trump’s agenda, the future of the BOTA project remains uncertain.