usatoday--2020-11-30--As border wall goes up, southern Arizona sees spike in human smuggling

TUCSON , Ariz. – Human smugglers are exploiting the enforcement policies that President Donald Trump 's administration set in motion along the U.S.-Mexico border , including large-scale restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19 and the ongoing construction of physical barriers .
Those U.S. policies – coupled with the precarious living situations for thousands of migrants that the pandemic has exacerbated in Mexico – are creating ripe conditions for smugglers .
The result is a dramatic rise in human smuggling activity across southern Arizona over the past year , according to multiple federal and local law enforcement agencies in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the USA TODAY Network , conducted numerous interviews with experts and reviewed dozens of court cases and agency releases tied to human smuggling attempts in southern Arizona .
They point not just to an increase in criminal activity but a reversal to more unusual , dangerous and risky smuggling tactics , including the use of stash houses , which have not been as prevalent in recent years .
Once again , Arizona is a top corridor for migrants and smugglers making their illegal journey into the United States .
On July 12 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a known stash house in Douglas when they spotted a nervous driver in an SUV circle the home , then approach it through the alley several times .
Agents followed the SUV to the parking lot of a mortuary , according to court records .
They attempted to make a stop , but the driver told them he was carrying the bodies of two people who had tested positive for COVID-19 and urged them to back off .
After noticing that the driver was using only latex gloves for protection , agents approached @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the back of the SUV .
The six people were lying next to a dead body that was covered in a blanket , court records showed .
The driver told agents he worked for a mortuary and was transporting the body to Bisbee .
He later admitted that he agreed to smuggle people in order to pay off his debt to the cartel in Agua Prieta after he was caught trying to smuggle drugs through the Douglas border crossing .
On Nov. 2 , U.S. Border Patrol agents responded to a call from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Officers told agents they had received a call from a woman in Tucson whose brother was being held for money by smugglers at a motel located two blocks away from the Police Department in downtown Nogales .
At the motel , officers and agents found three suspected smugglers holding seven undocumented migrants inside a room as well as cameras to monitor the entrance to the room .
They also found weapons , including knives and a double-sided ax .
Migrants told agents one of the suspected smugglers had brandished several weapons and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to court records .
The brother was able to send a Whatsapp message to his sister in Tucson asking for help before their phones were taken away .
Agents detained the seven migrants and arrested two U.S. citizens and a man from Mexico in connection with the case .
The three face smuggling charges in federal court in Tucson .
`` We 're not seeing anything new , but we are seeing a return to what I call the dark days in Arizona of human smuggling , '' said Scott Brown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Phoenix for U.S .
Homeland Security Investigations , the federal agency that investigates smuggling and other cross-border crimes .
The uptick in human smuggling activity across the entire U.S.-Mexico border is driven in large part by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic , Brown said .
At the Supreme Court : President Trump 's war on illegal immigration takes on political overtone The same is true for Arizona 's 372-mile border with Mexico , he added .
But the increase has been greater in two specific areas of the state .
The notorious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which encompasses the Tohono O'odham Nation , always has been a highly trafficked smuggling route .
That deadly corridor is where most migrant remains are found each year .
The medical examiner for southern Arizona said recoveries already topped 200 this year , reaching their highest level since 2010 .
On the other side of the state , Cochise County , a rural area larger than Connecticut and once a relatively quiet section of the border , has undergone a drastic change .
While physical barriers are going up along more than half @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mexico , law enforcement agencies report a greater number of encounters with undocumented migrants , as well as more dangerous situations .
The morning of Nov. 13 , a Tucson man driving four migrants led several agencies on a high-speed chase across the San Pedro Valley .
He stopped and let the migrants out during the pursuit before reaching Sierra Vista , about 15 miles north of the border .
The 53-year-old driver , Mark Anthony Provencio , then barricaded himself inside a Lowe 's department store , forcing police to evacuate the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety .
He managed to escape to a nearby motel , where state troopers arrested him .
Provencio now faces several state charges , with more expected .
`` It 's more frequent than not that we 're dealing with some kind of human smuggling at least once a day in Cochise County .
That 's human , not drug ( smuggling ) , '' Sheriff Mark Dannels said .
Smuggling is no longer just a nighttime activity , he said , but is happening in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some instances , his deputies have been injured while in pursuit , Dannels added , but they are careful not to endanger the surrounding community while chasing suspected smugglers .
`` They always run .
They have nothing to lose .
They do n't have to follow the rules .
They do n't have to worry about liability , '' he said .
Border enforcement statistics published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Nov. 19 showed that the apprehensions of undocumented migrants at the Arizona-Mexico border in October reached a new peak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last month in Arizona , a relatively low figure compared with historical trends .
But it is a 30 % increase over the previous month , and in the midst of a raging pandemic .
The overwhelming majority of migrants , nearly nine in 10 , are single adults .
Apprehensions have climbed rapidly since March , when the Trump administration implemented large-scale restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border to curb the spread of COVID-19 .
Those restrictions include a freeze on asylum processing and , under Title 42 , the immediate expulsion of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As of March 21 , the United States has expelled 266,367 migrants to Mexico or their home countries under an emergency order from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by way of Title 42 of the U.S. Code .
October had the largest numbers of expulsions borderwide to date , according to the CBP .
`` You have a lot more people , a lot more desperate to get out of really hard conditions in Mexico , hard conditions for themselves , living conditions , public health conditions and economic conditions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ researcher and expert on organized crime violence at the University of Arizona .
`` Criminal organizations see those opportunities , and they 're the ones moving people , '' he said .
`` And the more demand you have , the more supply is going to be on the other side .
It 's , like , very simple economics at play . ''
The expulsions under Title 42 also are having other consequences .
Osorio said that since migrants are quickly removed from the country , sometimes in as little as two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ again repeatedly .
Mark Morgan , the acting commissioner for Customs and Border Protection , said Nov. 19 that recidivism rates , meaning the number of migrants who try to cross the border illegally after they are apprehended , stood at 37 % since the pandemic restrictions started .
Adalberto Ramos runs a migrant shelter in the Mexican border city of Agua Prieta , across the border from Douglas .
He said he sees anywhere from 10 to 20 migrants , mostly single adult men and women , returned each day to that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now , since the borders are closed , the ones taking advantage of COVID are human smugglers and organized crime .
Why ?
Because they have to give their blessing to allow them to cross their territory , '' he said .
His shelter remains on lockdown to avoid the spread of COVID-19 , with only six families still waiting for their chance to apply for asylum once restrictions are lifted .
As a result , the shelter has been unable to take in or feed migrants returned under Title 42 .
Ramos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hygiene kits for migrants .
In the meantime , the pandemic restrictions will continue to force those migrants into the hands of smugglers , he said .
`` Migrants are still arriving to Agua Prieta , but with the permission of organized crime , '' he said .
`` The smuggler makes the arrangements .
I 'm not sure how they handle it , but I do know migrants are arriving and that they 're crossing them through the mountains or the border wall . ''
His observations illustrate a major shift on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year 's migrant surge dealt mainly with large groups of families willingly turning themselves in to border agents .
Now , more migrants are looking to evade detection and are hiring smugglers who , in turn , have sought to exploit weaknesses in U.S. border enforcement .
One of the areas that smugglers are exploiting is the ongoing construction of barriers at the border .
Work crews have completed or are in the process of finishing about 235 miles of new 30-foot bollards .
That 's the equivalent of nearly two-thirds of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` You ’ ll notice that there ’ s a lot of movement of the construction vehicles .
There are segments of the previous wall that have been removed or are being replaced .
And because of that , there are opportunities for a smuggler to either make an effort driving through or smuggling people through there , '' said Roy Villareal .
Villareal is the chief patrol agent for Border Patrol 's Tucson Sector , which covers Cochise , Santa Cruz and Pima counties .
On Wednesday , the Border Patrol announced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Washington , D.C. , to help with strategic planning .
Construction crews may be inadvertently aiding smugglers because the access roads they built or widened to allow heavy machinery to reach construction sites are often used by the smugglers .
The Tucson Sector has documented numerous instances this year of smugglers disguising their vehicles as construction trucks or using temporary gaps where older barriers once stood to simply drive across the border .
During one recent incident , on the evening of Oct. 29 , Tucson Sector agents stopped a pickup truck @ @ @ @ @ @ @ east of Douglas .
The widened dirt road runs parallel to the border and leads to several construction sites where crews are replacing about 20 miles of permanent vehicle barriers with 30-foot bollards .
Agents could see seven people packed into the cab .
As they approached , the driver jumped out and ran south to Mexico .
They found another 10 migrants stacked on top of each other in the truck bed , concealed under a fiberglass cap .
Just two weeks earlier , on Oct. 15 , agents had stopped a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same location along Geronimo Trail Road .
That time , they found 10 Mexican migrants inside , including three in the trunk of the car .
Trump immigration policies : Biden might need years to reverse actions on DACA , family separations , asylum The Border Patrol determined the sedan drove illegally into Arizona through a gap in construction at the border .
The driver used wood boards to drive over excavated footings for the new wall , according to the Tucson Sector .
All 10 people were detained and returned to Mexico @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kraig Fullen said border wall construction provides an opportunity for smugglers to blend into the community because a large number of the construction workers live , shop and eat there during the construction project .
`` Some of the activity we 're seeing may be pushed to make it in before the fence project is complete , '' he said .
Border Patrol officials regularly tout that the construction of access roads and physical barriers is part of a `` border wall system '' that also includes improved technology , such as sensors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will help agents detect any incursions and illegal activity at the border .
`` When that wall goes up , my prediction is that we ’ re going to see a cessation in vehicle drive-throughs , high-speed pursuits through there , '' he said .
`` It ’ s going to return to being somewhat of a quiet area once again . ''
He said this will be the third or fourth version of a border wall built in the Douglas area over the past two decades .
The barriers resulted in significant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , but larger concerns about human and drug smuggling have persisted .
`` Each version of the barrier has been met with a renewed level of ingenuity , and in my time it has been tunneled under , climbed over , cut through , driven over , flown over , catapulted over , tossed over , shot over , '' he said .
`` The risk will continue to rise along with the height of the fence . ''
Local law enforcement agencies in Cochise County have reported increases in smuggling activity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2019 .
They increasingly are pulled into combating the crime , even though investigating and prosecuting human smuggling falls under the purview of the federal government .
Sgt .
Tim Williams is director of the Southeastern Arizona Border Region Enforcement team or SABRE , the Cochise County sheriff 's task force dedicated to tracking and fighting criminal activity tied to its location on the border .
`` We 've seen a fairly large increase of the human smuggling since about March of this year , '' he said .
`` We probably @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to see in previous years . ''
As part of SABRE , Williams oversees a system of 1,000 remote motion-activated cameras placed strategically across various points throughout the Tucson Sector to monitor foot traffic at the border .
Their work is in coordination with the Arizona Department of Public Safety 's Border Strike Force .
This year , the remote cameras have detected nearly 10,000 undocumented migrants crossing the Arizona border illegally , according to data shared by the Sheriff 's Office .
That 's significantly higher than the past two years combined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ big differences in migrant traffic over the past year .
In October 2019 , the cameras picked up 617 migrants crossing the border ; this year , they detected 2,544 migrants during that same month .
In September 2019 , cameras picked up 398 migrants , compared with 2,192 in September 2020 .
From July to mid-November , the Police Department recorded the arrests of 180 undocumented migrants by Border Patrol agents inside city limits .
By comparison , agents made a total of 18 migrant arrests during the same period in 2019 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Douglas police spokesperson .
Both departments , along with Sierra Vista police , have reported an uptick in calls to their jurisdictions involving undocumented migrants , from agency assists to help the Border Patrol to responding to reports of trespassing and other local crimes .
Migrants placed in harm 's way As human smuggling activity rises in southern Arizona , smugglers endanger the lives of migrants .
The criminal groups ' turn to riskier routes and measures to avoid arrest has resulted in injuries and even deaths .
Homeland Security Investigations said it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ smuggler use of firearms , overloaded vehicles and an increase in flight from law enforcement , sometimes using stolen vehicles .
The Border Patrol recognizes that smugglers are quick to adapt to changing U.S. policies along the Southwestern border .
One constant , according to Villareal , is their disregard for human life .
`` I think the true core element of evilness are the smugglers , '' he said .
`` They ’ re not concerned about the well-being of the people they ’ re smuggling . ''
So far in 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 205 migrant remains , according to the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner , which tracks migrant deaths in the Tucson Sector .
That makes 2020 the third deadliest year for migrants at the Arizona-Mexico border since the medical examiner began compiling the data in 2000 .
With a full month remaining in the year , it is within striking distance to exceed 2010 's record of 222 bodies found in a single year .
The majority of recoveries were either skeletal remains or migrants who died from exposure to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ record-breaking heat .
Dr. Gregory Hess , the chief medical examiner , said migrants also die other ways while crossing .
`` Almost every year , we 'll get some folks that die being pursued by Border Patrol , or they lay down the spikes grip or something , and they roll over the vehicle to try to avoid apprehension , '' he said .
One such incident happened June 2 , when a high-speed chase near the New Mexico state line , east of Douglas , ended with the deaths of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The minivan that the teenager was driving with four migrants inside rolled over multiple times to avoid tire deflation spikes that pursuing agents had laid out .
The three other migrants suffered injuries .
One of them was put on life support but survived , court records showed .
Of the 205 migrant remains recovered so far this year , at least 11 of the people died from blunt force trauma or other non-exposure-related injuries , according to data provided by the medical examiner .
The most recent case is a 25-year-old @ @ @ @ @ @ @ climb the border wall near Douglas .
He was taken to a hospital in Tucson , where he died a few weeks later .
These types of deaths will continue , Hess said .
`` Regardless of what they do on the border , people are still going to find a way across , '' he said .
`` They travel for miles and miles with the intent to come into the United States .
They 're going to .
There is no such thing as an impassible barrier .
So it 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as people continue to cross here . ''
Osorio , the researcher and expert on organized crime violence , said that as it becomes more difficult to smuggle people and drugs across the border , criminal networks are trying to maximize resources .
One way is to increase the price to smuggle people across .
Those costs had already been going up before the pandemic .
They since have likely risen even more , Osorio said .
The other option is to smuggle larger groups to boost profits , which can help explain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ migrants packed tightly into vehicles .
`` You get more money through smuggling 20 to 30 people instead of one or two , '' Osorio said .
Human smuggling is a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to a $ 250,000 fine .
But given its fleeting nature , there are challenges to prosecuting smugglers .
Chief among them is making an arrest .
Many times , especially in incidents near the border , smugglers will seek safety by running or driving back into Mexico , abandoning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they will lead agents and officers in dangerous pursuits through border communities , with speeds sometimes reaching as high as 136 miles per hour , according to court records describing a high-speed chase on Nov. 6 .
The driver had attempted to evade an immigration checkpoint near Elfrida , north of Douglas .
He crashed his pickup truck into a steep ravine .
No major injuries were reported , but agents apprehended 15 undocumented migrants squeezed inside the truck .
The driver now faces two felony smuggling charges .
Federal prosecutors were able @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. Attorney 's Office in Arizona developed in April in response to changes to the criminal system because of COVID-19 .
`` Immigration prosecution is one of my priorities and a necessary priority for our office because of our location on the Southwest border , '' Michael Bailey , the U.S. attorney for Arizona , told The Republic .
`` But the virus has probably impacted smuggling prosecution more than anything else . ''
The issue stems from federal prosecutors ' reliance on using material witnesses to prove beyond a reasonable doubt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they were transporting were in the country illegally .
Often , these witnesses are the migrants whom the defendant was allegedly smuggling .
Court orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Arizona limited the transportation of defendants and witnesses to courthouses in the state , dealing a potential blow to prosecutors .
Brown , who oversees investigations into human smuggling at Homeland Security Investigations ' six offices in Arizona , said those restrictions present additional challenges in going after suspected smugglers .
`` That impedes our abilities at times to bring charges @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 've had to postpone some of those activities , '' he said .
In response to those challenges , Bailey said his team worked with the Border Patrol to establish new protocols ensuring that agents record any evidence to prove alleged smugglers ' guilt , so that material witnesses are n't needed to testify in the courtroom .
`` It could be something as straightforward as a confession , it could be the smugglers observed taking evasive action , it could be that the smuggler has individuals hidden in some way in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ All of those type of things are useful to prove the smugglers ' knowledge of immigration status . ''
Under the new protocols , prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney 's Office in Arizona have brought federal charges in 160 cases of suspected human smuggling .
The court has granted prosecutors the limited use of material witnesses , especially in cases with extraordinary circumstances , such as the three accused smugglers who earlier this month held seven migrants inside the motel room in Nogales .
All eyes on the incoming administration For now , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law enforcement and experts in human smuggling is what will happen in the coming months , especially with an incoming administration that has pledged to shift immigration and border enforcement priorities .
Brown said his investigators will continue to build out smuggling networks at the border as part of an effort to go after the key decision-makers , rather than foot guides and their collaborators .
`` Some of the regulations put in place as a result of the pandemic , Title 42 removals ... if that should be rescinded , should the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sure how that will shake out , '' he said .
`` Because what we are seeing is that because of those fast turnarounds , we 're getting more people that are making two , three , four attempts . ''
As courts reopen , more migrants making multiple attempts to cross the border after getting caught will spend time in jail on illegal reentry charges before getting sent back , possibly reducing recidivism rates , he said .
Osorio said that deteriorating economic conditions in Mexico and Latin America spurred by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ violence concerns , are aligning to produce large waves of migrants who will attempt to reach the United States in the near future .
Without President Donald Trump 's strong-hand tactics to pressure Mexico into stopping these waves of migrants before making it to their shared border , he added , it remains to be seen how incoming President Joe Biden and the Mexican government will respond .
`` We know it 's just a matter of time before we have a critical mass with people accumulating , '' he said .
U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ built border walls , once completed , to help stem the flow of drug and human smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico border .
Dannels , the Cochise County sheriff , said that if history is any indication , the challenges will remain throughout border communities like his .
`` They 're still going to find ways to get across , '' he said .
`` They 've already cut through the fence too .
...
So again , it just tells me no matter what we put up there , there 's going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Have any news tips or story ideas about the U.S.-Mexico border ?
Reach the reporter at rafael.carranza @ arizonarepublic.com , or follow him on Twitter at @ RafaelCarranza .

As border wall goes up, southern Arizona sees spike in human smuggling
Show Caption Hide Caption Trump visits border wall in Arizona, talks DACA President Donald Trump visited the U.S.-Mexico border Tuesday and tried to credit his new wall with stopping both illegal immigration and the coronavirus. (June 23) AP
TUCSON, Ariz. – Human smugglers are exploiting the enforcement policies that President Donald Trump's administration set in motion along the U.S.-Mexico border, including large-scale restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19 and the ongoing construction of physical barriers.
Those U.S. policies – coupled with the precarious living situations for thousands of migrants that the pandemic has exacerbated in Mexico – are creating ripe conditions for smugglers. The result is a dramatic rise in human smuggling activity across southern Arizona over the past year, according to multiple federal and local law enforcement agencies in the state.
The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, conducted numerous interviews with experts and reviewed dozens of court cases and agency releases tied to human smuggling attempts in southern Arizona.
They point not just to an increase in criminal activity but a reversal to more unusual, dangerous and risky smuggling tactics, including the use of stash houses, which have not been as prevalent in recent years.
Once again, Arizona is a top corridor for migrants and smugglers making their illegal journey into the United States.
On July 12, border agents were conducting surveillance at a known stash house in Douglas when they spotted a nervous driver in an SUV circle the home, then approach it through the alley several times.
Agents followed the SUV to the parking lot of a mortuary, according to court records. They attempted to make a stop, but the driver told them he was carrying the bodies of two people who had tested positive for COVID-19 and urged them to back off.
After noticing that the driver was using only latex gloves for protection, agents approached the vehicle and found six migrants in the back of the SUV. The six people were lying next to a dead body that was covered in a blanket, court records showed.
The driver told agents he worked for a mortuary and was transporting the body to Bisbee. He later admitted that he agreed to smuggle people in order to pay off his debt to the cartel in Agua Prieta after he was caught trying to smuggle drugs through the Douglas border crossing.
On Nov. 2, U.S. Border Patrol agents responded to a call from police in the border city of Nogales. Officers told agents they had received a call from a woman in Tucson whose brother was being held for money by smugglers at a motel located two blocks away from the Police Department in downtown Nogales.
At the motel, officers and agents found three suspected smugglers holding seven undocumented migrants inside a room as well as cameras to monitor the entrance to the room. They also found weapons, including knives and a double-sided ax.
Migrants told agents one of the suspected smugglers had brandished several weapons and pointed a rifle at one of them, according to court records. The brother was able to send a Whatsapp message to his sister in Tucson asking for help before their phones were taken away.
Agents detained the seven migrants and arrested two U.S. citizens and a man from Mexico in connection with the case. The three face smuggling charges in federal court in Tucson.
"We're not seeing anything new, but we are seeing a return to what I call the dark days in Arizona of human smuggling," said Scott Brown, the special agent in charge in Phoenix for U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the federal agency that investigates smuggling and other cross-border crimes.
The uptick in human smuggling activity across the entire U.S.-Mexico border is driven in large part by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brown said.
At the Supreme Court: President Trump's war on illegal immigration takes on political overtone
The same is true for Arizona's 372-mile border with Mexico, he added. But the increase has been greater in two specific areas of the state.
The notorious West Desert in western Pima County, which encompasses the Tohono O'odham Nation, always has been a highly trafficked smuggling route. That deadly corridor is where most migrant remains are found each year. The medical examiner for southern Arizona said recoveries already topped 200 this year, reaching their highest level since 2010.
On the other side of the state, Cochise County, a rural area larger than Connecticut and once a relatively quiet section of the border, has undergone a drastic change.
While physical barriers are going up along more than half of the county's 80-mile-long border with Mexico, law enforcement agencies report a greater number of encounters with undocumented migrants, as well as more dangerous situations.
The morning of Nov. 13, a Tucson man driving four migrants led several agencies on a high-speed chase across the San Pedro Valley. He stopped and let the migrants out during the pursuit before reaching Sierra Vista, about 15 miles north of the border.
The 53-year-old driver, Mark Anthony Provencio, then barricaded himself inside a Lowe's department store, forcing police to evacuate the building for more than an hour, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
He managed to escape to a nearby motel, where state troopers arrested him. Provencio now faces several state charges, with more expected.
"It's more frequent than not that we're dealing with some kind of human smuggling at least once a day in Cochise County. That's human, not drug (smuggling)," Sheriff Mark Dannels said.
Smuggling is no longer just a nighttime activity, he said, but is happening in the middle of the day. In some instances, his deputies have been injured while in pursuit, Dannels added, but they are careful not to endanger the surrounding community while chasing suspected smugglers.
"They always run. They have nothing to lose. They don't have to follow the rules. They don't have to worry about liability," he said.
Pandemic driving rise in smuggling
Border enforcement statistics published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Nov. 19 showed that the apprehensions of undocumented migrants at the Arizona-Mexico border in October reached a new peak this year.
Agents detained 11,901 migrants last month in Arizona, a relatively low figure compared with historical trends. But it is a 30% increase over the previous month, and in the midst of a raging pandemic. The overwhelming majority of migrants, nearly nine in 10, are single adults.
Apprehensions have climbed rapidly since March, when the Trump administration implemented large-scale restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border to curb the spread of COVID-19. Those restrictions include a freeze on asylum processing and, under Title 42, the immediate expulsion of any migrant apprehended at the border.
As of March 21, the United States has expelled 266,367 migrants to Mexico or their home countries under an emergency order from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by way of Title 42 of the U.S. Code.
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October had the largest numbers of expulsions borderwide to date, according to the CBP.
"You have a lot more people, a lot more desperate to get out of really hard conditions in Mexico, hard conditions for themselves, living conditions, public health conditions and economic conditions," said Javier Osorio, a researcher and expert on organized crime violence at the University of Arizona.
"Criminal organizations see those opportunities, and they're the ones moving people," he said. "And the more demand you have, the more supply is going to be on the other side. It's, like, very simple economics at play."
The expulsions under Title 42 also are having other consequences. Osorio said that since migrants are quickly removed from the country, sometimes in as little as two hours, they are able to try again repeatedly.
Mark Morgan, the acting commissioner for Customs and Border Protection, said Nov. 19 that recidivism rates, meaning the number of migrants who try to cross the border illegally after they are apprehended, stood at 37% since the pandemic restrictions started.
Adalberto Ramos runs a migrant shelter in the Mexican border city of Agua Prieta, across the border from Douglas. He said he sees anywhere from 10 to 20 migrants, mostly single adult men and women, returned each day to that city under Title 42.
"Right now, since the borders are closed, the ones taking advantage of COVID are human smugglers and organized crime. Why? Because they have to give their blessing to allow them to cross their territory," he said.
His shelter remains on lockdown to avoid the spread of COVID-19, with only six families still waiting for their chance to apply for asylum once restrictions are lifted. As a result, the shelter has been unable to take in or feed migrants returned under Title 42.
Ramos said they are working on information and hygiene kits for migrants. In the meantime, the pandemic restrictions will continue to force those migrants into the hands of smugglers, he said.
"Migrants are still arriving to Agua Prieta, but with the permission of organized crime," he said. "The smuggler makes the arrangements. I'm not sure how they handle it, but I do know migrants are arriving and that they're crossing them through the mountains or the border wall."
His observations illustrate a major shift on migration patterns at the border. Last year's migrant surge dealt mainly with large groups of families willingly turning themselves in to border agents. Now, more migrants are looking to evade detection and are hiring smugglers who, in turn, have sought to exploit weaknesses in U.S. border enforcement.
Smugglers exploiting wall construction
One of the areas that smugglers are exploiting is the ongoing construction of barriers at the border.
Work crews have completed or are in the process of finishing about 235 miles of new 30-foot bollards. That's the equivalent of nearly two-thirds of the state's international boundary with Mexico.
"You’ll notice that there’s a lot of movement of the construction vehicles. There are segments of the previous wall that have been removed or are being replaced. And because of that, there are opportunities for a smuggler to either make an effort driving through or smuggling people through there," said Roy Villareal.
Villareal is the chief patrol agent for Border Patrol's Tucson Sector, which covers Cochise, Santa Cruz and Pima counties. On Wednesday, the Border Patrol announced Villareal was temporarily reassigned to its headquarters in Washington, D.C., to help with strategic planning.
Construction crews may be inadvertently aiding smugglers because the access roads they built or widened to allow heavy machinery to reach construction sites are often used by the smugglers.
The Tucson Sector has documented numerous instances this year of smugglers disguising their vehicles as construction trucks or using temporary gaps where older barriers once stood to simply drive across the border.
During one recent incident, on the evening of Oct. 29, Tucson Sector agents stopped a pickup truck on Geronimo Trail Road, several miles east of Douglas. The widened dirt road runs parallel to the border and leads to several construction sites where crews are replacing about 20 miles of permanent vehicle barriers with 30-foot bollards.
Agents could see seven people packed into the cab. As they approached, the driver jumped out and ran south to Mexico. They found another 10 migrants stacked on top of each other in the truck bed, concealed under a fiberglass cap.
Just two weeks earlier, on Oct. 15, agents had stopped a sedan a few miles away from that same location along Geronimo Trail Road. That time, they found 10 Mexican migrants inside, including three in the trunk of the car.
Trump immigration policies: Biden might need years to reverse actions on DACA, family separations, asylum
The Border Patrol determined the sedan drove illegally into Arizona through a gap in construction at the border. The driver used wood boards to drive over excavated footings for the new wall, according to the Tucson Sector. All 10 people were detained and returned to Mexico under Title 42.
Douglas Police Chief Kraig Fullen said border wall construction provides an opportunity for smugglers to blend into the community because a large number of the construction workers live, shop and eat there during the construction project.
"Some of the activity we're seeing may be pushed to make it in before the fence project is complete," he said.
Border Patrol officials regularly tout that the construction of access roads and physical barriers is part of a "border wall system" that also includes improved technology, such as sensors and lighting. Villareal said those tools will help agents detect any incursions and illegal activity at the border.
"When that wall goes up, my prediction is that we’re going to see a cessation in vehicle drive-throughs, high-speed pursuits through there," he said. "It’s going to return to being somewhat of a quiet area once again."
Fullen remains a bit skeptical.
He said this will be the third or fourth version of a border wall built in the Douglas area over the past two decades. The barriers resulted in significant drops in traffic in Douglas, he said, but larger concerns about human and drug smuggling have persisted.
"Each version of the barrier has been met with a renewed level of ingenuity, and in my time it has been tunneled under, climbed over, cut through, driven over, flown over, catapulted over, tossed over, shot over," he said. "The risk will continue to rise along with the height of the fence."
Local agencies seeing more smuggling
Local law enforcement agencies in Cochise County have reported increases in smuggling activity this year compared with the same period in 2019. They increasingly are pulled into combating the crime, even though investigating and prosecuting human smuggling falls under the purview of the federal government.
Sgt. Tim Williams is director of the Southeastern Arizona Border Region Enforcement team or SABRE, the Cochise County sheriff's task force dedicated to tracking and fighting criminal activity tied to its location on the border.
"We've seen a fairly large increase of the human smuggling since about March of this year," he said. "We probably tripled in the numbers than we used to see in previous years."
As part of SABRE, Williams oversees a system of 1,000 remote motion-activated cameras placed strategically across various points throughout the Tucson Sector to monitor foot traffic at the border. Their work is in coordination with the Arizona Department of Public Safety's Border Strike Force.
This year, the remote cameras have detected nearly 10,000 undocumented migrants crossing the Arizona border illegally, according to data shared by the Sheriff's Office. That's significantly higher than the past two years combined.
The latest available monthly figures show big differences in migrant traffic over the past year. In October 2019, the cameras picked up 617 migrants crossing the border; this year, they detected 2,544 migrants during that same month. In September 2019, cameras picked up 398 migrants, compared with 2,192 in September 2020.
Douglas police figures reflect a similar trend.
From July to mid-November, the Police Department recorded the arrests of 180 undocumented migrants by Border Patrol agents inside city limits. By comparison, agents made a total of 18 migrant arrests during the same period in 2019, according to Officer Jamilette Barrios, Douglas police spokesperson.
Both departments, along with Sierra Vista police, have reported an uptick in calls to their jurisdictions involving undocumented migrants, from agency assists to help the Border Patrol to responding to reports of trespassing and other local crimes.
Migrants placed in harm's way
As human smuggling activity rises in southern Arizona, smugglers endanger the lives of migrants. The criminal groups' turn to riskier routes and measures to avoid arrest has resulted in injuries and even deaths.
Homeland Security Investigations said it has seen an uptick in Arizona of smuggler use of firearms, overloaded vehicles and an increase in flight from law enforcement, sometimes using stolen vehicles.
The Border Patrol recognizes that smugglers are quick to adapt to changing U.S. policies along the Southwestern border. One constant, according to Villareal, is their disregard for human life.
"I think the true core element of evilness are the smugglers," he said. "They’re not concerned about the well-being of the people they’re smuggling."
So far in 2020, southern Arizona has recorded the recovery of 205 migrant remains, according to the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner, which tracks migrant deaths in the Tucson Sector.
That makes 2020 the third deadliest year for migrants at the Arizona-Mexico border since the medical examiner began compiling the data in 2000. With a full month remaining in the year, it is within striking distance to exceed 2010's record of 222 bodies found in a single year.
The majority of recoveries were either skeletal remains or migrants who died from exposure to the elements, especially with this year's record-breaking heat.
Dr. Gregory Hess, the chief medical examiner, said migrants also die other ways while crossing.
"Almost every year, we'll get some folks that die being pursued by Border Patrol, or they lay down the spikes grip or something, and they roll over the vehicle to try to avoid apprehension," he said.
One such incident happened June 2, when a high-speed chase near the New Mexico state line, east of Douglas, ended with the deaths of a 44-year-old migrant and a 17-year-old suspected smuggler.
The minivan that the teenager was driving with four migrants inside rolled over multiple times to avoid tire deflation spikes that pursuing agents had laid out. The three other migrants suffered injuries. One of them was put on life support but survived, court records showed.
Of the 205 migrant remains recovered so far this year, at least 11 of the people died from blunt force trauma or other non-exposure-related injuries, according to data provided by the medical examiner.
The most recent case is a 25-year-old migrant who fell Sept. 23 trying to climb the border wall near Douglas. He was taken to a hospital in Tucson, where he died a few weeks later.
Aerial view footage of border wall construction Footage of aerial shots of border wall construction from Center for Biological Diversity. Courtesy of Russ McSpadden/Center for Biological Diversity
These types of deaths will continue, Hess said.
"Regardless of what they do on the border, people are still going to find a way across," he said. "They travel for miles and miles with the intent to come into the United States. They're going to. There is no such thing as an impassible barrier. So it's going to continue to occur as long as people continue to cross here."
Osorio, the researcher and expert on organized crime violence, said that as it becomes more difficult to smuggle people and drugs across the border, criminal networks are trying to maximize resources.
One way is to increase the price to smuggle people across. Those costs had already been going up before the pandemic. They since have likely risen even more, Osorio said.
The other option is to smuggle larger groups to boost profits, which can help explain the proliferation of cases involving groups of migrants packed tightly into vehicles.
"You get more money through smuggling 20 to 30 people instead of one or two," Osorio said.
Pandemic impacting prosecutions
Human smuggling is a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. But given its fleeting nature, there are challenges to prosecuting smugglers. Chief among them is making an arrest.
Many times, especially in incidents near the border, smugglers will seek safety by running or driving back into Mexico, abandoning migrants as necessary.
Other times, they will lead agents and officers in dangerous pursuits through border communities, with speeds sometimes reaching as high as 136 miles per hour, according to court records describing a high-speed chase on Nov. 6. The driver had attempted to evade an immigration checkpoint near Elfrida, north of Douglas.
He crashed his pickup truck into a steep ravine. No major injuries were reported, but agents apprehended 15 undocumented migrants squeezed inside the truck. The driver now faces two felony smuggling charges.
Federal prosecutors were able to charge him thanks to new protocols the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona developed in April in response to changes to the criminal system because of COVID-19.
"Immigration prosecution is one of my priorities and a necessary priority for our office because of our location on the Southwest border," Michael Bailey, the U.S. attorney for Arizona, told The Republic. "But the virus has probably impacted smuggling prosecution more than anything else."
The issue stems from federal prosecutors' reliance on using material witnesses to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the suspected smuggler knew the people they were transporting were in the country illegally. Often, these witnesses are the migrants whom the defendant was allegedly smuggling.
Court orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Arizona limited the transportation of defendants and witnesses to courthouses in the state, dealing a potential blow to prosecutors.
In addition, pandemic restrictions reduced operations in federal courthouses nationwide.
Brown, who oversees investigations into human smuggling at Homeland Security Investigations' six offices in Arizona, said those restrictions present additional challenges in going after suspected smugglers.
"That impedes our abilities at times to bring charges or pursue grand jury indictments. We've had to postpone some of those activities," he said.
In response to those challenges, Bailey said his team worked with the Border Patrol to establish new protocols ensuring that agents record any evidence to prove alleged smugglers' guilt, so that material witnesses aren't needed to testify in the courtroom.
"It could be something as straightforward as a confession, it could be the smugglers observed taking evasive action, it could be that the smuggler has individuals hidden in some way in the vehicle," Bailey said. "All of those type of things are useful to prove the smugglers' knowledge of immigration status."
Under the new protocols, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona have brought federal charges in 160 cases of suspected human smuggling.
The court has granted prosecutors the limited use of material witnesses, especially in cases with extraordinary circumstances, such as the three accused smugglers who earlier this month held seven migrants inside the motel room in Nogales.
All eyes on the incoming administration
For now, the big question on the minds of law enforcement and experts in human smuggling is what will happen in the coming months, especially with an incoming administration that has pledged to shift immigration and border enforcement priorities.
Brown said his investigators will continue to build out smuggling networks at the border as part of an effort to go after the key decision-makers, rather than foot guides and their collaborators.
"Some of the regulations put in place as a result of the pandemic, Title 42 removals ... if that should be rescinded, should the pandemic go away, I'm not sure how that will shake out," he said. "Because what we are seeing is that because of those fast turnarounds, we're getting more people that are making two, three, four attempts."
As courts reopen, more migrants making multiple attempts to cross the border after getting caught will spend time in jail on illegal reentry charges before getting sent back, possibly reducing recidivism rates, he said.
Osorio said that deteriorating economic conditions in Mexico and Latin America spurred by the pandemic, along with existing poverty and violence concerns, are aligning to produce large waves of migrants who will attempt to reach the United States in the near future.
Without President Donald Trump's strong-hand tactics to pressure Mexico into stopping these waves of migrants before making it to their shared border, he added, it remains to be seen how incoming President Joe Biden and the Mexican government will respond.
"We know it's just a matter of time before we have a critical mass with people accumulating," he said.
U.S. border officials are banking on the newly built border walls, once completed, to help stem the flow of drug and human smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Dannels, the Cochise County sheriff, said that if history is any indication, the challenges will remain throughout border communities like his.
"They're still going to find ways to get across," he said. "They've already cut through the fence too. ... So again, it just tells me no matter what we put up there, there's going to be that challenge of intrusion."
Have any news tips or story ideas about the U.S.-Mexico border? Reach the reporter at rafael.carranza@arizonarepublic.com, or follow him on Twitter at @RafaelCarranza.


usatoday--2020-11-30--Sen. Chuck Grassley, 87, cleared by doctors to return to work following COVID-19 diagnosis

Sen. Chuck Grassley returned to work at his Washington office Monday after completing a quarantine period caused by a positive coronavirus test on Nov. 17 .
Grassley , 87 , has remained symptom-free in the days since his diagnosis , he said .
Grassley 's spokesperson , Michael Zona , said his doctors cleared him to return to the office at the end of last week .
In a statement , Grassley said he was glad to return to the office after working remotely from home during his isolation .
`` During my quarantine , I heard from so many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I 'm thankful for their prayers and well wishes , '' Grassley said in the statement .
`` This disease affects people differently .
I did not experience symptoms , but more than a thousand Americans are dying every day and many more are hospitalized .
That means we all have to do our part to help protect our friends , family and fellow Americans .
I will continue to wear a mask and practice social distancing . ''
Grassley is the Senate 's oldest currently serving Republican and the second-oldest currently serving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president pro tempore , making him third in line for the presidency , after the vice president and speaker of the House .
Running list : Which members of Congress have tested positive for COVID-19 ?
Grassley , who periodically provided updates about his health through Twitter , said early last week that he was doing well and planned to return to work after Thanksgiving .
Congress is back in session after a recess for the holiday .
Grassley said in his statement Monday that news about vaccine development means `` there is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tunnel '' but that Iowans should stay vigilant against the virus in the coming months .
`` Congress must do its part and pass long overdue relief legislation to help families , businesses and communities get through this crisis .
I hope my colleagues reach the same conclusion and a bipartisan bill can pass very soon , '' Grassley said .
Grassley has not said where he was exposed to the virus .
Zona said Monday that he could not answer questions about whether Grassley 's wife , Barbara , or any other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` Determining with certainty how infection occurred is extremely difficult .
And speculating would be irresponsible , especially if it involved divulging information about a private citizen ’ s personal health .
That would be highly inappropriate for a government office , '' Zona said in a statement .
At least eight senators have tested positive for the virus and more than a dozen have proactively quarantined after exposure .

Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register

Sen. Chuck Grassley, 87, cleared by doctors to return to work following COVID-19 diagnosis
Show Caption Hide Caption Chuck Grassley, Senate's oldest Republican tests positive for COVID-19 The 87-year-old senator from Iowa is the president pro tempore of the Senate, making him third in line for the presidency. USA TODAY
Sen. Chuck Grassley returned to work at his Washington office Monday after completing a quarantine period caused by a positive coronavirus test on Nov. 17.
Grassley, 87, has remained symptom-free in the days since his diagnosis, he said. Grassley's spokesperson, Michael Zona, said his doctors cleared him to return to the office at the end of last week.
In a statement, Grassley said he was glad to return to the office after working remotely from home during his isolation.
"During my quarantine, I heard from so many Iowans and Americans across the country. I'm thankful for their prayers and well wishes," Grassley said in the statement. "This disease affects people differently. I did not experience symptoms, but more than a thousand Americans are dying every day and many more are hospitalized. That means we all have to do our part to help protect our friends, family and fellow Americans. I will continue to wear a mask and practice social distancing."
Grassley is the Senate's oldest currently serving Republican and the second-oldest currently serving senator overall. He is the Senate president pro tempore, making him third in line for the presidency, after the vice president and speaker of the House.
Running list: Which members of Congress have tested positive for COVID-19?
Grassley, who periodically provided updates about his health through Twitter, said early last week that he was doing well and planned to return to work after Thanksgiving. Congress is back in session after a recess for the holiday.
Grassley said in his statement Monday that news about vaccine development means "there is a light at the end of the tunnel" but that Iowans should stay vigilant against the virus in the coming months.
"Congress must do its part and pass long overdue relief legislation to help families, businesses and communities get through this crisis. I hope my colleagues reach the same conclusion and a bipartisan bill can pass very soon," Grassley said.
Grassley has not said where he was exposed to the virus. Zona said Monday that he could not answer questions about whether Grassley's wife, Barbara, or any other family members had tested positive for coronavirus.
"Determining with certainty how infection occurred is extremely difficult. And speculating would be irresponsible, especially if it involved divulging information about a private citizen’s personal health. That would be highly inappropriate for a government office," Zona said in a statement.
At least eight senators have tested positive for the virus and more than a dozen have proactively quarantined after exposure.
Follow Stephen Gruber-Miller on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.


usatoday--2020-11-30--Mark Kelly, winner of special election to fill McCain's seat, to be sworn in Wednesday as Arizona's

Democrat Mark Kelly , who defeated Republican Sen. Martha McSally on Nov. 3 , will be sworn in 12 p.m. EST on Wednesday , his office said Monday .
With Arizona certifying its election results Monday , Kelly becomes eligible to take office ahead of the new group of senators-elect from across the nation .
After winning Arizona 's special election , Kelly will serve the final two years of the six-year term won in 2016 by the late Sen. John McCain , R-Ariz. , who died in 2018 .
Kelly is on Capitol Hill as the Senate weighs the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Southern District of Mississippi and amid stalled talks for a financial stimulus package to help American families , businesses and communities struggling from the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic .
`` Once again , Arizona ’ s working families and small business owners are looking for ways to get through this crisis with little leadership from Washington , '' Kelly wrote in an opinion piece published Monday on The Arizona Republic 's website .
`` It ’ s clear that the lack of a national strategy is still hurting our response and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t provided the additional support that Arizonans need now .
As cases spike yet again , programs to help Arizonans make ends meet are facing deadlines that , if not met , could damage our economy even further.
” He has called on his soon-to-be-colleagues , along with the Trump administration , to pass a stimulus package , draw up a national strategy to slow the spread of the coronavirus and to distribute vaccines once they are available .
Kelly began transitioning to the Senate earlier this month , after assembling a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s demographics and the issues he wants to confront first .
Kelly ’ s transition team is made up of a bipartisan team of Republicans and Democrats from across the state who specialize in public health , business , education , issues affecting seniors , and other topics .
Kelly has not yet received his committee assignments .
He wants his experience as an engineer , veteran , astronaut and gun-safety activist to guide his work in the chamber , he has said .

Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Arizona Republic

Mark Kelly, winner of special election to fill McCain's seat, to be sworn in Wednesday as Arizona's new senator
Show Caption Hide Caption Reporter Yvonne Wingett Sanchez interviews U.S. Sen.-elect Mark Kelly Republic politics reporter Yvonne Wingett Sanchez interviews U.S. Sen.-elect Mark Kelly. Brian Snyder, Arizona Republic
Democrat Mark Kelly, who defeated Republican Sen. Martha McSally on Nov. 3, will be sworn in 12 p.m. EST on Wednesday, his office said Monday.
With Arizona certifying its election results Monday, Kelly becomes eligible to take office ahead of the new group of senators-elect from across the nation.
After winning Arizona's special election, Kelly will serve the final two years of the six-year term won in 2016 by the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who died in 2018.
Kelly is on Capitol Hill as the Senate weighs the nomination of a federal judge for the Southern District of Mississippi and amid stalled talks for a financial stimulus package to help American families, businesses and communities struggling from the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Once again, Arizona’s working families and small business owners are looking for ways to get through this crisis with little leadership from Washington," Kelly wrote in an opinion piece published Monday on The Arizona Republic's website.
"It’s clear that the lack of a national strategy is still hurting our response and recovery. And yet, Washington hasn’t provided the additional support that Arizonans need now. As cases spike yet again, programs to help Arizonans make ends meet are facing deadlines that, if not met, could damage our economy even further.”
He has called on his soon-to-be-colleagues, along with the Trump administration, to pass a stimulus package, draw up a national strategy to slow the spread of the coronavirus and to distribute vaccines once they are available.
Kelly began transitioning to the Senate earlier this month, after assembling a team he considers representative of the state’s demographics and the issues he wants to confront first.
Kelly’s transition team is made up of a bipartisan team of Republicans and Democrats from across the state who specialize in public health, business, education, issues affecting seniors, and other topics.
Kelly has not yet received his committee assignments. He wants his experience as an engineer, veteran, astronaut and gun-safety activist to guide his work in the chamber, he has said.
Follow Yvonne Wingett Sanchez on Twitter


usatoday--2020-11-30--FBI posts decline in Black Friday gun checks; still the fourth-largest one-day total ever

The FBI posted a nearly 8 % decline in background checks for Black Friday gun purchases , even as the coronavirus pandemic , volatile social protests and election-year politics have driven a year-long surge in firearm sales .
While the 186,645 checks represented a slight drop from 2019 , this year 's number still marked the fourth-largest one day total on record .
Background checks , required for purchases at federally licensed firearm dealers , are not a measure of actual gun sales , but the National Instant Criminal Background Check System is a way to gauge market demand .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely higher because multiple firearms can be included in one transaction by a single buyer .
Concerns of civil unrest : Walmart removes guns , ammunition from store displays ahead of election Black Friday traditionally has been one of the busiest for FBI analysts , but this has already been a shattering year in which the FBI has posted 32.1 million checks so far as the deadly virus has fueled public fear and President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that Biden 's election would threaten gun rights .
Six times this year , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , while the June number fell just short of 4 million .
Throughout his losing campaign , Trump put gun rights on the front burner , often using the divisive issue in an attempt to excite voters .
During an Virginia rally , he warned that Democrats would `` either obliterate ( the Second Amendment ) to a point of no return or actually terminate it . ''
`` I have no doubt about it , '' he said .
President-elect Joe Biden has offered no such proposal , but the former vice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as an expansion of background checks – an idea that Trump briefly weighed last year .
Biden proposes a ban on the manufacture and sale of weapons with high-capacity ammunition magazines .
When Biden was a Delaware senator , he pushed to establish a 10-year ban on certain weapons that expired in 2004 .
He said that if he is elected president , he would create a buyback program for weapons in circulation .

FBI posts decline in Black Friday gun checks; still the fourth-largest one-day total ever
The FBI posted a nearly 8% decline in background checks for Black Friday gun purchases, even as the coronavirus pandemic, volatile social protests and election-year politics have driven a year-long surge in firearm sales.
While the 186,645 checks represented a slight drop from 2019, this year's number still marked the fourth-largest one day total on record.
Background checks, required for purchases at federally licensed firearm dealers, are not a measure of actual gun sales, but the National Instant Criminal Background Check System is a way to gauge market demand. The number of firearms sold Friday is likely higher because multiple firearms can be included in one transaction by a single buyer.
Concerns of civil unrest: Walmart removes guns, ammunition from store displays ahead of election
Anticipating Democratic wins: Gun, marijuana stocks rose
Black Friday traditionally has been one of the busiest for FBI analysts, but this has already been a shattering year in which the FBI has posted 32.1 million checks so far as the deadly virus has fueled public fear and President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that Biden's election would threaten gun rights.
Six times this year, the monthly check numbers surpassed 3 million, while the June number fell just short of 4 million.
Throughout his losing campaign, Trump put gun rights on the front burner, often using the divisive issue in an attempt to excite voters.
During an Virginia rally, he warned that Democrats would "either obliterate (the Second Amendment) to a point of no return or actually terminate it."
"I have no doubt about it," he said.
President-elect Joe Biden has offered no such proposal, but the former vice president does advocate for restrictions, such as an expansion of background checks – an idea that Trump briefly weighed last year. Biden proposes a ban on the manufacture and sale of weapons with high-capacity ammunition magazines.
When Biden was a Delaware senator, he pushed to establish a 10-year ban on certain weapons that expired in 2004. He said that if he is elected president, he would create a buyback program for weapons in circulation.


usatoday--2020-12-01--Biden set to announce his economic team led by Janet Yellen, who face a dark winter outlook, split C

President-elect Joe Biden is set to unveil an all-star economic team Tuesday to tackle a darkening winter outlook as the USA struggles to dig out of the worst recession in a century .
Analysts expect stiff resistance from a split Congress whose Republicans are reluctant to further swell the massive deficit .
At the forefront of Biden 's team is former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen , his pick for Treasury secretary .
Other appointees include Neera Tanden , a former aide to Hillary Clinton and chief executive of the left-leaning think tank Center for American Progress , to head @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cecilia Rouse , dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs , has been tapped to lead the Council of Economic Advisers .
Save better , spend better : Money tips and advice delivered right to your inbox .
Sign up here Biden deftly chose veteran Washington officials and policymakers left-of-center but not in the `` progressive '' camp led by Democratic Sens .
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren , says Brian Gardner , chief Washington policy analyst at Stifel .
“ They ’ re some experienced hands at high levels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In contrast to top economic officials in the Trump administration , Biden ’ s economic team “ doesn ’ t look very corporate , does it ?
” says Alan Blinder , a Princeton University economist who served with Yellen on the Fed ’ s board in the 1990s .
The lineup is likely to push for a more aggressive economic blueprint than the Trump administration sought , including a robust COVID-19 relief package and ambitious proposals to upgrade the nation ’ s infrastructure , build a clean-energy economy and provide tuition-free community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on corporations and individuals earning more than $ 400,000 .
The spending proposals would add to a deficit that has tripled to a record $ 3.1 trillion this year .
Yellen , as well as the other appointees , have said that with borrowing costs are low and households and businesses suffering , now isn ’ t the time to whittle down the debt .
`` In the near-term , there is clearly a need for more fiscal aid to act as a bridge to get us through this period , '' says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a Responsible Federal Budget .
COVID-19 vaccine : Prospects may already be boosting consumer spending , economy Biden 's pick for treasury secretary : As Treasury chief , Yellen may be a calming influence in a Washington split over stimulus and everything else Congress has been deadlocked for months over the relief package .
House Democrats approved $ 2 trillion legislation that would provide more aid to millions of unemployed Americans , struggling small businesses and financially stressed states and cities .
Senate Republicans pushed a $ 500 billion proposal .
Two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republicans retain control of the Senate .
Even if Democrats win both races – giving the party technical control since Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would hold the deciding vote in a split Senate – Biden faces an uphill climb .
“ It ’ s going to be a challenge for Yellen to work with the people in the Senate to get things done , '' says Desmond Lachman , a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who served as managing director and chief emerging market economic strategist at Salomon Smith Barney .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ t have close to a filibuster-proof majority of 60 votes .
Gardner expects a limited COVID-19 relief measure of $ 500 billion to $ 1 trillion early next year , with more aid possible later .
He ’ s not looking for any of Biden ’ s tax and spending plans to be passed .
Blinder says the center-left troupe may be positioned to haggle with Republicans and push through a more expansive relief plan and some modest tax and spending initiatives .
Some tax and spending measures could be tacked onto catch-all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dean Baker , co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research , suggests Biden ’ s more centrist economics team could horse-trade with Republicans on other bills .
“ You give me something and I ’ ll give you something , ” he says .
Gardner says the Biden team 's best chance to enact his agenda is through executive actions and regulations .
Besides drafting a budget , the Office of Management and Budget includes the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs , which can temper rules passed by other agencies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a big role in selecting the heads of regulatory agencies , such as the Securities and Exchange Commission , the Fed and the Office of Comptroller of the Currency , Gardner says .
The economy has recovered about 55 % of the 22 million jobs lost in the spring , but monthly payroll gains have steadily slowed since peaking at 4.8 million in June , and recouping the rest could take several years , economists say .
More than 130,000 businesses have closed for good , according to estimates by Yelp .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states and localities are reinstating restrictions .
Meanwhile , extended unemployment benefits and an eviction moratorium are among the federal aid set o expire at year 's end .
J.P Morgan expects economic output to dip early next year , and others say there 's a risk the economy slips back into recession .
Here ’ s a look at the economics team : The Treasury Department is central to Biden 's plans for stimulating the economy and recovering from the pandemic .
Besides collecting taxes , Treasury handles international economic affairs , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and deficit , and financial crimes .
It plays a huge role in formulating economic policy .
If confirmed , Yellen would succeed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin , who led relief negotiations with Congress .
Beyond any immediate aid , Biden 's economic proposals call for overturning President Donald Trump 's tax cuts for corporations and for individuals earning more than $ 400,000 per year .
Biden proposed to spend trillions of dollars to spur manufacturing , develop clean energy and support caregivers .
Those proposals all rely on tax hikes that face @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Biden administration wants to change the tax code or think about debt and deficits , the Treasury secretary is enormously important in that process , ” says Michael Strain , director of economic policy studies at AEI .
” Yellen would be the first woman to lead the Treasury Department .
She was also the first to lead the Fed and served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Bill Clinton .
Lachman says the markets reacted favorably to Yellen because of her experience .
Yellen , who has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the recession , takes a more moderate approach to keeping deficits under control than a liberal alternative such as Sen. Warren , D-Mass.
, who supported large increases in spending on health care and education .
“ She is hugely qualified .
She ’ s a very safe pair of hands , ” Lachman says of Yellen .
“ She ’ s not on the progressive side of the party .
She ’ s unlikely to go along with things that don ’ t make economic sense.
” Sen. Chuck Grassley , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Committee , says she 'll `` get a favorable view '' in the confirmation process although senators must still consider background documents she 'll provide .
Yellen is likely to support more coronavirus aid than Mnuchin .
Lachman says a bigger change may be abroad , where she is expected to cooperate with international partners , rather than applying tariffs to imports from allies such as Canada and Germany .
`` Her intelligence , tenacity and calm approach make Janet a trailblazer for women everywhere , '' Christine Lagarde , president of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ congratulations to Yellen .
`` I look forward to tackling yet again the global economic challenges we are facing , together . ''
Yellen served as the Fed 's vice chair from 2010 to 2014 , after a term on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco .
She has been a faculty member at the University of California-Berkeley for 40 years after earning a bachelor 's degree at Brown University and a doctorate in economics from Yale University .
Wally Adeyemo , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ become the first Black person to serve as deputy secretary of Treasury .
During the Obama administration , he served as deputy director of the National Economic Council , deputy national security advisor , as the first chief of staff of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and as deputy chief of staff at Treasury .
Before and after his service in the Obama administration , he advised a range of nonprofit and private organizations , including the Center for Strategic & International Studies .
Adeyemo , who was born in Nigeria and raised @ @ @ @ @ @ @ degree from the University of California-Berkeley and his law degree from Yale Law School .
Tanden would be the first woman and person of Southeast Asian descent to lead the Office of Management and Budget , which not only maps the president 's spending blueprint but also serves as a gatekeeper by reviewing government regulations for their financial impact .
Tanden was a senior adviser in the Clinton administration , and she worked for Sen. Hillary Clinton , D-N.Y. , before serving as political director for her 2008 presidential campaign .
Tanden served @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Barack Obama 's campaign .
Sen. Rick Scott , R-Fla. , tweeted Monday that `` Neera Tanden is a big-government , big-spending radical liberal who ’ s a terrible choice for OMB Director . ''
Drew Brandewie , a spokesman for Sen. John Cornyn , R-Texas , tweeted Sunday that Tanden has `` zero chance of being confirmed '' because of disparaging tweets against Republicans .
At the Center for American Progress and in previous administrations , Tanden advocated for policies designed to support working families , foster broad-based economic growth and curb @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stamps and Section 8 subsidized housing when she was a child .
She earned a bachelor 's degree from the University of California-Los Angeles and a law degree from Yale .
Rouse , a labor economist at Princeton , would become the first Black person to lead the Council of Economic Advisers after serving on the panel during the Obama administration .
She was on the National Economic Council during the Clinton administration .
The role of the Council of Economic Advisers varies between administrations .
The three-member panel keeps the White House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and provides economic analysis of issues such as changing the tax code or rolling out regulations to mitigate climate change .
“ They will do expert economic analysis to figure out what the effects of the policy changes will be on the economy , ” Strain says .
He suggests as the economy faces slow growth , declining workforce participation and lackluster education , skills and training systems , Rouse will be in a unique position to keep those items on the White House radar .
Rouse 's expertise focused on the economics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Princeton faculty in 1992 after receiving a bachelor 's degree and a doctorate in economics from Harvard University .
Bernstein would become a member of the Council of Economic Advisers .
Bernstein served as chief economist to Biden when he was vice president before joining the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities as a senior fellow .
He was executive director of the White House task force on the middle class .
Bernstein testified in July before the Joint Economic Committee , urging fiscal relief as $ 600 weekly unemployment payments ended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that shortchanging temporary relief over deficit concerns during a period of low interest rates would be `` highly misguided . ''
`` By working together to quickly implement significant fiscal relief in these and other areas , Congress can once again throw struggling people , places and businesses the lifeline they need to make it to the other side of this crisis , '' Bernstein said .
Bernstein served as a senior economist and director of the Living Standards Program at the Economic Policy Institute and as the deputy chief economist at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bernstein is a former social worker who advocated policies to expand opportunities for working Americans .
He earned a bachelor 's degree from the Manhattan School of Music , a master 's degree in social work from Hunter College and a doctorate in social welfare from Columbia University .
Boushey , a longtime economic counselor to Biden , would become a member of the Council of Economic Advisers .
Boushey focused on economic inequality as CEO of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth , which describes itself as `` a nonprofit research and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and policies that promote strong , stable and broad-based economic growth . ''
Boushey wrote in the journal Democracy last year that the financial meltdown and Great Recession in 2007 were neither predicted nor solved by traditional economists .
She argued that economic inequality is “ undermining long-held theories about the so-called natural laws of economics.
” Boushey was chief economist for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton .
She served as an economist for the Center for American Progress , the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress , the Center for Economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Institute .
She received her bachelor 's degree from Hampshire College and a doctorate in economics from the New School for Social Research .

Paul Davidson and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY

Biden set to announce his economic team led by Janet Yellen, who face a dark winter outlook, split Congress
Show Caption Hide Caption Joe Biden's Cabinet picks and other roles in his administration The president says he wants a government as diverse as America when he enters the White House. Here are some of his Executive Branch picks. USA TODAY
President-elect Joe Biden is set to unveil an all-star economic team Tuesday to tackle a darkening winter outlook as the USA struggles to dig out of the worst recession in a century.
Analysts expect stiff resistance from a split Congress whose Republicans are reluctant to further swell the massive deficit.
At the forefront of Biden's team is former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, his pick for Treasury secretary. Other appointees include Neera Tanden, a former aide to Hillary Clinton and chief executive of the left-leaning think tank Center for American Progress, to head the Office of Management and Budget. Cecilia Rouse, dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, has been tapped to lead the Council of Economic Advisers.
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Biden deftly chose veteran Washington officials and policymakers left-of-center but not in the "progressive" camp led by Democratic Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, says Brian Gardner, chief Washington policy analyst at Stifel.
“They’re some experienced hands at high levels” of government, Gardner says.
In contrast to top economic officials in the Trump administration, Biden’s economic team “doesn’t look very corporate, does it?” says Alan Blinder, a Princeton University economist who served with Yellen on the Fed’s board in the 1990s.
The lineup is likely to push for a more aggressive economic blueprint than the Trump administration sought, including a robust COVID-19 relief package and ambitious proposals to upgrade the nation’s infrastructure, build a clean-energy economy and provide tuition-free community college. Biden wants to raise taxes on corporations and individuals earning more than $400,000.
The spending proposals would add to a deficit that has tripled to a record $3.1 trillion this year. Yellen, as well as the other appointees, have said that with borrowing costs are low and households and businesses suffering, now isn’t the time to whittle down the debt.
"In the near-term, there is clearly a need for more fiscal aid to act as a bridge to get us through this period," says Maya MacGuineas, head of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
COVID-19 vaccine: Prospects may already be boosting consumer spending, economy
Biden's pick for treasury secretary: As Treasury chief, Yellen may be a calming influence in a Washington split over stimulus and everything else
Congress has been deadlocked for months over the relief package. House Democrats approved $2 trillion legislation that would provide more aid to millions of unemployed Americans, struggling small businesses and financially stressed states and cities. Senate Republicans pushed a $500 billion proposal. Two runoff races in Georgia will determine whether Republicans retain control of the Senate.
Even if Democrats win both races – giving the party technical control since Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would hold the deciding vote in a split Senate – Biden faces an uphill climb.
Biden calls on Senate to consider Cabinet promptly President-elect Joe Biden rolled out Cabinet picks for his national security team Tuesday, saying his choices will "make us proud to be Americans." Biden also called on the Senate to take up his nominations quickly and "in good faith." (Nov. 24) AP
“It’s going to be a challenge for Yellen to work with the people in the Senate to get things done," says Desmond Lachman, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who served as managing director and chief emerging market economic strategist at Salomon Smith Barney.
A divided Senate means Democrats won’t have close to a filibuster-proof majority of 60 votes. Gardner expects a limited COVID-19 relief measure of $500 billion to $1 trillion early next year, with more aid possible later. He’s not looking for any of Biden’s tax and spending plans to be passed.
Blinder says the center-left troupe may be positioned to haggle with Republicans and push through a more expansive relief plan and some modest tax and spending initiatives. Some tax and spending measures could be tacked onto catch-all budget reconciliation bills, he says.
“There’s a chance,” he says.
Dean Baker, co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, suggests Biden’s more centrist economics team could horse-trade with Republicans on other bills. “You give me something and I’ll give you something,” he says.
Gardner says the Biden team's best chance to enact his agenda is through executive actions and regulations. Besides drafting a budget, the Office of Management and Budget includes the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which can temper rules passed by other agencies, Gardner says.
Yellen will have a big role in selecting the heads of regulatory agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Fed and the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, Gardner says.
The team faces a historic challenge.
The economy has recovered about 55% of the 22 million jobs lost in the spring, but monthly payroll gains have steadily slowed since peaking at 4.8 million in June, and recouping the rest could take several years, economists say. More than 130,000 businesses have closed for good, according to estimates by Yelp.
The coronavirus has surged to records, and states and localities are reinstating restrictions. Meanwhile, extended unemployment benefits and an eviction moratorium are among the federal aid set o expire at year's end. J.P Morgan expects economic output to dip early next year, and others say there's a risk the economy slips back into recession.
Here’s a look at the economics team:
Janet Yellen
The Treasury Department is central to Biden's plans for stimulating the economy and recovering from the pandemic. Besides collecting taxes, Treasury handles international economic affairs, domestic finance, such as the debt and deficit, and financial crimes.
It plays a huge role in formulating economic policy. If confirmed, Yellen would succeed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who led relief negotiations with Congress.
Beyond any immediate aid, Biden's economic proposals call for overturning President Donald Trump's tax cuts for corporations and for individuals earning more than $400,000 per year. Biden proposed to spend trillions of dollars to spur manufacturing, develop clean energy and support caregivers. Those proposals all rely on tax hikes that face difficult negotiations with Congress.
“If the Biden administration wants to change the tax code or think about debt and deficits, the Treasury secretary is enormously important in that process,” says Michael Strain, director of economic policy studies at AEI. ”
Yellen would be the first woman to lead the Treasury Department. She was also the first to lead the Fed and served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Bill Clinton.
Lachman says the markets reacted favorably to Yellen because of her experience. Yellen, who has advocated for more coronavirus relief to recover from the recession, takes a more moderate approach to keeping deficits under control than a liberal alternative such as Sen. Warren, D-Mass., who supported large increases in spending on health care and education.
“She is hugely qualified. She’s a very safe pair of hands,” Lachman says of Yellen. “She’s not on the progressive side of the party. She’s unlikely to go along with things that don’t make economic sense.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, says she'll "get a favorable view" in the confirmation process although senators must still consider background documents she'll provide.
Yellen is likely to support more coronavirus aid than Mnuchin. Lachman says a bigger change may be abroad, where she is expected to cooperate with international partners, rather than applying tariffs to imports from allies such as Canada and Germany.
"Her intelligence, tenacity and calm approach make Janet a trailblazer for women everywhere," Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, tweeted in her congratulations to Yellen. "I look forward to tackling yet again the global economic challenges we are facing, together."
Yellen served as the Fed's vice chair from 2010 to 2014, after a term on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. She has been a faculty member at the University of California-Berkeley for 40 years after earning a bachelor's degree at Brown University and a doctorate in economics from Yale University.
Wally Adeyemo
Wally Adeyemo, president of the Obama Foundation, would become the first Black person to serve as deputy secretary of Treasury. During the Obama administration, he served as deputy director of the National Economic Council, deputy national security advisor, as the first chief of staff of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and as deputy chief of staff at Treasury.
Before and after his service in the Obama administration, he advised a range of nonprofit and private organizations, including the Center for Strategic & International Studies. Adeyemo, who was born in Nigeria and raised in California, earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California-Berkeley and his law degree from Yale Law School.
Neera Tanden
Tanden would be the first woman and person of Southeast Asian descent to lead the Office of Management and Budget, which not only maps the president's spending blueprint but also serves as a gatekeeper by reviewing government regulations for their financial impact.
Tanden was a senior adviser in the Clinton administration, and she worked for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., before serving as political director for her 2008 presidential campaign. Tanden served as director of domestic policy for President Barack Obama's campaign.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., tweeted Monday that "Neera Tanden is a big-government, big-spending radical liberal who’s a terrible choice for OMB Director."
Drew Brandewie, a spokesman for Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, tweeted Sunday that Tanden has "zero chance of being confirmed" because of disparaging tweets against Republicans.
At the Center for American Progress and in previous administrations, Tanden advocated for policies designed to support working families, foster broad-based economic growth and curb inequality. Her family relied on food stamps and Section 8 subsidized housing when she was a child. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California-Los Angeles and a law degree from Yale.
Cecilia Rouse
Rouse, a labor economist at Princeton, would become the first Black person to lead the Council of Economic Advisers after serving on the panel during the Obama administration. She was on the National Economic Council during the Clinton administration.
The role of the Council of Economic Advisers varies between administrations. The three-member panel keeps the White House updated on the state of the economy and provides economic analysis of issues such as changing the tax code or rolling out regulations to mitigate climate change.
“They will do expert economic analysis to figure out what the effects of the policy changes will be on the economy,” Strain says.
He suggests as the economy faces slow growth, declining workforce participation and lackluster education, skills and training systems, Rouse will be in a unique position to keep those items on the White House radar.
Rouse's expertise focused on the economics of education and equality. She joined the Princeton faculty in 1992 after receiving a bachelor's degree and a doctorate in economics from Harvard University.
Jared Bernstein
Bernstein would become a member of the Council of Economic Advisers. Bernstein served as chief economist to Biden when he was vice president before joining the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities as a senior fellow. He was executive director of the White House task force on the middle class.
Bernstein testified in July before the Joint Economic Committee, urging fiscal relief as $600 weekly unemployment payments ended and millions remained jobless. He argued that shortchanging temporary relief over deficit concerns during a period of low interest rates would be "highly misguided."
"By working together to quickly implement significant fiscal relief in these and other areas, Congress can once again throw struggling people, places and businesses the lifeline they need to make it to the other side of this crisis," Bernstein said.
Bernstein served as a senior economist and director of the Living Standards Program at the Economic Policy Institute and as the deputy chief economist at the Labor Department during the Clinton administration.
Bernstein is a former social worker who advocated policies to expand opportunities for working Americans. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Manhattan School of Music, a master's degree in social work from Hunter College and a doctorate in social welfare from Columbia University.
Heather Boushey
Boushey, a longtime economic counselor to Biden, would become a member of the Council of Economic Advisers. Boushey focused on economic inequality as CEO of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, which describes itself as "a nonprofit research and grantmaking organization dedicated to advancing evidence-backed ideas and policies that promote strong, stable and broad-based economic growth."
Boushey wrote in the journal Democracy last year that the financial meltdown and Great Recession in 2007 were neither predicted nor solved by traditional economists. She argued that economic inequality is “undermining long-held theories about the so-called natural laws of economics.”
Boushey was chief economist for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She served as an economist for the Center for American Progress, the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, the Center for Economic and Policy Research and the Economic Policy Institute.
She received her bachelor's degree from Hampshire College and a doctorate in economics from the New School for Social Research.