White House softens tone after threat to close border with Mexico - Reuters

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The White House took a step back on Tuesday from a threat to close the U.S. border with Mexico, even as a redeployment of border officers in recent days has led to a slowdown of legal crossings and commerce at U.S. ports of entry there.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the Trump administration sees Mexico “stepping up and taking a greater sense of responsibility” for dealing with the immigration flows that U.S. officials say are overwhelming ports of entry along the border.

“They have started to do a significant amount more. We’ve seen them take a larger number of individuals” and hold those who have asylum claims in Mexico while they are being processed in the United States, Sanders told reporters at the White House.

“We’ve also seen them stop more people from coming across the border so that they aren’t even entering into the United States. So those two things are certainly helpful and we’d like to see them continue,” Sanders said.

Trump threatened on Friday to close the border this week unless Mexico took steps to stop immigrants from reaching the United States illegally. Closing the border could disrupt millions of legal border crossings and billions of dollars in trade.

Trump hinted at a softening earlier in a Twitter post on Tuesday. “After many years (decades), Mexico is apprehending large numbers of people at their Southern Border, mostly from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador,” he said.

Sanders said the administration was “looking at all options when it comes to closing the different ports of entry, what that looks like and what the impacts would be.”

She told Fox News the administration wanted Mexico to continue working to address the issue so, and added that the administration is doing studies on the impact of closing different ports of entries to give Trump some options.

SLOWER BORDER

Senior U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said on Tuesday a redeployment of some 750 officers on the border to deal with a surge in migrants - mostly Central American families turning themselves into border agents - had led to a slowing of legal crossings and commerce at ports of entry.

“Wait times in Brownsville (Texas) were around 180 minutes, which were two times the peaks of last year,” said a senior DHS official on a call with reporters. “We ended the day yesterday at Otay Mesa (California) with a back-up of 150 trucks that hadn’t been processed,” the official said. “This is a reality.”

DHS officials said on the call that border facilities have been overwhelmed by families who cannot be deported quickly because they hope to seek asylum in the United States.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent cast his shadow on a plaque marking the boundaries of Mexico and United States, at Paso del Norte international border crossing bridge, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico April 1, 2019. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection estimated that some 100,000 migrants would be apprehended or encountered at the border in March, the highest level in a decade. “The system is on fire,” a DHS official said.

Because of limits on how long children are legally allowed to be held in detention, many of the families are released to await their U.S. immigration court hearings, a process that can take years because of ballooning backlogs.

To try to address the problem, the administration in late January started returning some migrants to Mexico to wait our their U.S. court dates in Mexican border cities. On Monday, DHS said it would dramatically ramp up the pace of that program, even as it is being challenged in court and immigration attorneys have raised concerns about how the process is being implemented.

Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Steve Holland in Washington and Mica Rosenberg in New York; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Alistair Bell

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration/white-house-softens-tone-after-threat-to-close-border-with-mexico-idUSKCN1RE1PE

2019-04-02 19:04:51Z
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Theresa May says U.K. to seek further delay for Brexit - NBC News

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April 2, 2019, 6:00 PM GMT

By Associated Press

LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May said Tuesday that she will seek to further delay Britain's exit from the European Union and seek to make an accord with the political opposition in a bid to break the Brexit impasse.

May made the announcement after the E.U.'s chief negotiator warned that a chaotic and costly Brexit was likely in just 10 days unless Britain snapped out of the political crisis that has paralyzed the government and Parliament.

After a seven-hour Cabinet meeting, May announced a significant softening of her Brexit terms.

"I have always been clear that we could make a success of no-deal in the long term but leaving with a deal is the best solution," she said in a televised statement from 10 Downing St.

"So we will need a further extension of (the E.U.'s) Article 50 — one that is as short as possible and which ends when we pass a deal."

Feb. 7, 201909:58

May said "this debate, this division, cannot drag on much longer" and offered to sit down with opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in an attempt to find a compromise solution.

Hours before May's statement, E.U. negotiator Michel Barnier offered E.U. legislators his downbeat assessment as British Cabinet ministers tried to thrash out a new proposal that the U.K. Parliament could consider following the defeat of the government's plan and a range of lawmaker-written alternatives.

"As things stand now, the no-deal option looks likely. I have to tell you the truth," Barnier said in Brussels. "We can still hope to avoid it" if the intensive work in London produces a breakthrough before an April 10 EU summit.

Britain could depart from the E.U. without a road map two days after the summit. The leaders of the EU's 27 remaining countries gave the U.K. until April 12 to leave the bloc or to come up with a new plan, after lawmakers thrice rejected an agreement struck between the bloc and May.

The House of Commons on Monday threw out four alternatives to May's Brexit deal — the second day of inconclusive votes on options.

May's statement seemed to indicate that she was veering away from the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.

Exiting without a deal in place would jeopardize trade and travel, with new checks on borders and new regulations on dealings between the E.U. and Britain.

Amid all the uncertainty, analysts have said the economic impact in Britain could be massive.

Ford's European boss said that if the U.K. can't work out a deal on leaving the EU that guarantees "frictionless trade," the vehicle maker "will have to consider seriously the long-term future of our investments in the country."

Ford of Europe Chairman Steven Armstrong told The Associated Press that "a no-deal Brexit would be a disaster for the automotive industry in the U.K."

Barnier warned that challenges remain for the E.U. too, though said the bloc is prepared for a chaotic exit.

"Being prepared for no deal does not mean that there will be no disruption," he said.

Barnier urged Britain's Parliament and government to take a more realistic approach as soon as possible.

"We still have a little bit of patience," he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar also made urgent appeals before May's statement for Britain to propose an alternative Brexit plan to avoid a no-deal departure.

"We cannot spend the coming months on solving terms for the divorce," Macron said before he and Varadkar met in Paris.

Varadkar stressed "there's still time" for May to come to the April 10 summit with "credible" proposals.

The EU negotiated a long post-Brexit transition period with May. But it was linked to the overall agreement that hasn't won approval in Parliament, so "there is no transition if there is no deal," Barnier said.

Barnier reiterated that the EU was unwilling to renegotiate the 585-page withdrawal agreement but said he would agree to open up the political declaration attached to the legal text.

In Britain, political chaos continued to reign as the Cabinet held a marathon session to try to find a way out of the crisis. A group of pro-Brexit ministers pressed May to go forward with a no-deal departure. Other Cabinet members and a majority of lawmakers think that would be a disaster.

"We are now in a really dangerous situation with a serious and growing risk of no deal," Labour Party legislator Yvette Cooper said.

Cooper has introduced legislation, which Parliament is set to consider, this week, that would require May to seek to extend the Brexit process beyond April 12 in order to prevent a no-deal departure.

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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/brexit-theresa-may-says-uk-seek-further-delay-n990101

2019-04-02 18:00:00Z
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Brexit: Theresa May to ask EU for further extension - BBC News

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Theresa May will ask the EU for an extension to the Brexit deadline to "break the logjam" in Parliament.

The PM says she wants to meet Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to agree a plan on the future relationship with the EU.

But she insisted her withdrawal agreement - which was voted down last week - would remain part of the deal.

Mrs May said she wanted the extension to be "as short as possible" - before 22 May so the UK does not have to take part in European elections.

The UK has until 12 April to propose a plan - which must be accepted by the EU - or it will leave without a deal.

The UK was supposed to leave the EU on 29 March, but Mrs May agreed a short extension after realising Parliament would not agree a deal by the deadline.

MPs have twice held indicative votes to try to find a consensus, but none of the proposals won a majority.

Mrs May met her cabinet for more than seven hours on Tuesday, and afterwards gave a statement from Downing Street.

She said she wanted to agree a new plan with Mr Corbyn and put it to a vote in the Commons before 10 April - when the EU will hold an emergency summit on Brexit.

If she and Mr Corbyn do not agree a single way forward, she proposed putting a number of options to MPs "to determine which course to pursue".

The PM said she understood some people were "so fed up with delay and endless arguments" they would prefer to leave without a deal, and she believed the UK "could make a success of no-deal in the long term".

But she added that leaving with a deal was "the best solution".

"This is a difficult time for everyone," said Mrs May. "Passions are running high on all sides of the argument, but we can and must find the compromises that will deliver what the British people voted for.

"This is a decisive moment in the story of these islands and it requires national unity to deliver the national interest."

How has Brexit unfolded?

November 2018: UK agrees withdrawal agreement and framework of future relations with EU

December 2018: Theresa May postpones first meaningful vote on deal to seek further assurances from EU

15 January: House of Commons rejects overall Brexit deal by 230 votes

13 March: MPs vote down Brexit deal for second time by 149 votes

22 March: EU agrees to delay Brexit beyond 29 March - but only to 12 April if UK can't agree deal within a week

29 March: MPs reject withdrawal agreement on its own by 58 votes

2 April: PM says she will seek further "short extension" from the EU

Hilary Benn, the Labour MP who chairs the Commons Brexit committee, said the PM's decision to apply for a further extension from the EU was "good news".

"I welcome the fact that the PM has finally acknowledged she cannot take the UK out of the EU next Friday with no deal," he told the BBC.

But he said Mrs May needed to show she was genuinely open to new ideas.

"She really needs to give Parliament an indication she is willing to move. If this is the first indication she will shift, that is important but if it is the same old story then it isn't."

But Brexit-supporting Labour MP Kate Hoey said "whatever compromise" Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn came up with, many MPs would simply not vote for the withdrawal agreement.

"I still feel there is an opportunity for what people actually voted for," she told the BBC's Beyond 100 Days programme.

"They voted to leave. It is really quite simple. It is just so many MPs don't want us to leave and have stopped us trying to do so."

After Mrs May's statement, the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, called for patience.

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2019-04-02 17:27:29Z
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UK's May Makes Brexit Statement After Cabinet Meeting - Bloomberg

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1. UK's May Makes Brexit Statement After Cabinet Meeting  Bloomberg
2. Brexit: Theresa May to ask EU for further extension  BBC News
3. Is Britain now hurtling towards no deal? Here are four ways it could happen  Telegraph.co.uk
4. This is the speech Theresa May should make if she really wants to save us from yet more Brexit doom  The Independent
5. Brexit: Theresa May to ask EU for further extension - BBC News  BBC News
6. View full coverage on Google News

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/live-blog/2019-04-02/u-k-s-may-makes-brexit-statement-after-cabinet-meeting

2019-04-02 17:05:00Z
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The UK will leave the EU next Tuesday - Washington Examiner

Theresa May’s government is now so out of ideas and time that Parliament as a whole has been given extraordinary powers to introduce motions to vote on. On Monday, the latest four of these failed to win a majority, even though each promoted a “Remainer” preference and should have appealed to the “Remainer” majority in Parliament.

With the failure of these latest attempts to thwart the verdict of the referendum, the United Kingdom is set to leave the European Union on April 12, but a lot can still happen before then.

May’s thrice-rejected deal will get another vote, as will other Parliamentary motions. Alternatively, May or the whole government could resign, or the government could try to delay or just call the whole thing off by revoking Article 50.

I believe the U.K. will leave the EU at the end of next week with no deal, and here is why.

First, this is what will happen by default. The date cannot be extended without EU consent and Britain taking part in upcoming EU elections. Brussels will be loath to part with £39 billion, but the EU knows the new intake of UK MEPs would most likely be even more Eurosceptic and rebellious.

What sweet irony if the EU ends up giving Brexiteers the “no-deal” exit that their own parliament has sought to deny them.

Secondly, last week the U.K. Parliament voted against May’s plan for the third time, although the margin of defeat has reduced each time, from 230 to 149 to 58. Will a fourth vote turn that still-large gap into a majority?

May did manage to win over senior Eurosceptic Conservatives such as Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg with the reasoning that her deal was now the only chance for the U.K. to leave the EU, but there are no guarantees they will repeat such an indiscretion.

How could they have voted for it at all, after claiming the deal leaves Britain in a state of permanent vassalage, forced to abide by EU directives? Indeed, one of those “turned” MP’s, Richard Drax, felt the need to apologize afterwards in the House of Commons for having voted for May’s deal and deserted his Brexit colleagues.

Thirdly, although Parliament disparages a “no-deal” exit as “falling off a cliff” or “crashing out,” it is the one option that circumvents the ongoing EU controls that May’s deal involves and saves Britain from paying the extortionate divorce bill.

The often-repeated doomsday warnings against a no-deal Brexit have little credibility among Leavers. Even the former governor of the Bank of England, Lord Mervyn King, supports “no-deal.” He sees many benefits of initially trading on World Trade Organization terms.

Brexiteers understand that once the U.K. is fully out it will then be in a much stronger position to seek genuine free trade deals with Europe and elsewhere. If Japan can have an FTA with the EU, then why not the U.K.?

Another big fan of Great Britain acquiring full independence from the EU customs union is President Trump, who is offering the U.K. a huge future trade deal. So, why is this not high on May’s agenda?

May claims she has sought to deliver an orderly exit from the EU, but her deal has the appearance of an “insurance policy” designed to prevent a clean Brexit.

Just as the deep state didn’t want Trump elected president, Brexit wasn’t part of the U.K. establishment’s plan either. But so far, every alternative they have tried to come up with to delay, block, or redefine it has failed.

The real heroes of Brexit have been the 10 members of Parliament from the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland, led by Arlene Foster. They formed an alliance to keep the Conservatives in power after the disastrous last election, preventing Jeremy Corbyn from taking over.

Since then, they have consistently voted against May’s deal and energized “Leaver” Conservative MPs to follow suit. The DUP’s reason is that they place keeping the U.K. together above all else. They know that May’s deal has the potential to divide Northern Ireland from mainland Britain.

What a pity that such patriotism didn’t factor as highly in the Prime Minister’s thoughts when she first proposed the backstop to prevent Northern Ireland from being cut off from the rest of the U.K.

Andrew Davies is a UK-based video producer and script writer.

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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/the-uk-will-leave-the-eu-next-tuesday

2019-04-02 15:09:00Z
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Wall Street on Brexit: Top banks predict what will happen next - CNBC

Brexit may look like a confused mess for many, but the big banks are still making calls.

The U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has seen her preferred deal with Europe rejected three times, but the very same U.K. lawmakers that voted it down have themselves failed twice to agree on any alternatives.

On Tuesday, May called an extended meeting of her senior ministers to try to formulate a plan as the clock ticks down to Europe's next deadline — April 22.

Whether the government heaves toward a no-deal departure, calls a snap general election, works out a softer Brexit or doesn't even leave the European Union are all given similar credibility.

CNBC takes a look at what Wall Street thinks will happen next.

Goldman Sachs said Brexit has cost the U.K. £600 million ($783 million) a week since the 2016 referendum, with economic growth declining by around 2.5 percent.

"The resulting uncertainty over the future political and economic relationship with the EU has had real costs for the U.K. economy, which have spilled over to other economies," Goldman analysts said in a note to clients this week.

The bank also sees a 15 percent chance of a no-deal Brexit which would cause a 17 percent decline in the pound.

The bank has assigned a 35 percent probability of Brexit not happening at all.

The inability of lawmakers, so far, to forge a clear path forward has given May a tiny bit of wiggle room to potentially return to the Houses of Parliament with a fourth shot at getting her provisional agreement over the line.

With parliamentary convention dictating that the vote may have to somehow differ in substance from previous attempts, the bank suggests there could be a run-off vote against another option.

Of the alternatives that lawmakers have been looking into, J.P. Morgan predicts Parliament will coalesce around a single "softer Brexit" option this week.

The bank's greatest probability is a general election at 30 percent, with May's agreement or a long extension to the U.K. exit placed at 20 percent. A second referendum or a no deal are both the least likely options at 15 percent each.

Citi doesn't indicate preferences or probabilities to any Brexit outcome.

However, the bank is not alone in noting that the ruling Conservative Party appears to be hardening toward a "no-deal" Brexit.

Around 200 Conservative lawmakers have reportedly signed a letter to the prime minister demanding a "managed" no-deal exit. But Citi still expects the U.K government to back away from the cliff edge.

The bank noted that a general election would only increase uncertainty and would possibly strengthen the hand of the separatist Scottish National Party (SNP).

On the prospect of May returning her vote to Parliament, Citi believes it would once again be defeated.

The chances of Britain crashing out of the European Union without a deal on April 12 have increased to one in four, according to Deutsche Bank.

The German lender said Monday that it was now bearish on the pound as confusion over the U.K.'s withdrawal from Europe continued.

The bank raised its estimate for the chances of a no-deal Brexit to 25 percent from 20 percent and is targeting an exchange rate of 90 pence per euro. On Monday, the euro was buying 85.61 pence.

Deutsche's base case scenario, which holds a 30 percent probability, is that any consensus agreed by Parliament will fail to be enacted by the government and a general election will be required.

In its note, Deutsche said new elections should not be viewed positively and not just because of the potential for a left-wing Labour government.

"More relevant, in our view is the fact that polling suggests the result could be similar to that in 2017, which has led to the current parliamentary deadlock," said Deutsche Bank macro strategist, Oliver Harvey.

Swiss giant UBS uses its latest Brexit analysis to suggest that an early general election in the U.K. may now be inevitable.

Elections in the U.K. are now held every five years unless there is a vote of no confidence in the government or two-thirds of lawmakers vote in favor of holding one.

UBS thinks the latter scenario could be possible as Conservative lawmakers gamble that they could increase their level of support at the ballot box, allowing a greater mandate for May to pass her Brexit deal.

UBS analysis of swing seats has suggested a Brexit-focused election could be of greater help to the Conservatives than the opposition Labour party.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/02/wall-street-on-brexit-top-banks-predict-what-will-happen-next.html

2019-04-02 12:57:12Z
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Brexit: MPs push to prevent no-deal in law - BBC News

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A cross-party group of MPs has put forward a bill to prevent a no-deal Brexit in 10 days' time.

If passed into law, the bill would require the PM to ask for an extension of Article 50 - which mandates the UK's exit date from the EU - beyond the current 12 April deadline.

Labour MP Yvette Cooper presented the bill for debate on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the EU's chief negotiator has said a no-deal Brexit is now more likely but can still be avoided.

Michel Barnier said a long extension to the UK's 12 April exit date had "significant risks for the EU" and a "strong justification would be needed".

Tory MP Sir Oliver Letwin, who supports Ms Cooper's bill, said: "This is a last-ditch attempt to prevent our country being exposed to the risks inherent in a no-deal exit.

"We realise this is difficult. But it is definitely worth trying."

Ms Cooper said the UK was "in a very dangerous situation" and MPs "have a responsibility to make sure we don't end up with a catastrophic no deal".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's World At One, she added: "We have been attempting to squeeze into just a couple of days a process that really should have been happening for the last two years - a process of trying to build a consensus around the best way forward.

"It is what the prime minister should be doing. It is the prime minister's responsibility to ensure we don't leave the country less safe."

In March, MPs voted against leaving the EU without a deal, but it was not legally-binding.

Why is this bill unusual?

Normally the government chooses which bills to present to Parliament in order for them to become law.

But - much to the government's disapproval - MPs voted to allow backbenchers to take charge of business in the Commons on Wednesday.

This gives backbenchers the opportunity to set aside more time on Thursday to pass the bill into law, as they will be in charge.

The bill would need to go through the usual process on Thursday before it becomes law - including being agreed by the House of Lords and receiving Royal Assent.

Brexiteer Tory Sir Bill Cash said trying to go through these stages in one day made it a "reprehensible procedure".

But Speaker John Bercow said that, while it was "an unusual state of affairs", it was "not as unprecedented as he supposes" - citing recent bills on Northern Ireland that have been passed at the same speed.

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said a third set of so-called indicative votes could still take place alongside this process, but the focus of the cross-party group was now approving the bill - with the hope that it will pass on Thursday.

Elsewhere, the BBC's John Pienaar said Theresa May's cabinet has considered plans to "ramp up" no-deal Brexit preparations. A snap general election was also discussed.

In the latest round of indicative votes on Monday, MPs voted on four alternatives to the PM's withdrawal deal, but none gained a majority.

MPs rejected a customs union with the EU by three votes. A motion for another referendum got the most votes in favour, but still lost.

The votes were not legally binding, but they had been billed as the moment when Parliament might finally compromise.

• What does a soft Brexit mean?
• How could Brexit be delayed?

Earlier, Mr Barnier said: "No deal was never our desire or intended scenario but the EU 27 is now prepared. It becomes day after day more likely."

He told the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee that "things are somewhat hanging on the decisions of the House of Commons", and that the deal was negotiated with the UK "not against the UK".

"If we are to avoid a no-deal Brexit, there is only one way forward - they have got to vote on a deal.

"There is only one treaty available - this one," he said, waving the withdrawal agreement.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Mrs May's plan for the UK's departure has been rejected by MPs three times.

Last week, Parliament took control of the process away from the government in order to hold a series of votes designed to find an alternative way forward.

Eight options were put to MPs, but none was able to command a majority, and on Monday night, a whittled-down four were rejected too.

What next?

• Tuesday 2 April: A five-hour cabinet meeting
• Wednesday 3 April: Potentially another round of indicative votes, and Yvette Cooper's bill to be debated
• Thursday 4 April: Theresa May could bring her withdrawal deal back to Parliament for a fourth vote, while MPs could also vote on Ms Cooper's bill
• Wednesday 10 April: Emergency summit of EU leaders to consider any UK request for further extension
• Friday 12 April: Brexit day, if UK does not seek / EU does not grant further delay
• 23-26 May: European Parliamentary elections

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47789298

2019-04-02 12:27:20Z
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