THE CHURCH MILITANT
Ephesians 5:11-"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them". This Christian News Blog maintains a one stop resource of current news and reports of its own related to church, moral, spiritual, and related political issues, plus articles, and postings from other online discernment ministries, and media which share the aims to obey the biblical commands to shed light on and refute error, heresy, apostasy, cults, and spiritual abuse.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wrote in celebration of the same-sex “marriage” of famed pop singer Elton John in 2005, a link to his Trump University website shows.
“There’s a lot to celebrate this holiday season. Elton John married his long-time partner David Furnish on December 21,” Trump wrote on December 22, 2005 (click here to view). “That’s the first day that civil partnerships between gay couples became legal in England under the new Civil Partnership Act.”
He said that he knew both men and opined that their “marriage” should last.
“Elton credits David with helping him kick drug and alcohol addictions that nearly killed him,” Trump said. “The pair has been together for 12 years. I know both of them and they get along wonderfully. It’s a marriage that’s going to work.”
He sent well wishes to the two men, saying, “If two people dig each other, they dig each other.”
“In any event, I’m very happy for them. If two people dig each other, they dig each other,” Trump stated. “Good luck, Elton. Good luck, David. Have a great life.”
“But because I wasn’t invited, do I still have to send them a toaster?” he added.
Trump has also acknowledged that he himself has attended a homosexual “wedding,” telling the Hollywood Reporter last year that he attended the ceremony of Broadway theater owner Jordan Roth.
“You say you would have liked the states, rather than the Supreme Court, to decide on gay marriage. Have you been to a gay wedding?” the outlet asked.
“Yes, I have,” Trump replied. “Jordan Roth. You know Jordan, right? Great guy.”
However, last year, Trump stated that he does not support same-sex “marriage,” although the does believe that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges is “the law of the land.”
“You have to go with it. I mean, you have to go with it. The decision has been made, and that is the law of the land,” he told MCNBC last September when asked about the controversy surrounding Kentucky clerk Kim Davis.
As previously reported, last month, Trump was interviewed by lesbian publisher Susan O’Connell of the homosexual publication Bay Windows, who asked, “When President Trump is in office can we look for more forward motion on equality for gays and lesbians?”
“Well, you can,” Trump, who personally opposes “gay marriage,” replied. “And look, again, we’re going to bring people together. And that’s your thing (homosexuality) and other people have their thing. We have to bring all people together, and if we don’t we’re not going to have a country anymore.”
DETROIT, Mich. — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders expressed his support for allowing abortion without restriction until birth during a televised town hall event on Monday.
Sanders, a socialist, attended the event in Detroit to push for votes ahead of Tuesday’s primary.
“Can you name a single circumstance at any point in a pregnancy in which you would be okay with abortion being illegal?” Fox News anchor Bret Baier asked.
“It’s not a question of being okay,” Sanders replied. “I believe that it is wrong for the government to be telling a woman what to do with her own body.”
He said that he found it ironic that many who support limited government also believe that the government should get involved in regard to the issue of abortion.
“There are a whole lot of people out there who tell me that government is terrible, government is awful, get government off our backs,” Sanders stated. “But somehow on this issue they want to tell every woman in America what she should do with her body.”
Baier then reiterated his initial question asking if Sanders supports any restrictions at all.
“I guess the genesis of the question is that, you know, there are some Democrats who say after five months, with the exception of the life of the mother or the health of the baby, that perhaps that’s something to look at,” he said. “You’re saying no.”
“I am very strongly pro-choice,” Sanders replied. “That is a decision to be made by the woman, her physician and her family. That’s my view.”
Last month, the Democratic presidential candidate stated that there is dismay as to why organizations such as Planned Parenthood have endorsed Hillary Clinton over himself as he has long been in favor of abortion on demand.
“If you have 100 percent Planned Parenthood voting record—100 percent pro-choice voting record—there are people who are asking, ‘Why is the leadership not either supporting Bernie Sanders or why are they, you know, opposing him?” he said.
“We are not going back to the days when women had to risk their lives to end an unwanted pregnancy. The decision about abortion must remain a decision for the woman and her doctor to make, not the government,” Sander’s campaign website outlines. “We are not going to allow the extreme right-wing to defund Planned Parenthood; we are going to expand it.”
“As president, Sen. Sanders will only nominate Supreme Court justices who understand that Roe v. Wade is the law of the land and recognize the rights of women to have access to family planning services,” it further explains.
Hillary Clinton was also interviewed during the Town Hall and likewise expressed her support for abortion, but said, “I have been on record in favor of a late-pregnancy regulation that would have exceptions for the life and health of the mother. I object to Congress to pass a law saying after 20 weeks, no such exceptions.”
When asked if she believes an unborn child should have any protections in the womb, she pointed to Roe v. Wade, claiming that abortion is a mother’s right.
“It’s not much of a right if it’s totally limited and constrained, so we’ve got to continue to stand up for a woman’s right to make these decisions and to defend Planned Parenthood, which has done an enormous amount of good work across our country,” she asserted.
Nearly 60 million children have been murdered in the womb since the passage of Roe v. Wade in 1973.
A prominent pro-life organization is going on the offensive against the “extreme” pro-abortion positions held by Democratic hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, which recruits and funds female pro-life politicians, said that the Democrats’ support for late-term abortion “is a liability” in the general election.
“Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders were finally asked about abortion last night, and we now know why it’s been avoided up until this point,” Dannenfelser said in a release. “Both oppose legislation that would protect unborn children from brutally painful late-term abortions after five months of pregnancy.”
Sanders and Clinton were grilled about abortion at a town hall hosted by Fox News on Monday. Both candidates responded to questions from anchor Brett Baier by highlighting their commitment to abortion.
“Women have this right to make this highly personal decision with their family in accordance with their faith, with their doctor,” Clinton said. “It’s not much of a right if it is totally limited and constrained. So I think we have to continue to stand up for a woman’s right to make these decisions, and to defend Planned Parenthood.”
Clinton became the first Democrat to receive Planned Parenthood’s endorsement in a presidential primary. Employees of the nation’s top abortionist have pumped more than $20,000 to her campaign, which has in turn paid Planned Parenthood about $5,000 for volunteer hours and “staff time.”
Sanders, who has only received a handful of small-dollar contributions from abortionists, echoed his opposition to legislation that would limit late-term abortions.
“I happen to believe that it is wrong for the government to be telling a woman what to do with her own body,” Sanders said. “I am very strongly pro-choice. That is a decision to be made by the woman, her physician, and her family. That’s my view.”
Late term abortion bans starting at 20 weeks have passed in several states, as well as the House of Representatives. Dannenfelser said the Democrats could meet resistance from voters in the general election.
“Clinton knows her support for late-term abortion is a liability, and is desperately trying to hide it,” she said in the release.
Multiplepolls have shown that about 60 percent of Americans support bans on abortions after 20 weeks—roughly five months—into a pregnancy, and 80 percent oppose third trimester abortions. Sanders and Clinton enjoy 100 percent ratings from abortion lobbyist NARAL, which opposes any restrictions on late-term abortion. Both opposed the partial birth abortion ban signed by George W. Bush that eliminated a process in which doctors deliver a baby feet-first, in order to stab him in the head before it fully from the womb.
The Fox News town hall was the first time that Democrats were questioned about their views on abortion.
Planned Parenthood has been a topic of conversation at nearly every Republican debate in light of congressional efforts to cease the $500 million taxpayers send to the abortionist every year. Front runner Donald Trump is the only candidate who supports continuing to send taxpayer dollars to the group. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio criticized the media for refusing to ask “extremists” in the Democratic Party about the issue at a February debate.
“There have been five Democratic debates. The media has not asked them a single question on abortion, and on abortion, the Democrats are extremists. Why doesn’t the media ask Hillary Clinton why she believes that all abortions should be legal, even on the due date of that unborn child?” Rubio said. “Why don’t they ask Hillary Clinton why she believes that partial-birth abortion, which is a gruesome procedure that has been outlawed in this country, she thinks that’s a fundamental right. They are the extremists when it comes to the issue of abortion, and I can’t wait to expose them in a general election.”
Clinton has walked back her support for late-term abortion on the campaign trail, telling MSNBC in September that she supported “restrictions in the very end of the third trimester.”
She reiterated to Baier that she is “in favor of a late pregnancy regulation that would have exceptions for the life and health of the mother.” Dannenfelser said that the “health” exception would be so elastic as to “render such a regulation meaningless.” She said that the debate has provided ammunition from pro-lifers in this effort.
“SBA List already has hundreds of paid field staff on the ground in key battleground states ensuring voters know the truth about Clinton’s extreme views on abortion,” Dannenfelser said.
Planned Parenthood is currently being investigated by several states, federal agencies, and congressional committees after the emergence of undercover videos showing top executives candidly discussing the sale of aborted baby body parts.
NEW YORK — The Democratic mayor of New York City has signed an executive order that allows those of the opposite sex to use city-owned restroom facilities and locker rooms in accordance with their “gender identity.”
The order applies to parks, pool areas, playgrounds, recreation centers, office buildings and other city-owned facilities, and allows persons to use the desired restrooms without having to first show identification or any medical documentation.
“Today’s order makes it clear that New York City fully supports the right of every New Yorker to use the single-sex facility consistent with their gender identity,” Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “New York City is the birthplace of the fight for LGBT rights, and we continue to lead in that fight so every New Yorker can live with dignity.”
The order applies to both transgender and “gender non-conforming” persons, the latter of whom are defined as those “who do not follow other people’s ideas or stereotypes about how they should look or act based on the female or male sex they were assigned at birth.”
There are an estimated 25,000 residents who identify as transgender or gender non-conforming in New York City.
“Every day, no matter where they go, transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers are burdened with worry, that when they need the certainty of privacy for personal needs, it won’t be there for them,” said de Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray. “Today, we take a step towards equity for those New Yorkers.”
The order comes just months after the New York City Commission on Human Rights announced new guidelines under the city’s Human Rights Law that may impose fines on employers who use masculine pronouns for male workers who wish to identify as women and vice versa.
As previously reported, the Commission released its interpretive guide in December, which includes a prohibition on “[i]ntentionally failing to use an individual’s preferred name, pronoun or title,” such as “repeatedly calling a transgender woman ‘him’ or ‘Mr.’ when she has made it clear that she prefers female pronouns and a female title.”
The guidelines further state that employers “should not limit the options for identification to male and female only,” as “[s]ome transgender and gender non-conforming people prefer to use pronouns other than he/him/his or she/her/hers, such as they/them/theirs or ze/hir.”
Employers are also banned from having dress codes that would require men to dress as men and women to dress as women or to require workers to use the restroom that correlates with their birth gender. Businesses are likewise required to offer health benefits for employees seeking to obtain sex change treatments.
Violations could result in penalties up to $125,000 and up to $250,000 for transgressions of the law that are considered to be “willfull, wanton or malicious conduct.”
However, not all believe that one must support and affirm a person’s desire to live as those of the opposite sex. As previously reported, Walt Heyer, a 75-year-old man who obtained a sex change operation in the 1980’s to live as a woman for eight years before reverting back to his biological gender, is now sharing his story with the world of how Christ redeemed his life and gave him hope.
“Nobody’s ever born a transgender,” he told the Daily Mail last January. “They’re manufactured as a result of something, a developmental childhood issue that has yet to be determined for many people.”
“All of them have some level of depression, and we’re not treating them,” Heyer lamented. “We’re just cutting off body parts and giving them a new name and a new gender.”
“God designed man; He designed women,” he also said in a video recorded last year. “God will redeem the lives of people who struggle with gender identity issues just like I did. He redeemed my life, and I’ve been free from it as a result of that.”
The West Virginia legislature successfully overturned the veto of Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s veto on Saturday in a bipartisan effort to enact permitless gun carry in the state.
Beginning June 5, anyone over age 21 who can legally possess a firearm will be allowed to carry it concealed on their person without having to obtain a permit. West Virginia has long allowed permitless open carry but, like most states, required a permit to carry a concealed firearm. With the new law the state will become the eighth in the nation to implement what gun rights activists call “constitutional carry.”
The law also creates a provisional permitting process for those between the ages of 18 and 20 who wish to carry a concealed firearm within the state. Individuals between the ages of 18 and 20 had previously been excluded from the permitting process altogether.
West Virginia’s move to permitless carry marks the continuation of a national trend that began in 2003. Before then, only Vermont allowed law-abiding adults to carry concealed firearms without a permit. The pace accelerated over the last five years, with seven states adopting the policy.
Concealed carry laws vary from state to state, but most adhere to one of three basic structures. The most popular, which is in effect in 34 states, is commonly referred to as a “shall-issue” structure, where applicants must be issued a permit if they pass a background check along with whatever training and identification requirements are set by the state.
The most restrictive type of concealed carry law, adopted by only eight states, is the “may-issue” structure in which applicants can still be denied a permit even if they meet all of the requirements set out by the state. May-issue concealed carry laws often issue very few concealed carry permits to residents.
The last type of gun carry law, adopted by only eight states, is the “Constitutional carry” permitless structure that West Virginia has now approved.
The trend toward less restrictive gun carry laws has been cheered and promoted by gun rights activists at the national and state level. The West Virginia Citizens Defense League, which helped write their state’s law, applauded the bipartisan vote to override the governor’s veto.
“We’re extremely pleased that the legislature stood with West Virginia gun owners, showed their trust in lawful gun owners, and overrode the veto of Governor Tomblin,” Art Thomm, the group’s vice president and head lobbyist, told the Washington Free Beacon. “It’s certainly a great day for West Virginia gun owners.”
The National Rifle Association echoed the West Virginia group’s sentiment. “Self-defense is a fundamental right that must be respected,” Chris Cox, head of the NRA’s lobbying arm, said in a statement. “Law-abiding West Virginians are now free to choose the method of self-defense that best suits their needs. The NRA and our five million members are pleased that the legislature voted in support of West Virginians’ Second Amendment freedoms.” _______________________________________________________ SEE ALSO: http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/22731-west-virginia-legalizes-permitless-concealed-carry
Thousands of migrants march from Croatia into Slovenia as authorities struggle to cope with Europe’s largest migration of people since World War II – October 26, 2015. (Getty)
POPE CALLS MIGRANT CRISIS ‘ARAB INVASION’, SAYS EUROPE MUST
‘REDISCOVER ITS CULTURAL ROOTS’
Pope Francis has described the European migration crisis as an “Arab invasion”
Pope Francis has described the European migration crisis as an “Arab invasion”. He said that “Europe weakens” by “forgetting its own history”, but, because of its low birth rate and colonial history, the mass migration could be beneficial.
“Today we can talk about an Arab invasion”, the Roman Catholic leader told the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano this Thursday. “It is a social fact”.
“How many invasions has Europe experienced in the course of its history?” he asked. “But [Europe] has always been able to overcome herself… increased by the exchange between cultures”, he answered.
Millions of migrants from the Muslim world walked into Europe last year, and more than 131,000 have arrived via the Mediterranean in the first two moths of this year alone – more than the total number who made it in the first half of 2015.
“There’s something that bothers me,” added Pope Francis, who has been considered a relatively liberal Pontiff. “Of course, globalization unites us and thus has positive aspects. But, I think there are good and less good [aspects of] globalization”, he said.
In his view, a good version of globalization would allow humanity to remain “united, but, every people, every nation, retains its identity, its culture, its wealth”.
“The only continent that can bring some unity to the world is Europe,” he went on. “China has perhaps a more ancient culture, more profound. But only Europe has a vocation of universality and of service”, the Pope said.
“If Europe wants to rejuvenate, it must rediscover it’s cultural roots. Of all the Western countries, Europe has the stronger and deeper roots.
“Through colonization, these roots have even reached the new world. But forgetting its own history, Europe weakens. It is then that it risks becoming an empty place”, he stated.
Next he addressed the European Union (EU). “Sometimes I wonder where you’ll find a Schumann or Adenauer, these great founders of the European Union”, he said, appearing to imply that the EU was in need of reform.
His criticism was cryptic: “It [the EU] confuses politics with circumstantial solutions. Of course, you must come to the negotiating table, but only if you are aware that you have to lose something because we all earn.”
“Your secularism is incomplete… We need a healthy secularism”, he added, taking aim at France’s fiercely secular constitution. “In the Hispanic world it is said that France is the eldest daughter of the Church, but not necessarily the most faithful daughter”.
Finally, he seemed to recognize that radical Islam was the root cause of much violence in the world. “We work hard to build dialogue between Christians and Muslims… Every religion has its extremists. The ideological degeneration of religion is at the origin of the war”, he concluded. _______________________________________________________
Terrorism works, you see. In response to Muslim migrants behaving in accord with Sharia teachings about how Infidel women can be treated, this German water park is adopting Sharia restrictions on the mixing of the sexes. The Islamization of Germany proceeds apace, and to oppose it would be “racist” and “neo-Nazi” and “Islamophobic.”
“German swimming pool where two migrant sex attacks have been carried out says it has been forced to segregate men and women,” by Simon Tomlinson, MailOnline, March 5, 2016 (thanks to Blazing Cat Fur):
A German water park that has been the scene of two sex attacks by migrants have announced plans to segregate men and women.
The plan will involve banning men and teenage boys from using the water slides at certain times when only women, girls and very young boys will be allowed access.
It comes days after police arrested two asylum seekers from Afghanistan for a sex attack on two girls on the slides at the Arriba water park in Norderstedt in the Schleswig-Holstein region.
The girls aged 14 and 18 had been using the water slides but their attackers, both from Afghanistan aged 14 and 34, had been waiting for them at the bottom and had then sexually assaulted them.
The accused are being kept in custody as prosecutors said that the degree of the sexual assault was so severe that it justified rape charges.
Before that, the fun park was at the centre of similar problems last summer when four teenagers aged 15 and the fifth aged 17 had also been molested on the slides by a group of asylum seekers.
Seven boys had blocked the slide with their rubber rings and then started groping the girls on the breasts and had been putting their hands between their legs.
At the time, Arriba boss Ruud Swaen, 55, said he regretted what had happened and added: ‘We will be doing everything to make sure something like this doesn’t happen in the future.’
But those measures did not stop the attack in February on the two teenagers, although the water park is still not going as far as banning asylum seekers.
Instead they have pledged to have the segregation of women and men on the slides at certain times, as well as further security cameras on top of the 48 already being used.
They have also hired plainclothes security officials, dressed in swimwear to look like other visitors, who will be on patrol swimming in the pools and using the slides.
Germany has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on the distribution of posters in numerous languages aimed at asylum seekers, informing them of correct behaviour towards women….
EXCERPTS: “The protection of minorities – including for religious reasons – must not mean that the majority is overruled in their free decision by ill-conceived consideration,” Günther said, arguing that tolerance also means “the appreciation and sufferance of other food cultures and lifestyles.”
Günther told local German newspaper “Lübecker Nachrichten” that at least one nursery in every voting district had stopped serving pork after taking Muslim children into consideration. _______________________________________________________
Germany Bans Pork In Schools To Appease Muslims
Published on Mar 8, 2016
SCHOOLS and canteens in Germany have BANNED pork from their menus over fears of offending Muslim migrants, a top politician has revealed. http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/6...
DELAWARE CHEAP: TAXPAYERS FOOT THE BILL WHILE DELAWARE'S POTHOLES GO UNFILLED FOR THE LAST TWO WINTERS, BIDEN LUXURIATES IN THE SUN EVEN HIS WEALTHY HOMETOWN OF GREENVILLE CAN'T SATISFY HIS JADED TASTES; ALL AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE ONCE AGAIN
BIDEN'S ONE NIGHT VISIT TO MEXICO CITY COST $538,528 FOR HOTELS ALONE
VP stayed at luxury Intercontinental Presidente Hotel
Vice President Joe Biden’s hotel tab for his recent one-night stay in Mexico City cost taxpayers more than $500,000.
Biden, who attended an annual economic summit with Mexican leaders, stayed at the luxury Intercontinental Presidente Hotel. Biden led a delegation attending the summit that included Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.
The trip called for 260 hotel rooms and meeting spaces, according to a State Department contract. The total hotel tab was $538,528.65.
The government said the trip costs were justified due to security concerns and last-minute planning.
“In addition to supporting a large delegation within a short time frame, last minute and frequent changes of itineraries for supporting personnel often result in significant changes in how Posts work with the vendors,” the State Department said. “With the exception of a few trips, contracts are not permitted to be signed until the Department of State (Post) has written confirmation from all supporting agencies, which enables collection of funds from said agencies in the event of cancellation.”
“These unique Senior High-Level USG [U.S. government] VIP travel requirements result in only a single or a very limited number of responsible sources with no other supplies or services capable of satisfying agency requirement,” they added.
Biden spent only one night in Mexico City, according to the White House schedule. He departed Washington on Wednesday, Feb. 24, and was in Mexico on Thursday to attend meetings for the summit. By Friday, he was in Utah for a “round table on cancer.”
News reports on what was accomplished at the economic summit are scarce, except for reporting on Biden feeling the need to “almost” apologize to Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto for some of Donald Trump’s remarks on immigration. No press pool for the Vice President was filed during the trip.
“Forty-two stories high, this cosmopolitan Mexico City hotel puts the city at your feet,” reads the description of the hotel’s website. “Located in the thriving Polanco district, you’re immersed in a Mexican experience that’s uniquely local yet international.”
The hotel has “world class” rain showers and blackout blinds. Executive rooms and suites are “comfortable and luxurious” and have televisions in the bathroom.
The Intercontinental Presidente also offers numerous spa treatments, including steam bathing, massages, beauty treatments, body scrubs, body wraps, foot reflexology, manicures and pedicures, and waxing.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget for fiscal 2017 will fund 300 fewer Border Patrol agents in 2017 than it did for this fiscal year, reported KRGV.com on March 1. KRGV.com is the website of KRGV, the local ABC affiliate television station for the Rio Grand Valley in far south Texas.
The cut in funding for agents comes at a time when illegal cross-border traffic is high and, if anything, more Border Patrol agents are needed to secure our border.
“One, we have people turning themselves in at unprecedented rates. Then we have the people that are always coming in illegally,” KRGV quoted National Border Patrol Council Local 3307 Vice President Chris Cabrera. “Then we have the drug flow that’s coming north and the money that’s going south and guns that are going south. And to cut jobs at a time like this is a recipe for disaster.”
Cabrera, as the spokesperson for the organization that represents nearly 17,000 U.S. Border Patrol agents, has been vocal in making the problems associated with securing our borders known to the public.
Speaking to Breitbart Texas last June, Cabrera said that during the previous few weeks, the numbers of unaccompanied minors and incomplete family units coming across the border had been rapidly increasing. “This is starting to resemble the summer border surge of 2014,” Cabrera told Breitbart. “We are not nearly at the numbers we were last year, but it looks like we are in the opening stages. We had two groups equal a little over 70 in one hour today. These were women and children,” Cabrera continued. “We’ve also seen a lot of children traveling alone.”
During that interview, Cabrera also observed a phenomenon that we had reported on during the 2014 surge. Instead of hiding from Border Patrol agents to sneak into the country, as illegal aliens have traditionally done, many of the children and women who have crossed the border illegally have been seeking out Border Patrol agents and turning themselves in. “This is really the mark that indicates a coming crisis,” said Cabrera. “When the women and children start seeking out agents, we know there is word spreading in their home countries that they can come and be set free.”
Just as the number of Border Patrol agents defending our borders is scheduled to drop, the influx of illegal aliens crossing them is likely to rise. And there is a new phenomenon contributing to this rise, along with lax border enforcement and the granting of amnesty to illegal aliens in the past.
A Reuters report on March 1 revealed that potential migrants in Latin American have been watching the political scene in the United States and are fearful of what will happen if Donald Trump or another tough-on-illegal-immigration Republican is elected president.
The report noted that more migrants are trying to cross the border illegally now because they are fearful of tighter policing and new policies to halt illegal immigration if Trump or another Republican wins the November 8 election. “If Trump wins, we’re all screwed and all Latinos are screwed,” Reuters quoted Isaias Franco, identified as an illegal from El Salvador who was deported from the United States late last year and is now trying to get back. Franco spoke to reporters at a migrant shelter in Ciudad Juarez, just across the border from El Paso, Texas.
The report noted that Franco, like other potential illegal aliens, is aware of the U.S. presidential race and Trump’s commitment, matched by fellow Republican candidate Ted Cruz, to deport all the illegal immigrants in the United States. Their numbers are estimated at more than 11 million. “You watch the news.... There’s a lot of fear among Latinos,” Franco said, adding that a Republican victory would mean the end of proposed reforms to give many immigrants greater protection from deportation.
The report also quoted Blanca Rivera, who manages the Ciudad Juarez migrant shelter, who has noticed a recent surge in the numbers of migrants, which she attributes to Trump’s strong anti-illegal immigrant rhetoric. “They think they need to take advantage while they can,” said Rivera.
