Border security tops list of voter concerns in Arizona – the ‘ground zero’ of election denial

Published

3 years ago

November 1, 2022

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They wear giant slippers with soles of carpet.

It’s the standard item for immigrants making an illegal crossing over the US border into Arizona – the crude wrap-around footwear with carpeted soles that don’t show tracks in the desert sand.

And we saw them everywhere – discarded with camouflaged jackets and trousers, worn to blend with the landscape and offer concealment from border patrols.

A sighting of dumped ‘cammo’ is the signature evidence of another one that got away.

It doesn’t work every time.

We joined a twilight patrol with a sheriff’s deputy in Cochise County, where Mexico meets Arizona. It was a late shift on the border, hovering on Highway 92 – until the handbrake turn that signified a sighting.

Roadside cameras had picked up movement on a stretch of highway, well-used as a pick-up point. People making illegal crossings are directed here by the cartels they pay for passage.

Those criminal gangs recruit drivers in the United States through social media, often teenagers. They are paid a fee, typically $2,000 a head, to pick up the immigrants and drive them north.

Our deputy’s search took him into the scrub by the roadside, underneath drains and through weeds, until his torch shone on three people, a man and two women dressed in camouflage and carpeted footwear, hiding silently in the darkened undergrowth.

Crisis levels of illicit exports

They were a sad sight – weary, dejected and eagerly clutching the water provided by the border officials who marched them into the rear of their pick-up vehicle.

The smuggling infrastructure that facilitates human traffic across the Mexican border is exploited to transport drugs, too – in crisis quantities.

Illicit export into the United States is fuelling crisis levels of use of the drug fentanyl, in particular.

Small wonder border security, as a midterm election issue, is top of the list for many in Arizona.

“We spend a lot of our time chasing the border challenges,” said Sheriff of Cochise County Mark Dannels.

“They’re running through people’s properties, breaking in, car pursuits at 100 miles an hour every day in this county.”

“In 2021, Arizona led the nation – over five million pills were seized here in southern Arizona.

“Our problem is our president, our leadership in Congress, has to change the message – has to get the politics out of it and has to have action behind it.

“We can’t get our president, or leadership of Congress, to even admit there’s an issue out here.

“It’s frustrating for me that the federal government says we don’t have a problem. It’s a huge challenge, and it’s insulting.”

Border security plays into the election priorities in Arizona.

It’s at the core of debate alongside the economy, abortion and crime – significant subject matter and yet, for many, sub-headings at these midterms.

In this voting process, the power of the vote itself is the issue threaded through the campaign.

The Democrats’ warning, from the president down, is of democracy under threat from election denial embedded in the electoral process.

The Republican Party is fielding more than 300 candidates, for various positions of power, who believe the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.

Prominent among them is Kari Lake, who is standing for the post of governor in Arizona.

She has star quality, no doubt.

The Trump-loyalist is a polished former TV anchor who glides through the campaign trail on an “Ask Me Anything” tour.

Not that anyone asks about election fraud.

There’s a reason for that – no-one doubts it in the court of Kari, Trump loyalist.

We attended her event at the Fire House in Peoria, Arizona, squeezed in alongside TV crews from Japan and France, present to witness a growing phenomenon in US politics.

This poster girl of election denialism is touted as a potential running mate for Mr Trump, should he stand for the presidency in 2024.

I spoke to several members of the audience, and they were as polite as they were strident in volunteering that “the media” was to blame for an election fraud that cost Mr Trump the presidency.

In an awkward, yet somehow matey, interaction, the crowd was encouraged by Ms Lake to turn in their chairs and wave to the “fake news” filming from the back of the room.

For them, cheerful affirmation of election denialism is as routine as it is casual, in a Republican Party that feels Donald Trump’s gravitational pull.

Doubting the integrity of an electoral process has long since evolved from a fringe concept into a mainstream and widely-held conviction – never mind there’s no evidence to suggest election fraud of any material significance.

If Ms Lake becomes governor in Arizona, and polls indicate she has every chance, it will be her job to certify the state’s count at the 2024 presidential election.

This is a Trump-loyalist who claims he was robbed in 2020; she won’t fully endorse the integrity of the midterm election she’s standing in.

I asked her: “Is the only election you’ll endorse, one that you win?”

Her answer was: “I will absolutely accept the results of a fair, honest and transparent election.”

It is a straight answer few would disagree with. It’s also one that leaves the door open to denying the integrity of the electoral process.

Who will be surprised if that doesn’t come to pass?

This is Arizona, which saw challenges, audits and lawsuits that led nowhere after the 2020 election.

It was pantomime protest that saw this state dubbed “ground zero” for election denial – that might just have been the curtain-raiser.

US

Donald Trump announces 30% tariff on imports from EU

Published

3 hours ago

July 12, 2025

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Donald Trump announces 30% tariff on imports from EU

Donald Trump has announced he will impose a 30% tariff on imports from the European Union from 1 August.

The tariffs could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the US.

Mr Trump has also imposed a 30% tariff on goods from Mexico, according to a post from his Truth Social account.

Announcing the moves in separate letters on the account, the president said the US trade deficit was a national security threat.

In his letter to the EU, he wrote: “We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, trade Deficits, engendered by your tariff, and non-Tariff, policies, and trade barriers.

“Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal.”

In his letter to Mexico, Mr Trump said he did not think the country had done enough to stop the US from turning into a “narco-trafficking playground”.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said today that the EU could adopt “proportionate countermeasures” if the US proceeds with imposing the 30% tariff.

Ms von der Leyen, who heads the EU’s executive arm, said in a statement that the bloc remained ready “to continue working towards an agreement by Aug 1”.

“Few economies in the world match the European Union’s level of openness and adherence to fair trading practices,” she continued.

“We will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required.”

Ms von der Leyen has also said imposing tariffs on EU exports would “disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains”.

Meanwhile, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on the X social media platform that Mr Trump’s announcement was “very concerning and not the way forward”.

He added: “The European Commission can count on our full support. As the EU we must remain united and resolute in pursuing an outcome with the United States that is mutually beneficial.”

Mexico’s economy ministry said a bilateral working group aims to reach an alternative to the 30% US tariffs before they are due to take effect.

The country was informed by the US that it would receive a letter about the tariffs, the ministry’s statement said, adding that Mexico was negotiating.

Trump’s tariff threats and delays

On his so-called “liberation day” in April, Mr Trump unleashed “reciprocal tariffs” on many of America’s trade partners.

The US president said he was targeting countries with which America has a trade imbalance.

However, since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.

The US imposed a 20% tariff on imported goods from the EU in April but it was later paused and the bloc has since been paying a baseline tariff of 10% on goods it exports to the US.

In May, while the US and EU where holding trade negotiations, Mr Trump threated to impose a 50% tariff on the bloc as talks didn’t progress as he would have liked.

However, he later announced he was delaying the imposition of that tariff while negotiations over a trade deal took place.

As of earlier this week, the EU’s executive commission, which handles trade issues for the bloc’s 27-member nations, said its leaders were still hoping to strike a trade deal with the Trump administration.

Without one, the EU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes.

US

Donald Trump plans to hit Canada with new tariff – while warning of blanket hike for other countries

Published

2 days ago

July 11, 2025

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Donald Trump plans to hit Canada with new tariff - while warning of blanket hike for other countries

Donald Trump has said he plans to hit Canada with a 35% tariff on imported goods, as he warned of a blanket 15 or 20% hike for most other countries.

In a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the US president wrote: “I must mention that the flow of Fentanyl is hardly the only challenge we have with Canada, which has many Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers.”

Mr Trump’s tariffs were allegedly an effort to get Canada to crack down on fentanyl smuggling, and the US president has expressed frustration with Canada’s trade deficit with the US.

In a statement Mr Carney said: “Throughout the current trade negotiations with the United States, the Canadian government has steadfastly defended our workers and businesses. We will continue to do so as we work towards the revised deadline of August 1.”

He added: “Canada has made vital progress to stop the scourge of fentanyl in North America. We are committed to continuing to work with the United States to save lives and protect communities in both our countries.”

Mr Trump has sent a series of tariff letters to 23 countries so far, including one putting a 50% tariff on Brazil in part for the ongoing trial of its former president Jair Bolsonaro for trying to stay in office after he lost the election in 2022.

Mr Trump was similarly indicted for his efforts to overturn his election loss in 2020.

The higher rates would go into effect on 1 August.

Shortly after Mr Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” tariffs on 2 April, there was a huge sell-off on the financial markets. The US president later announced a 90-day negotiating period, during which a 10% baseline tariff would be charged on most imported goods.

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But in an interview with Sky News’s partner network NBC News, Mr Trump said he plans to impose higher blanket tariffs on most US trade partners.

“We’re just going to say all of the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it’s 20% or 15%. We’ll work that out now,” he said.

He added: “I think the tariffs have been very well-received. The stock market hit a new high today.”

The US and UK signed a trade deal in June, with the US president calling it “a fair deal for both” and saying it will “produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income”.

Sir Keir Starmer said the document “implements” the deal to cut tariffs on cars and aerospace, adding: “So this is a very good day for both of our countries – a real sign of strength.”

The US president also teased a “major statement” he will make on Russia over its war with Ukraine.

“I’m disappointed in Russia, but we’ll see what happens over the next couple of weeks,” he said.

“I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday.”

It comes as Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said a new round of talks between Moscow and Washington on bilateral problems could take place before the end of the summer.

US

Palestinian activist detained by ICE suing Trump administration for $20m

Published

2 days ago

July 11, 2025

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A Palestinian activist who was detained for over three months in a US immigration jail after protesting against Israel is suing Donald Trump’s administration for $20m (£15m) in damages.

Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil have filed a claim against the administration alleging he was falsely imprisoned, maliciously prosecuted and smeared as an antisemite as the government sought to deport him over his role in campus protests.

The 30-year-old graduate student at Columbia University told Sky News’s lead world presenter Yalda Hakim being detained by ICE agents in March “felt like kidnapping”.

He described “plain-clothed agents and unmarked cars” taking him “from one place to another, expecting you just to follow orders and shackled all the time”, which he said was “really scary”.

Mr Khalil said he was not presented with an arrest warrant and wasn’t told where he was being taken.

He said the detention centre he was taken to was “as far from humane as it could be” and “a place where you have no rights whatsoever”.

“You share a dorm with over 70 men with no privacy, with lights on all the time, with really terrible food. You’re basically being dehumanised at every opportunity. It’s a black hole,” he added.

Mr Khalil said he would also accept an official apology from the Trump administration.

The Trump administration celebrated Mr Khalil’s arrest, promising to deport him and others whose protests against Israel it declared were “pro-terrorist, antisemitic, anti-American activity”.

Mr Khalil said after around 36 hours in captivity he was allowed to speak to his wife, who was pregnant at the time.

“These were very scary hours, I did not know what was happening on the outside. I did not know that my wife was safe,” he said.

‘Absolutely absurd allegations’

Mr Khalil said administration officials had made “absolutely absurd allegations” by saying he as involved in antisemitic activities and supporting Hamas.

“They are weaponising antisemitism, weaponising anti-terrorism in order to stifle speech,” he said. “What I was engaged in is simply opposing a genocide, opposing war crimes, opposing Columbia University’s complicity in the war on Gaza.”

A State Department spokesperson said its actions toward Mr Khalil were fully supported by the law.

Asked about missing the birth of his son while he was in prison, Mr Khalil said: “I don’t think there’s any word that can describe the agony and the sadness that I went through, to be deprived from such a divine moment, from a moment that my wife and I had always dreamed about.”

Meanwhile, the deportation case against Mr Khalil is continuing to wind its way through the immigration court system.