Wednesday morning news: July 3, 2019

Lawmakers tour border facilities » Roughly a dozen members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus toured border facilities this week, where attorneys said they had found migrant children living in unsanitary conditions.

Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro told reporters… 

CASTRO: We saw that the system is still broken and that people’s human rights are still being abused. 

Castro said there was no running water in part of one facility and repeated a woman’s claim that border officials told her to drink out of a toilet. 

Robert Perez with Border Protection said that claim is absolutely false. 

PEREZ: Anyone and everyone in our custody at all of our facilities have ready access to fresh water. They have access to consumables. 

The Democrats touring the border facilities called the conditions shameful and blamed the president’s immigration policies. 

But at a news conference on the border near McAllen, Texas, GOP Senator Ted Cruz pushed back. 

CRUZ: The responsibility for this crisis lies directly on the United States Congress, on loopholes that Congress has put into law that are encouraging far too many people to make this arduous journey. 

Both sides agree there is a humanitarian crisis at the border. 

This week President Trump signed a $4.6 billion emergency aid package into law. It will provide funds to help officials care for migrants detained at the border, but Cruz said more is needed. He called on the administration to establish a process for accepting charitable donations from the public. 

Mexican president thanks President Trump for acknowledging steps to curb border surge » The president of Mexico thanked President Trump on Tuesday for acknowledging his country’s efforts to curb the surge of migrants flowing to the U.S. southern border. 

Adres Manuel Lopez Obrador said—quote—“I am grateful that even President Trump is making it known that Mexico is fulfilling its commitment and that there are no threats of tariffs.” He said Trump’s comments have helped to strengthen the Peso against the dollar. 

After Trump threatened trade tariffs, last month Obrador’s government stepped up efforts to police migration through Mexico. Migration from Central America to the U.S. border has since fallen sharply. 

UN urges Tehran to reverse course » The United Nations is urging Iran to hold up its end of the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran announced this week that surpassed limits on enriched uranium set under that agreement. 

Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the secretary-general is concerned about Iran’s actions. 

DUJARRIC: He encourages the Islamic Republic or Iran to continue implementing all its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA as the participants continue to seek ways to overcome the considerable challenges the country faces. 

Iran has said if Euopean leaders don’t present better terms by this Sunday, it will start enriching uranium to weapons-grade levels. 

2020 Census moving forward without citizenship question » The Justice Department says the 2020 Census is moving ahead without a question about citizenship.

An attorney for a group that opposed adding the question said Trump administration attorneys notified parties in lawsuits—that the printing of millions of documents for 2020 counts will start soon.

And the Justice Department confirmed Tuesday that there will be “no citizenship question” added to the census.

The Supreme Court ruled last week that the Commerce Department added the question under a false pretext.

House Democrats sue for President Trump’s tax returns » Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee are suing the Treasury Department and the IRS for President Trump’s tax returns. WORLD Radio’s Sarah Schweinsberg reports. 

SARAH SCHWEINSBERG, REPORTER: The House panel filed the lawsuit in federal court Tuesday—after Treasury and the IRS rebuffed a subpoena for the documents. 

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Democrats’ request “presents serious constitutional questions.” He said after consulting with the Justice Department, the administration found the request “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose.”

In court documents, the committee said it doesn’t have to explain why it wants the returns—but said it’s investigating Trump’s compliance with tax law. 

Democrats say refusal to turn over his tax returns is an attack on the authority of Congress to conduct oversight. 

Every president for the past four decades has released tax returns in office, but all have done so voluntarily. 

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Sarah Schweinsberg.

U.S. will play for Women’s World Cup title » The U.S. is set to play for the Women’s World Cup title after defeating England 2-to-1 in Tuesday’s semifinal. 

AUDIO: [Sound of World Cup semifinal]

With the score tied at 1, USA’s Alex Morgan went to work… 

AUDIO: Goal! Happy birthday, Alex Morgan! 

Audio courtesy of Fox Sports. 

And with that, she’s officially the first player ever to score a goal on her birthday. She turned 30 on Tuesday. 

The U.S. will play for a world title on Sunday. They’ll face the winner of today’s other semifinal match between Sweden and the Netherlands.

(Briana Sanchez / El Paso Times via AP) U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, talks about what she saw on her tour of area border facilities Monday, July 1, at the Border Patrol station in Clint.

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