WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio at the U.S.-Mexico border (all times local):
3:30 p.m.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says allegations that he and his security detail illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border last month are “absolutely ridiculous.”
De Blasio said Wednesday that border agents had approved the June 21 crossing and that U.S. Customs and Border Protection was now engaging in distraction and intimidation.
De Blasio, a Democrat, visited the border with about 20 other mayors the day after President Donald Trump signed an order stopping family separations at the border.
De Blasio said border agents checked with a supervisor and allowed their cars to enter and exit Mexico via a regular checkpoint so they could get a different view of a Texas facility holding youths.
De Blasio said both times they showed their passports and at no point disregarded instructions from federal authorities.
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2:20 p.m.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his security detail violated both Mexican and U.S. immigration laws by crossing the border on foot during a visit near El Paso, Texas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection alleges in a letter obtained by The Associated Press.
De Blasio, a fierce critic of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, went to the Texas border with about 20 other mayors from around the country on June 21.
De Blasio went to a holding facility for immigrant children but was denied entry. He then went to Mexico and crossed into the U.S. to get a better view of the facility.
De Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips said the group did nothing illegal and had approval to be there.
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