(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump took measures to lessen the impact of tariffs on U.S. automakers, but vehicle prices are expected to increase. 

“We just wanted to help them during this little transition, short term,” Trump said. “We didn’t want to penalize them.”

The 25% tariff on imported cars remains, and a new 25% tariff on auto parts will go into effect May 3. But Trump’s latest executive order allows reimbursements for U.S. producers importing car parts, which will be subject to 25% tariffs starting May 3. The maximum reimbursement will be 3.75% of the value of domestically produced cars. The cap falls to 2.5% for the second year and is phased out entirely after that.

Trump’s executive order also means that automakers that pay tariffs on imported cars won’t be required to pay other import duties, such as those on steel and aluminum.

“They all want to come back to Michigan and build cars again. You know why? Because of our tax and tariff policy,” Trump said Tuesday during his rally in Michigan. “We’re giving them a little time before we slaughter them if they don’t do this.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the goal was to get automakers to create more U.S. jobs.

“President Trump has had meetings with both domestic and foreign auto producers, and he’s committed to bringing back auto production to the U.S.,” Bessent said. “So we want to give the automakers a path to do that, quickly, efficiently and create as many jobs as possible.”

Still, vehicle prices are expected to increase as tariffs reshape the market.

Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke said “uncertainty remains acute, especially regarding what will happen with the tariffs.” 

“Supply has since tightened and prices have moved higher,” he said. “With higher prices, urgency has diminished.”

Smoke said the next two months could set the stage for the rest of the year. 

“Instead of putting China first, I’m putting Michigan first and I’m putting America first,” Trump said at the Macomb County Rally.

Even before Trump’s auto tariffs, cars were too expensive for many Americans. The average price of a new vehicle in the U.S. is above $48,000, according to Cox Automotive. Real median household income was $80,610 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. However, more than 40% of new-vehicle sales by volume in 2024 were priced below $40,000.

(The Center Square) – As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers continue to make arrests in the interior of the U.S., U.S. attorneys in Texas are prosecuting illegal border crossers, including previously deported convicted felons.

In one week, they filed nearly 600 immigration related cases, the most of any district in southwest border states.

In the Southern District of Texas, 216 cases were filed from April 11 through 17.

The majority, 119, face illegal entry charges; 11 cases involve human smuggling.

Another 86 illegal border crossers face felony illegal reentry charges. The majority already have felony narcotics, firearms or sexual offense charges.

Those charged with felony reentry face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Examples include convicted felons and Mexican nationals who were previously deported and illegally reentered the country. Those charged include Alejandro Contreras-Zapata after he was apprehended near Roma, Texas. He was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was deported in March, and illegally reentered the U.S., according to the charges.

Also arrested in Roma, Erika Camacho-Rodriguez, a convicted felon found guilty of human smuggling, was deported in March and again illegally reentered the U.S., according to the charges. Cesar Garcia-Rivas was arrested in Rio Grande City after being deported in 2020 and sentenced to 70 months in prison for kidnapping.

In other cases, juries handed guilty convictions and indictments in human smuggling cases.

A Laredo jury convicted a 25-year-old Laredo woman of attempting to smuggle a 3-year-old boy into the U.S. by claiming he was her biological son and using her son’s Texas birth certificate. She later told investigators she didn’t know his name and picked him up in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, in exchange for $2,500.

A jury also delivered a guilty verdict in 15 minutes against a Lyford man who was arrested on human smuggling charges and found in possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Authorities found 150 CSAM images on his phone, including of sexual assault of children.

In another case, two illegal foreign nationals and a Laredo man were indicted on various firearms offenses, including possession of two machine gun conversion devices.

In the Western District of Texas, federal prosecutors filed 378 immigration-related criminal cases from April 11 through 17. Those charged also include convicted felons who were previously deported.

In one case, Mexican national Netsai Moreno-Suarez illegally reentered the U.S. after being deported in 2023. She was previously convicted of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens.

In another case, Border Patrol agents arrested Mexican national Arturo Mendoza-Yerbafria near Sanderson for illegal re-entry after he was previously deported three times. He was convicted in 2018 of “bringing in and harboring aliens,” according to the charges.

In another case, Honduran national Efrain Antonio Corroto-Herrera was arrested near Eagle Pass after previously being deported twice. He was previously convicted in Austin two months ago of assault causing bodily injury.

In another case, Border Patrol agents arrested Mexican national Zacarias Bautista-Emiliano on illegal reentry charges after previously being deported five times. His criminal history includes a 2013 felony conviction for lewd or lascivious acts with a child under age 14 and two felony convictions in New Mexico in 2014 and Arizona in 2022.

In Austin, Honduran national Elvin Alexis Canelas-Morillo was taken into federal custody this month after he pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily injury in a 2023 Travis County case. He was previously deported four times; his criminal history includes burglary and evading arrest.

Also in Austin, Mexican national Heber Vivero-Martinez was taken into federal custody after previously being deported twice and voluntarily returning four times. His criminal history includes convictions of assault causing bodily injury and a DWI.

In El Paso, Mexican national Adolfo Martinez-Padron was arrested and charged with illegal re-entry after previously being deported six times. His criminal history includes two felony convictions of possession of a controlled substance, two DWIs, and assault causing bodily injury to a family member.

Also in El Paso, Mexican national Santa Cruz Garcia-Morales was arrested after previously being deported four times and voluntarily departing twice. His criminal history includes a domestic violence conviction in Salt Lake, Utah, and aggravated assault in West Jordan, Utah.

Multiple law federal, state and local enforcement agencies were involved in the cases.

(The Center Square) – Called “crypto-friendly legislation” by the leader of the chamber, a proposal on digital assets on Wednesday afternoon passed the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Passage was 71-44 mostly along party lines.

The NC Digital Assets Investments Act, known also as House Bill 92, has investment requirements, caps and management, and clear definitions and standards aimed at making sure only qualified digital assets are included. House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, said the state would potentially join more than a dozen others with “crypto-friendly legislation.”

With him in sponsorship are Reps. Stephen Ross, R-Alamance, Mark Brody, R-Union, and Mike Schietzelt, R-Wake.

Nationally last year, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act – known as FIT21 – passed through the U.S. House in May and in September was parked in the Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

Dan Spuller, cochairman of the North Carolina Blockchain Initiative, said the state has proven a leader on digital asset policy. That includes the Money Transmitters Act of 2016, the North Carolina Regulatory Sandbox Act of 2021, and last year’s No Centrl Bank Digital Currency Pmts to State. The latter was strongly opposed by Gov. Roy Cooper, so much so that passage votes of 109-4 in the House and 39-5 in the Senate slipped back to override votes, respectively, of 73-41 and 27-17.