C M Y K Nxxx,2018-07-01,A,001,Bs-4C,E3

MATAMOROS, Mexico — Shortly be-fore dawn one Sunday last August, adriver in an S.U.V. picked up ChristopherCruz at a stash house in this border citynear the Gulf of Mexico. The 22-year-oldfrom El Salvador was glad to leave theone-story building, where smugglerskept bundles of cocaine and marijuanaalongside their human cargo, but he wasanxious about what lay ahead.

The driver deposited Mr. Cruz at an il-legal crossing point on the edge of the RioGrande. A smuggler took a smartphonephotograph to confirm his identity andsent it using WhatsApp to a driver wait-ing to pick him up on the other side of thefrontier when — if — he made it across.

The nearly 2,000-mile trip had alreadycost Mr. Cruz’s family more than $6,000and brought him within sight ofBrownsville, Tex. The remaining 500miles to Houston — terrain prowled bythe United States Border Patrol as wellas the state and local police — would setthem back another $6,500.

It was an almost inconceivable

amount of money for someone whoearned just a few dollars a day pickingcoffee beans back home. But he wasn’tweighing the benefits of a higher-payingjob. He was fleeing violence and what hesaid was near-certain death at the handsof local gangs.

“There’s no other option,” Mr. Cruzsaid. “The first thought I had was, ‘I justneed to get out of here at whatevercost.’ ”

The stretch of southwest border wherehe intended to cross has become the epi-center of the raging battle over theTrump administration’s immigrationcrackdown. One clear consequence ofthe tightening American border and thegrowing perils getting there is that moreand more desperate families are turningto increasingly sophisticated smugglingoperations to get relatives into theUnited States.

Mr. Cruz’s story provides an unusuallydetailed anatomy of the price of the jour-ney. The money paid for a network ofdrivers who concealed him in tractor-

‘I just need to get out of here at whatever cost.’

Tracking a ‘Package’: The Perils, And Price, of Migrant Smuggling

By NICHOLAS KULISH

Last year, a young man left El Salvador and crossed intoGuatemala to begin a 2,000-mile, nearly $13,000 run forthe U.S. Above, a bus ticket. Continued on Page 10

FRED RAMOS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

KABUL, Afghanistan — Thelast time Zaheer Ahmad Zindanithought he could still see, he was17 and in a hospital bed, heavilydrugged and covered with shrap-nel wounds from a Taliban bomb.

He asked the doctor for a mir-ror.

“The doctor told me, ‘Son, youdon’t have eyes, how will you beable to see your eyes?’” Mr. Zin-dani recalled. “I raised my hand tofeel my eyes — it was the ashes af-ter a fire has burned, and nothingelse.”

That was five years ago. He re-members that even in those firstmoments, when the reality of hisblindness made him howl withgrief, another realization took hisbreath away: His love for hischildhood sweetheart had alreadybeen difficult because the girl’sfamily did not see him as worthy.Now, it was surely doomed.

“If I had lost my eyes and hadher hand, I would still be happy,”he said. “But now I neither haveeyes, nor her.”

Now, Mr. Zindani is one of thefounders of a march for peace thatreached Kabul, the Afghan capi-tal, in June after a nearly 40-day,

400-mile slog from the south of thecountry through summer heatand war-torn territory.

He is protesting a war that has,so far, swallowed his father, his un-cle, his sister, his eyes and his love.

Like many Afghans, especiallyin the countryside, he was notborn with a last name. Some laterpick their own, and after he losthis eyes, he chose Zindani. Itmeans “imprisoned.”

Along the way, when the marchwould stop at a village to rest, Mr.Zindani, now 22, tall and hand-some, would find a corner and liedown for a while, losing himself inthought.

Sometimes he would stand up,feeling his way around themosque from column to column,following the voices to get closerto the discussion. Other times hewould whisper the name of the fel-low traveler he is closest to, whoseshoulder he would hold onto dur-ing their long march.

“Kitab? Hey, Kitab, where areyou?”

Mr. Kitab, a father of threewhose birth name is Inamulhaq,

War Robbed Him of His Family, Then His Eyes, Then His Love

By MUJIB MASHAL

Continued on Page 8

CHILPANCINGO, Mexico —Voters will fill more than 3,400 lo-cal, state and federal posts on Sun-day, in Mexico’s largest generalelection ever. It is also perhaps themost violent electoral season inmodern Mexican history.

At least 136 politicians and poli-tical operatives have been assas-sinated in Mexico since last fall,according to Etellekt, a risk analy-sis firm in Mexico. More than athird were candidates or potentialcandidates — most of them run-ning for local offices. Others in-cluded elected officials, partymembers and campaign workers.

In the long run-up to the vote,much of the national and interna-tional focus has been on the presi-dential contest. Yet for the mil-lions of people living in the mostviolent parts of the country, elec-tions for local office may have thebiggest impact on their daily lives.

And organized crime groupshave all but decided many of thoseoutcomes already.

Mexican VotingNear, AssassinsThin the Ballot

By PAULINA VILLEGASand KIRK SEMPLE

Continued on Page 16

In 2011, Fox News announcedthat a new guest would appearweekly on “Fox & Friends,” itschummy morning show. “Bold,brash, and never bashful,” a net-work ad declared. “The Donaldnow makes his voice loud andclear, every Monday on Fox.”

It was the beginning of a beauti-ful friendship.

Seven years later, the symbiosisbetween Donald J. Trump and hisfavorite cable network has onlydeepened. Fox News, whose com-mentators resolutely defend thepresident’s agenda, has seen rat-ings and revenues rise. PresidentTrump views the network as aconvenient safe space where hecan express himself with little crit-icism from eager-to-please hosts.

Now, the line between the net-work’s studios and Mr. Trump’sWhite House is blurring further.Bill Shine, a former Fox News co-president who helped create thelook and feel of the channel’s con-servative programming, is ex-pected to be hired as the presi-

Fox and Trump:It’s a Friendship

Without EqualBy MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM

Continued on Page 20

WASHINGTON — On the finalday of the Supreme Court termlast week, Justice Elena Kagansounded an alarm.

The court’s five conservativemembers, citing the First Amend-ment, had just dealt public unionsa devastating blow. The day be-fore, the same majority had usedthe First Amendment to reject aCalifornia law requiring reli-giously oriented “crisis preg-nancy centers” to provide womenwith information about abortion.

Conservatives, said Justice Ka-gan, who is part of the court’s four-member liberal wing, were“weaponizing the First Amend-ment.”

The two decisions were the lat-est in a stunning run of victoriesfor a conservative agenda that hasincreasingly been built on thefoundation of free speech. Conser-vative groups, borrowing andbuilding on arguments developedby liberals, have used the FirstAmendment to justify unlimitedcampaign spending, discrimina-tion against gay couples and at-tacks on the regulation of tobacco,pharmaceuticals and guns.

“The right, which had for yearsbeen hostile to and very nervousabout a strong First Amendment,has rediscovered it,” said BurtNeuborne, a law professor at NewYork University.

The Citizens United campaignfinance case, for instance, was de-cided on free-speech grounds,with the five-justice conservativemajority ruling that the FirstAmendment protects unlimitedcampaign spending by corpora-tions. The government, the major-ity said, has no business regulat-ing political speech.

The dissenters responded thatthe First Amendment did not re-quire allowing corporate money

HOW FREE SPEECHWAS WEAPONIZEDBY CONSERVATIVES

RIGHT TURN FOR JUSTICES

First Amendment Citedin Cases on Abortion

and Labor Unions

By ADAM LIPTAK

Continued on Page 24

WASHINGTON — The pitchedbattle looming over the SupremeCourt, along with a jolt to the Dem-ocratic leadership at the ballot boxlast Tuesday, is threatening toshatter the already fragile archi-tecture of the Democratic Party,as an activist rebellion on the leftand a lurch to the right in Wash-ington propels the party toward amoment of extraordinary conflictand forced reinvention.

For Democrats, the transforma-tion could prove as consequentialas President Trump’s consolida-tion of power in his own party andthe conservative movement’stightening grip on the federal gov-ernment.

“The Trump presidency haschanged the dynamics in ourparty,” said Richard J. Durbin of Il-linois, the second-ranking Demo-crat in the Senate, acknowledgingthat he could not call recall a simi-lar grass-roots uprising since hewas elected to Congress in 1982.

The party’s traditional leadersabsorbed one blow after anotherlast week. Representative JosephCrowley, a 20-year incumbent andpotential future House speaker,was unseated by Alexandria Oca-sio-Cortez, a 28-year-old Latinapolitical newcomer; Congressmade clear it cannot pass even alimited immigration measure forthe children of undocumented im-migrants; and the Supreme Courthanded down rulings that under-mined the labor unions that are abackbone of the DemocraticParty, while also limiting abortionrights advocacy and upholdingPresident Trump’s travel ban.

And then Justice Anthony M.Kennedy announced his retire-ment, effectively handing Mr.Trump the opportunity to cementa conservative majority on thebench.

Mr. Trump’s divisive and attimes demagogic presidency hasignited much of the liberal up-heaval, driving many left-of-cen-ter voters on to a kind of ideolog-ical war footing. That has translat-ed into a surge in outsider candi-

Internal Revolt Has DemocratsAt a Crossroad

Facing Reinvention asTrump Tightens Grip

By JONATHAN MARTINand ALEXANDER BURNS

Continued on Page 20

Bavaria, despite its affluence, is thenew angry center of Europe. Since the2015 migration crisis, the far right hassteadily gained support there. PAGE 6

INTERNATIONAL 4-17

Populism in Germany’s Texas

For thousands who left Puerto Ricoafter Hurricane Maria, FEMA’s shelter-ing assistance is running out. PAGE 25

NATIONAL 18-26

Aid for Puerto Ricans Ending

Desperate to catch up to audaciousproduction goals, Tesla set up a thirdModel 3 production line in a tent. PAGE 1

SUNDAY BUSINESS

Elon Musk’s Big GambleJohn Brennan ruled the national-securi-ty state under Barack Obama. Now, he’staking on President Trump. PAGE 34

THE MAGAZINE

Spymaster vs. President

Canada Day coincides with Prime Min-ister Justin Trudeau’s imposition ofretaliatory tariffs, as a trade war withthe United States escalates. PAGE 17

The North Strikes Back

The new Socialist government in Ma-drid has waded into Europe’s migrationcrisis, winning praise but facing pres-sure over a sudden influx. PAGE 13

Spain’s Migrant Wave Grows

Hispanics in South Florida have alwaysvoted for Hispanic candidates. That’schanging, worrying the G.O.P. PAGE 18

Big Shift in Little Havana

As Toys “R” Us closed for good, one ofits New Jersey stores had price tags onfolding chairs in the break room. PAGE 1

The End of a Toy Story

On the women’s side, it’s a player whohas competed in three events in thepast year: Serena Williams. PAGE 2

Wimbledon’s Biggest Story

The internet has turned on him, his booksales are down, a TV deal has stalled.But the author isn’t angry. PAGE 28

Jonathan Franzen Is Fine

James Taylor was 22 when he bought 175acres on Martha’s Vineyard. The prop-erty is a musical camelot for his ex-wifeCarly Simon and her clan. PAGE 1

SUNDAY STYLES

A Musical Camelot Michelle Goldberg PAGE 1

SUNDAY REVIEW

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JEENAH MOON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Thousands in Washington, above, and other U.S. cities protestedPresident Trump’s immigration policy on Saturday. Page 19.

‘Families Belong Together’

France eliminated Argentina and LionelMessi. Hours later, Uruguay did the sameto Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo. PAGE 1

SPORTSSUNDAY

Two Giants Exit World Cup

SWING VOTE Justice Anthony M. Kennedy has voted in the majority in76 percent of the Supreme Court’s 5-to-4 rulings. PAGE 22

Late Edition

VOL. CLXVII . . No. 58,010 © 2018 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, SUNDAY, JULY 1, 2018

Today, hazy sunshine, very hot, hu-mid, high 98. Tonight, clear, warm,humid, low 77. Tomorrow, sunshine,hot but not as extreme, humid, high91. Weather map, Page SP12.

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