International
After the new restrictions, fewer migrants can apply for asylum at the U.S. border
After the entry into force of a series of restrictions on the southern border of the United States, the number of migrants who can apply for asylum or some type of protection in the country has been reduced, several officials reported.
The measures, which were activated last week through an executive order of President Joe Biden, prohibit the majority of people who irregularly cross into U.S. territory from accessing this protection.
According to officials, a small group of media, including EFE, indicated the number of migrants who were referred to be deported in a “expedited” way to their countries or expelled to Mexico. This after being stopped at the border has doubled in the last week.
Specifically, from June 5 to 12, “73% of the family units and detained adults were prosecuted for voluntary return or expeditious deportation.”
In comparison, the week before the restrictions came into effect, this figure was 36%.
An official of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) indicated that “the number of arrests in the El Paso sector (Texas) has decreased a little” and that they have seen “early signs that the number of arrests throughout the border is decreasing.”
In turn, he assured that since the restrictions came into feal “the number of adults and family units that are processed and detained for expeditious deportation has doubled.”
When asked about the effect of the restrictions on the number of people who are subject to detention every day at the border, officials assured that it is “very soon” to evaluate it.
However, an official of the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) indicated that “the number of arrests in the El Paso sector has decreased a little” and that he has seen “early signs that the number of arrests throughout the border is decreasing.”
In the El Paso area, where the authorities built a large processing center with capacity for 2,500 migrants, the “majority” of the people in detention have not been able to apply for asylum, according to an officer of the Border Patrol.
The reason, the officer said, is that they are not expressing that they are afraid of being returned to their countries.
As part of the new measures, people who are stopped crossing irregularly have to express on their own that they are afraid to return to their countries of origin.
The new restrictions eliminated the requirement for the Border Patrol to ask migrants if they were afraid of return. Now they must be the ones who express it to be able to have a “credible fear” interview, the initial filter to be able to access some type of protection in the United States.
The official explained that in different parts of the center, there are posters explaining this change to migrants. EFE could only see one, in the area where the initial data is taken.
The facility, located in the middle of the desert, is composed of several tents and containers and extends for more than 300.00 square feet.
This Thursday, more than 1,321 migrants were detained in this center, according to the official.
It has a capacity for 2,500 people and today there were 1,320. In these facilities, about 700 people work daily, including CBP officials and contractors.
In this center, there are detainees both families and adults who travel alone and unaccompanied minors.
Migrants are detained in dozens of cells, with transparent doors. In each of them, they sleep and spend the day of 15 to 20 people.
Each cell has three toilets and two sinks. There are also several mats that people use to sleep on the floor. They are given an aluminum blanket to cover themselves.
Several human rights organizations filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the new restrictions imposed by Biden.
The organizations argued that the regulations are “categorically inconsistent with the asylum statute promulgated by Congress, which allows immigrants to submit asylum applications “whether they enter or not” through a port of entry.”
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
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