International

‘Green cards’ for undocumented spouses of Americans: “A hope for many”

María Villanueva and Gustavo Villeda met in 2019 in a church in Silver Spring, a suburb north of the capital of the United States, and although they fell in love and started dating, she was reluctant to marry him because she did not want to “suffer” for a reality that was already familiar to her.

Villeda, born in Guatemala, emigrated to the United States in 2004 irregularly and it is this status – which he has not been able to adjust – that made Villanueva, a Mexican with American nationality, doubt about whether or not to go through the altar.

Today, not only do they live together and got married last summer, but they have a two-month-old child in common.

“I said that I was never going to marry someone who didn’t have papers, out of fear and the anguish that they might separate us,” the 32-year-old explains laughing in an interview with EFE from the dining room of her house in the small town of Laurel (Maryland).

She left Mexico at just 7 years old to reunite with her father – who already lived in the United States – while her husband emigrated as an adult with the expectations that the ‘American dream’ would allow her to send money to a sick daughter she left in Guatemala and who is about to turn 20.

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“I haven’t seen her grow up and I don’t want this to happen to me again with him,” he says, looking at his son Alfonso Jesús, who sleeps next to him in the mother’s arms. Both are sitting on the sofa in the living room, presided over by a set of photographs of their wedding hanging on the wall and visible as soon as they enter the small house.

The couple agrees that, once married, the great impediment to trying to fix Gustavo’s papers has been the economic factor. “I suffer from severe migraine, we have needed the money for doctors and we have not been able to allocate it to the (regularization) application,” says María.

But now the situation of uncertainty of this family can change because Villeda is one of the more than half a million migrants eligible to take advantage of the new program, announced last Tuesday by the Government of President Joe Biden, and thus regularize their status in the country.

The measures mainly benefit people married to U.S. citizens – a condition that he fulfills – who will be able to take the first step in the process to obtain a residence permit in the United States.

Gustavo, still assimilating the new opportunity that has been presented to him, assures that the news has reached him “by surprise” and, although he does not know in detail how the process continues, he is optimistic to have “a hope for many” in front of him.

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Supported by a legal figure known as ‘parole’, this permit grants those who are already in US territory protection against deportation and allows them to apply for a work permit.

With the labor authorization, which will be valid for three years, migrants who entered the country irregularly and are married to U.S. citizens can apply for residence and, subsequently, citizenship.

To benefit from this formula, the person must have married a U.S. citizen before June 17, 2024 and have lived in the country for at least 10 years.

At the same time, months after this announcement enters into force, the couple does not overlook the fact that next November there will be presidential elections in the country that can change everything.

“We are concerned that all this may come to nothing, that it may be spoiled by a change of government or by disputes between them,” says María, questioning the presumptuous presidential candidates – Joe Biden and Donald Trump-, although she is convinced to “take the risks” and to take advantage of these months before the elections.

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“We hope that you respect the families who, like us, are going through this situation and who have been fighting for a reform,” adds the woman, who is a collaborator of CASA, an NGO for defense and assistance to immigration.

Even with all the difficulties in mind, the two agree that there is hope and they are willing to keep looking for it.

International

Former South Korean President Yoon sentenced to five years in prison

Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison for obstruction of justice and other charges, concluding the first in a series of trials stemming from his failed attempt to impose martial law in December 2024.

The sentence is shorter than the 10-year prison term sought by prosecutors against the 65-year-old conservative former leader, whose move against Parliament triggered a major political crisis that ultimately led to his removal from office.

Yoon, a former prosecutor, is still facing seven additional trials. One of them, on charges of insurrection, could potentially result in the death penalty.

On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court ruled on one of the multiple secondary cases linked to the affair, which plunged the country into months of mass protests and political instability.

International

U.S. deportation flight returns venezuelans to Caracas after Maduro’s ouster

A new flight carrying 231 Venezuelans deported from the United States arrived on Friday at the airport serving Caracas, marking the first such arrival since the military operation that ousted and captured President Nicolás Maduro.

On January 3, U.S. forces bombed the Venezuelan capital during an incursion in which Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured. Both are now facing narcotrafficking charges in New York.

This was the first U.S.-flagged aircraft transporting migrants to land in Venezuela since the military action ordered by President Donald Trump, who has stated that he is now in charge of the country.

The aircraft departed from Phoenix, Arizona, and landed at Maiquetía International Airport, which serves the Venezuelan capital, at around 10:30 a.m. local time (14:30 GMT), according to AFP reporters on the ground.

The deportees arrived in Venezuela under a repatriation program that remained in place even during the height of the crisis between the two countries, when Maduro was still in power. U.S. planes carrying undocumented Venezuelan migrants continued to arrive throughout last year, despite the military deployment ordered by Trump.

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International

Sheinbaum highlights anti-drug gains after U.S. says challenges remain

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday highlighted her government’s achievements in the fight against drug trafficking, after the United States said challenges remain in combating organized crime.

On Thursday, Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente held talks with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Following the meeting, the U.S. State Department said in a statement that “despite progress, challenges still exist” in addressing organized crime.

“There are very strong results from joint cooperation and from the work Mexico is doing: first, a 50% reduction in fentanyl seizures at the U.S. border,” Sheinbaum said during her regular morning press conference.

The president also said that authorities have seized nearly 320 tons of drugs and that there has been a “40% decrease in intentional homicides in Mexico” since the start of her administration on October 1, 2024.

Sheinbaum added that the United States should implement campaigns to reduce drug consumption within its territory and curb the flow of weapons into Mexico.

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“There are many results and there will be more, but there must be mutual respect and shared responsibility, as well as respect for our sovereignties,” she said.

On Monday, Sheinbaum held a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss security issues. She said she once again ruled out the presence of U.S. troops in Mexico to fight drug cartels.

Security has been a recurring issue used by Trump to threaten tariffs on Mexico and to pressure negotiations over the USMCA (T-MEC) free trade agreement, which are scheduled for 2026.

The agreement is crucial for Mexico’s economy, as about 80% of the country’s exports are destined for the United States.