International
The Mexican border warns of the impact if Trump restricts temporary work visas
Activists and migrants warn of the migratory impact on the Mexican border and on the inflation of the United States due to the mass deportations that the future government of Donald Trump could carry out and the possible restrictions on temporary non-agricultural visas that President Joe Biden expanded by more than 64,000.
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced last week this number of additional visas for temporary non-agricultural workers during fiscal year 2025, permits known as H-2B that will be added to the 66,000 that Congress authorizes annually.
The measure addresses the growing demand for labor in sectors such as hospitality, construction, gardening and food processing, among others, which depend on temporary workers to operate during seasonal peaks.
But US media have reported that the program is in danger during the next presidency of Trump, who has warned of using the Army to carry out mass deportations and has announced appointments of officials who wrote the ‘Project 2025’, which proposes to restrict H-2 visas.
This contrasts with the Biden Government, which “is looking for how to resume what happened in the 1940s,” when the United States implemented the Bracero Program to bring temporary Mexican workers, said Emilio Alberto López, professor at the Autonomous University of Chihuahua, a state bordering the United States.
“The United States, through a macroeconomic crisis, has quite strong inflation, it will also have very strong challenges, and I almost think it goes like in that sense, giving the possibility of these jobs, but basically temporary,” said the internationalist and migration scholar.
Impacted nationalities
Of the 64,000 additional visas, at least 20,000 will be reserved for workers from the three countries of the Northern Triangle of Central America, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, in addition to Haiti, in an effort to offer legal migration alternatives and reduce irregular flows to the United States.
The remainder will be allocated to other regions of the world, with priority given to employers demonstrating an urgent and specific need.
“The Latin race, from the last country in South America to Mexico, all Mexicans, Central Americans, South Americans, are the ones who are raising the economy to the United States,” Venezuelan Milkar Linares, who is stranded in Ciudad Juárez, bordering the US city of El Paso, Texas, told EFE.
Although there is uncertainty about Trump’s measures and the impact on migrants, Linares thinks that in the end the economic reality will prevail.
“Because it’s hard for an American to move a chair to sit down, open the door to go out and, with all due respect and if they feel offended I’m sorry, but what is in sight doesn’t need glasses,” he said.
Reactions and challenges
Business associations in the United States have applauded Biden’s measure for considering it an important step to ensure the continuity of operations in key sectors.
But Professor López Reyes warned that “these visas have already been criticized by some experts, especially those who work on human trafficking issues, because it is very easy for workers to exploit.”
The US government has promised to implement stricter measures to monitor compliance with labor laws in this program, including more frequent inspections and more severe sanctions for employers who engage in illegal practices.
International
Climate-driven rains trigger one of Indonesia’s deadliest flood emergencies in years
A torrential monsoon season, compounded by two unusual tropical cyclones, has triggered intense rainfall in several regions since last week, including southern Thailand, northern Malaysia, and large parts of Indonesia.
Climate change has recently intensified rainfall patterns, as a warmer atmosphere is able to hold more moisture. In Indonesia, desperation is growing among those affected by the disaster due to the slow pace of rescue operations and the distribution of humanitarian aid.
Relief agencies warned that the scale of the emergency is nearly unprecedented, even for a country accustomed to frequent natural disasters.
Across the island of Sumatra, the death toll was revised downward to 770 fatalities and at least 463 people still missing as of Wednesday night. Earlier, the national disaster management agency had reported 804 deaths.
Gathering accurate information on the ground remains difficult, as many regions are still cut off due to flood damage, widespread power outages, communication failures, or a combination of all three.
International
Russian authorities ban Roblox citing child safety and moral concerns
Russia has blocked access to the U.S.-owned game creation platform Roblox, accusing it of distributing extremist materials and what authorities described as “LGBT propaganda,” state media reported on Wednesday.
The country has repeatedly threatened to ban certain foreign digital platforms, a move that human rights organizations view as part of broader efforts by authorities to tighten control over internet use.
In a statement released through Russian news agencies, the federal communications watchdog Roskomnadzor accused Roblox of hosting “inappropriate content that can negatively affect the spiritual and moral development of children.”
“The game exposes minors to sexual harassment, tricks them into sharing intimate photos, and encourages them to commit acts of depravity and violence,” the regulator claimed.
Last week, the same agency also threatened to ban WhatsApp, the country’s second most widely used messaging app, accusing it of failing to prevent criminal activity.
Roblox, which is owned by the U.S.-based Roblox Corporation, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to company data for 2024, the platform has around 100 million daily users worldwide, nearly 40% of whom are under the age of 13.
Other countries, including Qatar, Iraq and Turkey, have also restricted or banned Roblox, mainly over concerns about the safety of underage users. In the United States, the states of Texas and Louisiana have filed lawsuits against the platform on similar grounds.
International
El Chapo’s son Joaquín Guzmán López pleads guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges
Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, pleaded guilty on Monday to drug trafficking charges in a U.S. court, months after his brother Ovidio reached a similar plea agreement, according to local media reports.
The defendant appeared before a federal court in Chicago early Monday afternoon and changed his previous plea in the case, the Chicago Tribune reported. U.S. authorities accuse him of forming, together with his three brothers, the cartel faction known as “Los Chapitos.”
The group is believed to have continued the operations of El Chapo, who has been serving a life sentence in the United States since 2019.
Guzmán López, 39, was arrested after landing in Texas in a small aircraft alongside cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
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