The Trump administration’s move to separate immigrant parents from their children on the US-Mexico border has grabbed attention around the world, drawn scorn from human-rights organizations and overtaken the immigration debate in Congress.
It’s also a situation that has been brewing since the week President Donald Trump took office, when he issued his first order signaling a tougher approach to asylum-seekers. Since then, the administration has been steadily eroding protections for immigrant children and families.
“They’re willing to risk harm to a child being traumatized, separated from a parent and sitting in federal detention by themselves, in order to reach a larger policy goal of deterrence,” said Jennifer Podkul, director of policy at Kids in Need of Defense, which represents children in immigration court.
To those who work with immigrants, the parents’ plight was heralded by a series of measures making it harder for kids arriving on the border to get released from government custody and to seek legal status here.
The administration says the changes are necessary to deter immigrants from coming here illegally. But a backlash is mounting, fueled by reports of children being taken from mothers and distraught toddlers and elementary school age children asking, through tears, when they can see their parents.
About 2,000 children had been separated from their families over a six-week period ending in May, administration officials said Friday.
Among the parents caught up in the new rules is 29-year-old Vilma Aracely Lopez Juc de Coc, who fled her home in a remote Guatemalan village after her husband was beaten to death in February, according to advocates. When she reached the Texas border with her 11-year-old son in May, he was taken from her by border agents, she said.
Her eyes swollen, she cried when she asked a paralegal what she most wanted to know: When could she see her son again?
“She did not know what was going on,” said paralegal Georgina Guzman, recalling their conversation at a federal courthouse in McAllen, Texas.
Similar scenarios play out on a daily basis in federal courtrooms in Texas and Arizona, where dozens of immigrant parents appear on charges of entering the country illegally after traveling up from Central America. More than the legal outcome of their cases, their advocates say, they’re worried about their children.
Since Trump’s inauguration, the administration has issued at least half a dozen orders and changes affecting immigrant children, many of them obscure revisions. The cumulative effect is a dramatic alteration of immigration policy and practice.
The measures require a senior government official to sign off on the release of children from secure shelters and allow immigration enforcement agents access to information about sponsors who sign up to take the children out of government custody and care for them.
The crackdown expanded in April, when the administration announced a “zero tolerance” policy on the border to prosecute immigrants for entering the country illegally in the hopes they could be quickly deported and that the swift deportations would prevent more people from coming.
Parents are now being arrested and placed in quick federal court proceedings near the border. Since children cannot be jailed in federal prisons, they’re placed in shelters that have long existed for unaccompanied immigrant children arriving on the border alone.
The administration insists the new rules are necessary to send a message to immigrants.
“Look, I hope that we don’t have to separate any more children from any more adults,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said last week. “But there’s only one way to ensure that is the case: It’s for people to stop smuggling children illegally. Stop crossing the border illegally with your children. Apply to enter lawfully. Wait your turn.”
Immigration on the southwest border has remained high since the zero-tolerance policies took effect. Border agents made more than 50,000 arrests in May, up slightly from a month earlier and more than twice the number in May 2017. About a quarter of arrests were families traveling with children.
In addition to those trying to cross on their own, large crowds of immigrants are gathered at border crossings each day to seek asylum. Some wait days or weeks for a chance to speak with US authorities. On a Texas border bridge, parents and children have been sleeping in sweltering heat for several days awaiting their turn.
Under US law, most Mexican children are sent back across the border. Central American and other minors are taken into government custody before they are mostly released to sponsors in the United States.
The arrival of children fleeing violence in Central America is not new. President Barack Obama faced an even larger surge in border crossings that overflowed shelters and prompted the authorities to release many families. Nearly 60,000 children were placed in government-contracted shelters in the 2014 fiscal year.
Obama administration lawyers argued in federal court in Los Angeles against the separation of parents and children and in favor of keeping in family detention facilities those deemed ineligible for release.
Immigrant and children’s advocates said the new measures are not only cruel but costly. They argued that children fleeing violence and persecution in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras will continue to come to the United States and remain in government custody longer, costing taxpayers more money.
The government pays more than $1 billion a year to care for unaccompanied immigrant children, Sessions has said.
In May 2014, the average length of stay for children in custody was 35 days. So far this fiscal year, it’s taking 56 days for children to be released to sponsors — in most cases, their own relatives.
Many children were released to sponsors who did not have legal immigration status. That’s yet another concern child advocates now have since the Trump administration is requiring fingerprints of sponsors and their household members and will turn that data over to the immigration agency in charge of deportations.
Advocates say the new information sharing might lead some parents to shy away from sponsoring their own children and ask others to do so, a situation that can lead to cases of trafficking or neglect.
Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, legal director of the immigrant advocacy program at the Legal Aid Justice Center in Virginia, said he’s never worked with immigrants who said US policies influenced their decision to move. They are fleeing violence and persecution, and he doesn’t see that changing even if the government deports parents.
“Look six months out from now,” he said. “Are these moms going to stay in Guatemala? Hell no, they’re going to come back looking for their kids.”
Erosion of immigrant protections began with Trump inaugural
Erosion of immigrant protections began with Trump inaugural
- The US administration says the changes are necessary to deter immigrants from coming to America illegally
- Six months out from now are these moms going to stay in Guatemala? Hell no, they’re going to come back looking for their kids, says lawyer
Ukrainian drone attack underway before Azerbaijani plane crash, Russian aviation chief says
- Azerbaijani lawmaker and aviation experts blame Azerbaijan Airlines crash on Russian air defenses
- Crash killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured
Russia’s aviation chief said Friday that a Ukrainian drone attack was underway in the Russian region that an airliner was destined for before it diverted and crashed earlier this week.
Dmitry Yadrov, of Rosaviatsia, didn’t comment on statements by an Azerbaijani lawmaker and some aviation experts who blamed Wednesday’s Azerbaijan Airlines crash on Russian air defenses responding to a Ukrainian attack.
The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, when it turned toward Kazakhstan and crashed while making an attempt to land there. The crash killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured.
Azerbaijan Airlines on Friday blamed the crash on unspecified “physical and technical interference” and announced the suspension of flights to several Russian airports. It didn’t say where the interference came from or provide any further details.
Authorities in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia have been tight-lipped about a possible cause pending an official probe. But a member of Azerbaijan’s parliament, Rasim Musabekov, told the Azerbaijani news agency Turan on Thursday that the plane was fired on while in the skies over Grozny and urged Russia to offer an official apology.
Asked about Musabekov’s statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment, saying that it will be up to investigators to determine the cause of the crash.
“The air incident is being investigated, and we don’t believe we have the right to make any assessments until the conclusions are made as a result of the investigation,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
Yadrov, the Russian aviation chief, said that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic.
Yadrov said that after the captain made two unsuccessful attempts to land in Grozny, he was offered other airports but decided to fly to Aktau in Kazakhstan, across the Caspian Sea.
“The situation in the area of Grozny airport was quite difficult,” he said in a statement. “There are many circumstances that it’s necessary to investigate jointly.”
Investigators from Azerbaijan are working in Grozny as part of the crash probe, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s office said in a statement.
As the probe began, some aviation experts pointed out that holes seen in the plane’s tail section suggested that it could have come under fire from Russian air defense systems fending off a Ukrainian drone attack.
Ukrainian drones have previously attacked Grozny and other areas in the country’s North Caucasus.
FlightRadar24 said in an online post that the aircraft faced “strong GPS jamming” that interfered with flight tracking data. Russia has extensively used sophisticated jamming equipment to fend off drone attacks.
Following Wednesday’s suspension of flights from Baku to Grozy and Makhachkala, Azerbaijan Airlines announced Friday that it would also halt service to eight more Russian cities.
The company will continue to operate flights to six Russian cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg. Those cities also have been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drone strikes in the past.
Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air also announced Friday that it was suspending flights from Astana to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains for a month.
FlyDubai also halted flights to Sochi and Mineralnye Vody in southern Russian until Jan. 5.
The day before, Israel’s El Al carrier suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow citing “developments in Russia’s airspace.” The airline said it would reassess the situation next week.
Driver who killed 35 in China car ramming sentenced to death
- On November 11, 62-year-old Fan Weiqiu deliberately drove through people exercising outside a sports complex in his small SUV, the worst attack in China since 2014
BEIJING: A man who killed 35 people in a car attack in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai last month was sentenced to death on Friday, state media reported.
On November 11, 62-year-old Fan Weiqiu deliberately drove through people exercising outside a sports complex in his small SUV, the worst attack in China since 2014.
He was detained at the scene with self-inflicted knife injuries and fell into a coma, police said at the time.
His case was publicly tried on Friday, state broadcaster CCTV reported, with the verdict reached on the same day.
The court said the defendant’s motives “were extremely vile, the nature of the crime extremely egregious, the methods particularly cruel, and the consequences particularly severe, posing significant harm to society,” state media said.
In front of some of the victims’ families, officials and members of the public, Fan pleaded guilty, it added.
The court found Fan had “decided to vent his anger” over “a broken marriage, personal frustrations, and dissatisfaction with the division of property after divorce,” the report said.
China has this year seen a string of mass casualty incidents — from stabbings to car attacks — challenging its reputation for good public security.
Some analysts have linked the incidents to growing anger and desperation at the country’s slowing economy and a sense that society is becoming more stratified.
Philippine companies secure $100m in deals at Saudi Halal Expo
- Filipino expats in Saudi Arabia were among main drivers of success
- Seafood, precooked meals are Philippines’ top halal export products
MANILA: Philippine companies have secured $100 million in deals at this year’s Saudi Halal Expo in Riyadh, the Department of Trade and Industry said on Friday, marking a milestone in the country’s efforts to tap into the global halal market.
The annual Saudi International Halal Expo was held in Riyadh from Oct. 28 to 30, providing a platform for stakeholders from across the world to see and showcase the latest innovations, research and developments in the global halal market.
The Philippine delegation to the fair was led by the DTI, with exhibitors presenting products that including fruit, food and beverages, as well as supplement sectors to tourism, travel and finance.
The $100 million in deals was achieved from the “participation of Philippine exporters at the Saudi Halal Expo 2024 and B2B (business-to-business) meetings,” Aleem Guiapal, who leads the DTI’s halal industry taskforce, told Arab News.
“Seafood, pre-cooked halal (meals) were the top products.”
One of the main drivers of the success were the more than a million Filipino expats living and working in Saudi Arabia.
“The presence of the overseas Filipino workers in the Middle East is a captured market for Filipino halal products,” he said. “Institutional buyers such as supermarkets and industries also see the value of Filipino ingenuity in our products and cuisine.”
The 64-member Philippine delegation that took part in the expo and business meetings included 12 Filipino companies. They showcased their products under “Halal-friendly Philippines” – a government umbrella brand promoting the country as a halal market hub in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Philippine government welcomed the achievement as proof of the country’s growing international reputation as a provider of halal-certified products and services.
“This success reflects the Philippines’ strategic vision under Bagong Pilipinas to establish a strong and sustainable halal ecosystem that meets global demand,” the DTI’s Secretary Cristina A. Roque said in a statement.
“It is also a testament to the collective efforts of our industries and the government to drive business growth, attract international investments, and create meaningful job opportunities for Filipinos and the global halal community.”
The predominantly Catholic Philippines – where Muslims constitute about 10 percent of the almost 120 million population – has been making efforts to tap into the global halal market, which is estimated to be worth more than $7 trillion.
By increasing its presence and doubling the number of its halal-certified products and services, the Philippine government plans to raise $4 billion in investments and generate about 120,000 jobs by 2028.
India declares week of mourning for former PM Manmohan Singh
- Singh led the country from 2004 to 2014, and was credited with saving India from a financial crisis
- Former leader, the first Sikh to lead the nation, died on Thursday, aged 92
NEW DELHI: Government offices in India lowered the national flag on Friday for a week of mourning for former prime minister Manmohan Singh, whose economic reforms helped transform the country into one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
The first Sikh to lead the nation, Singh served a rare two terms as prime minister from 2004 to 2014. He died on Thursday at the age of 92.
The government declared a period of mourning until Jan. 1.
“During this period the national flag will be flown at half-mast throughout India where it is regularly flown and there will be no official entertainment during the period of state mourning,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said.
“It has also been decided that the state funeral will be accorded to late Dr. Manmohan Singh.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Singh, saying the former leader would be remembered as a “kind-hearted individual, a scholarly economist,” and a leader dedicated to reforms.
“He steered the country out of a financial crisis and paved the way for a new economic direction,” Modi said in a video message.
“His contributions as the prime minister toward the country’s development and progress will always be cherished.”
Singh was born in Gah, now in Pakistan, but his family migrated to India during the partition of the subcontinent in 1947.
He completed his economics degree at the University of Cambridge and earned a doctorate at Oxford with a thesis on the role of exports in India’s economy.
After teaching economics at the University of Punjab, he went to work for the UN Conference on Trade and Development, and later served as economic adviser to the Indian government until he was appointed to head India’s central bank in 1982, and served finance minister from 1991 to 1996.
In the early 1990s, India faced a deep economic crisis, and Singh played a pivotal role in transitioning the country from a closed economy to a more open, liberalized system. This shift set India on a path of sustained growth for decades.
It was also during his term that India signed a landmark civil nuclear deal with the US, despite not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The deal granted India access to advanced American nuclear technology.
“Manmohan Singh will be remembered for initiating economic reforms and aligning the country with the West. The foreign policy crafted during that phase has been pursued vigorously by Narendra Modi,” Sanjay Kapoor, analyst and political editor, told Arab News.
“Among his major achievements are the raising millions of those living below the poverty line and strengthening democratic institutions.”
Singh was asked to take on the prime minister’s job by Sonia Gandhi, who had led the center-left Congress party to a surprise victory in 2004.
“Manmohan Singh Ji led India with immense wisdom and integrity. His humility and deep understanding of economics inspired the nation,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said.
“I have lost a mentor and guide. Millions of us who admired him will remember him with the utmost pride.”
China sanctions 7 companies over US military assistance to Taiwan
- The sanctions also come in response to the recent approval of the US government’s annual defense spending bill
- Any assets they have in China will be frozen, and organizations and individuals in China are prohibited from engaging in any activity with them
BEIJING: The Chinese government placed sanctions on seven companies on Friday in response to recent US announcements of military sales and aid to Taiwan, the self-governing island that China claims as part of its territory.
The sanctions also come in response to the recent approval of the US government’s annual defense spending bill, which a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said “includes multiple negative sections on China.”
China objects to American military assistance for Taiwan and often imposes sanctions on related companies after a sale or aid package is announced. The sanctions generally have a limited impact, because American defense companies don’t sell arms or other military goods to China. The US is the main supplier of weapons to Taiwan for its defense.
The seven companies being sanctioned are Insitu Inc., Hudson Technologies Co., Saronic Technologies, Inc., Raytheon Canada, Raytheon Australia, Aerkomm Inc. and Oceaneering International Inc., the Foreign Ministry statement said. It said that “relevant senior executives” of the companies are also sanctioned, without naming any.
Any assets they have in China will be frozen, and organizations and individuals in China are prohibited from engaging in any activity with them, it said.
US President Joe Biden last week authorized up to $571 million in Defense Department material and services and military education and training for Taiwan. Separately, the Defense Department announced that $295 million in military sales had been approved.
The US defense bill boosts military spending to $895 billion and directs resources toward a more confrontational approach to China. It establishes a fund that could be used to send military resources to Taiwan in much the same way that the US has backed Ukraine. It also expands a ban on US military purchases of Chinese products ranging from drone technology to garlic for military commissaries.
Zhang Xiaogang, a Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson, said earlier this week that the US is hyping up the “so-called” threat from China to justify increased military spending.
“US military spending has topped the world and keeps increasing every year,” he said at a press conference. “This fully exposes the belligerent nature of the US and its obsession with hegemony and expansion.”
The Foreign Ministry statement said the US moves violate agreements between the two countries on Taiwan, interfere in China’s domestic affairs and undermine the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Taiwan’s government said earlier this month that China had sent dozens of ships into nearby seas to practice a blockade of the island, a move that Taiwan said undermined peace and stability and disrupted international shipping and trade. China has not confirmed or commented on the reported military activity.
