U.S. extends TPS
June 14, 2023
The U.S. government announced extension of a temporary legal status for about 337,000 immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal, which will allow them to remain in the U.S. under the Temporary Protected Status program for another 18 months. (CBS)
The move reverses a Trump-era directive that sought to revoke the humanitarian protections, reports the Miami Herald.
Immigration advocates applauded the move, but said it fell short. TPS beneficiaries from Central America are required to have lived in the United States more than two decades to be eligible, ignoring more recent causes for migration. Many advocates had pushed for expanded eligibility for more recent arrivals from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela, reports the Associated Press.
Immigrants with the temporary status are eligible for work permits, social security cards and state driver’s licenses, but the status does not lead to citizenship. (Washington Post)
Haiti
Jamaica suspended consular services in Haiti, following an attack on a car dealership where the country’s Port-au-Prince consulate is located, on Monday. (Miami Herald)
The attack coincides with discussions among Haitian stakeholders in Jamaica, talks aimed at reaching a consensus regarding elections, Haiti’s prolonged political crisis and raging insecurity — which has raised suspicions, reports the Miami Herald. (See Monday’s briefs.)
A U.S. federal judge sentenced Haitian-Chilean businessman Rodolphe Jaar to life in prison this month for his role in helping Colombian mercenaries obtain weapons used in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. (Associated Press)
Guatemala
Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora will receive a verdict (and sentence) today in a case that accuses him of financial wrongdoing, but is widely seen as an attack against a critical voice and part of the country’s deteriorating rule of law, reports the New York Times.
Brazil
NPR profiles Brazilian Indigenous activist Alessandra Korap Munduruku, one of six recipients of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, this year.
Colombia
The Colombian Indigenous children rescued from the Amazon jungle last week were fleeing from their home region which was seized by an armed group that forcibly recruited children. The case is “a stark reminder of the dangers faced by thousands of rural Colombian children every day,” reports the New York Times. (See Monday’s post.)
The children are recovering in a Colombian military hospital, and the drawings they have produced feature Wilson, a Belgian shepherd dog who helped lead rescuers to their location – and who remains missing in the jungle. (Guardian)
Mexico
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador tapped veteran U.N. diplomat Alicia Bárcena to head the country’s foreign ministry, after incumbent Marcelo Ebrard resigned in order to campaign for the ruling Morena party’s presidential nomination. (Reuters, El País)
Tijuana mayor Montserrat Caballero has moved into military barracks for her safety after she received threats, AMLO said yesterday. (Reuters)
“The borderlands are the most interesting book in the world, being rewritten every day,” writes Tijuana-born poet and novelist Luis Alberto Urrea in a New York Times “Read you way around the World” column.
Nicaragua
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's administration received the disapproval of 56% of Nicaraguans, and only 16% expressed their sympathy for the Sandinista National Liberation Front party, according to a June CID Gallup poll. (Confidencial English)
Nicaraguan journalist Victor Ticay was found guilty of the alleged crimes of “undermining national integrity” and “propagation of fake news,” last week. Ticay was arrested after live streaming a Holy Week procession, which the government banned this year. (Confidencial)
Regional
“There is real potential that we have elections in Guatemala, Ecuador, and Argentina that all turn on security issues,” argues James Bosworth in the Latin America Risk Report. “In each country, one or several candidates will attempt to claim the title of the most hardline on security issues. And the appeal of that candidate will drive all candidates, even those who are more traditionally doves, torwards harder line policies.”
But plans to establish marine protected areas in East Antarctica have stalled, due to opposition from China and Russia. The 27-member Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources will gather, next week, at a special meeting in Chile, to try to break the deadlock, reports the Conversation.
Critter Corner
Chilean wildlife rehab centers are treating increasing numbers of animals hurt in fires, but with much of their habitats severely damaged in blazes, the number of locations fit for wild rereleases is limited, reports Mongabay.