International
Mexico rejects U.S. reinstatement of “Stay in Mexico” plan
February 7th |
Mexico rejected on Monday that the United States reinstates the program for returning asylum seekers known as “Remain in Mexico”, a measure imposed by the administration of President Donald Trump that the current administration of Joe Biden abolished but was forced to reactivate on one occasion by court order.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that U.S. authorities notified it of their intention to restart the return of non-Mexicans to await in Mexico while their asylum application is being examined in the United States.
The Biden administration has not made such intentions public and ended the program, but Republican politicians have litigated in court for its reinstatement. The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which authorized the Democratic president to put an end to the measure, but returned the matter to local courts due to certain administrative issues.
According to the Mexican press release, on December 15, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a ruling forcing Biden to reactivate the “Remain in Mexico”. The White House did not respond to a request for comment at this time.
The Biden administration has said it opposes the program, which has been criticized by UN agencies and human rights bodies, as it returns asylum seekers to places of high organized crime activity and where many of them have been victims of all kinds of crimes in recent years.
During the Trump administration more than 70,000 asylum seekers were returned to Mexico to await the processing of their U.S. claim there. When Biden was forced to reinstate the program, some 7,600 people were returned from December 2021 to October last year, according to Mexican government data.
That second version of the measure attempted to take a more humanitarian approach and affected a very small percentage of the tens of thousands of migrants who are returned to Mexico each month under a public health rule known as Title 42, which was imposed by Trump at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to prevent the spread of contagions, and which Biden has maintained and expanded.
However, the current U.S. government also recently increased the number of temporary visas it grants for certain nationalities in the face of the unprecedented migration flow recorded in the last year at the country’s southern border.
International
Police investigate deaths of Rob Reiner and wife as apparent homicide
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating the deaths of Hollywood actor and filmmaker Rob Reinerand his wife as an “apparent homicide,” amid a wave of tributes to the director of classics such as When Harry Met Sally.
According to U.S. media reports on Sunday, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Los Angeles mansion with what appeared to be stab wounds.
Several political figures shared messages of condolence following the reported deaths of the director of A Few Good Menand his wife.
While the LAPD did not officially confirm the identities of the victims, it stated that homicide detectives were dispatched to the Reiner residence.
“At this time, no additional details are available and the investigation into an apparent homicide is ongoing,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement posted on social media.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters that no arrests have been made and that no individuals are currently being questioned as suspects.
“I’m not going to confirm whether anyone is being questioned at this moment or not. We are going to try to speak with as many family members as we can,” Hamilton said.
CNN reported that a family spokesperson confirmed the deaths of Reiner and his wife.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and former Vice President Kamala Harrisissued statements expressing their condolences.
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.
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