Daily Archives: August 18, 2021

2021-08-18: News Headlines

Staff (2021-08-18). Advocates Urge Biden to Move Faster to Resettle Afghan Refugees. truthout.org President Joe Biden has allocated $500 million in new funds for relocating Afghan refugees following the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. The U.S. had already vowed to help evacuate over 80,000 Afghan civilians who qualify for special immigrant visas and face possible retribution from the Taliban, such as translators and interpreters for the U.S. military or NATO, but critics say the Biden administration needs to move faster and expand refugee resettlement from the country. There is already a backlog of more…

Staff (2021-08-18). Advocates Call on Biden Admin to Move Faster on Resettling Afghan Refugees. democracynow.org President Joe Biden has allocated $500 million in new funds for relocating Afghan refugees following the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. The U.S. had already vowed to help evacuate over 80,000 Afghan civilians who qualify for special immigrant visas and face possible retribution from the Taliban, such as translators and interpreters for the U.S. military or NATO, but critics say the Biden administration needs to move faster and expand refugee resettlement from the country. There is already a backlog of more than 17,000 Afghan nationals and 53,000 of their family members awaiting visa approval. "This entire backl…

Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2021-08-18). Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wants to revive Simón Bolívar's dream. peoplesworld.org The following speech was given by Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on July 24, 2021, in Mexico City to pay homage to the Liberator Simón Bolívar. AMLO urged the recreation of Bolívar's project of uniting the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, and to rely on history to better face the present and …

Joe Piette (2021-08-18). Protest demands ICE free all detainees. workers.org Philadelphia — Despite temperatures in the mid-90s, more than 50 community activists rallied here on Aug. 12 to demand Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cease transferring migrant workers and refugees from a detention center in York, Pa., to other prisons. Recorded voices from people impacted by transfers were heard by . . . |

Fight Back (2021-08-18). Minnesota: Campaign to get ICE out of Hennepin County advances. fightbacknews.org Minneapolis, MN – There have been some recent advances in the campaign to end cooperation between the largest county in Minnesota, Hennepin County, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The campaign has been organized by the Decriminalizing Communities Coalition, which brings together several local immigrant rights and social justice organizations. | On May 24, the Decriminalizing Communities Coalition sent a letter to Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson that was signed by over 300 Hennepin County residents requesting a meeting to discuss the need to stop his department's cooperation with ICE. The c…

Rebekah Entralgo (2021-08-18). A Chance to Protect Our Essential Workers. otherwords.org Immigration agents arrested over 600 undocumented workers at a poultry plant in Jackson, Mississippi two years ago in what remains the This August, on the two-year anniversary of that raid, immigrant rights advocates demanded that U.S. officials take action to repair the harms inflicted on the workers and their communities. | Some 230 of the workers have already been deported but another 400 are still waiting for their day in court. And while they wait, many are unable to provide for themselve…

Anonymous007 (2021-08-18). Belarusian Officers Push Migrants Across Lithuania Border, Briefly Encroach (Video). southfront.org Click to see full-size image | On August 17th, Belarusian officers armed with shields and riot gear forcibly pushed a group of 35 irregular migrants into Lithuania, and in the process entered Lithuanian territory. | Lithuania's State Border Guard Service (VSAT) shared a video of the incident on Facebook on Tuesday afternoon. It said that Belarus first published the footage, but omitted the part where the officers can be seen in Lithuanian territory. | "Belarusian officers wearing riot gear were the ones…

AutumnSun (2021-08-18). DACA Is Not Enough – Citizenship For All Multi-city Rally. indybay.org CITIZENSHIP FOR ALL IMMIGRANTS NOW! The Rally was held Tuesday August 17th. In Santa Cruz, CA. at the Town Clock in downtown.

Staff (2021-08-18). Texas Governor Greg Abbott Tests Positive for Coronavirus After Banning Mask & Vaccine Mandates. democracynow.org Texas Governor Greg Abbott has tested positive for the coronavirus, just one day after he attended a packed indoor Republican event in Dallas, where he and most attendees were unmasked. Abbott, who said he was not showing symptoms of COVID-19, imposed a statewide ban on vaccine and mask mandates last month, though a judge later blocked the ban on mask mandates. Abbott has also tried to blame immigrants for the spread of COVID-19 in Texas and issued an executive order last month instructing state troopers to stop any vehicle suspected of transporting migrants "who pose a risk of carrying COVID-19." Abbott's rhetor…

Staff (2021-08-17). Headlines for August 17, 2021. democracynow.org Biden Defends U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan After Taliban Capture Kabul , Advocates Demand U.S. and Other Nations Open Doors to Afghan Refugees, Tropical Storm Adds to Haiti's Misery Two Days After Massive Earthquake Kills Over 1,400, Immigrant Advocates Denounce Biden Administration for Deporting Haitian Refugees, U.S. Will Recommend COVID Booster Shots After 8 Months, Despite Global Vaccine Inequity, Johnson & Johnson Ships Millions of Vaccine Doses from South Africa to Europe, U.S. Coronavirus Hospitalizations Soar, with Record Infection Levels in Five States, Republican Governors Erect New Barriers to COVI…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-08-17). UK Home Department slammed for insensitive policies on refugees and asylum seekers. peoplesdispatch.org UK home secretary Priti Patel has received widespread criticism for insensitive policies towards asylum seekers from Afghanistan, the handling of the refugee crisis in the English Channel, and controversial plans to open a new detention center for immigrant women…

Paul Street (2021-08-17). The United States, Afghanistan, and the Doctrinal Boundaries of Permissible Reflection. counterpunch.org One of the doctrinal principles behind U.S. corporate-imperial news coverage and commentary and mainstream US politics is that the United States is a fundamentally benevolent force for good facing difficulties created by evil others and challenging situations not of Washington's own making. Debate is permissible on immediate strategy and tactics but is not allowed on these core American Exceptionalist positions. | Hence, while there is contestation in U.S. media and political culture over how to respond to the flood of migrants seeking entrance to the United States on the nation's southern border, there is little…

José Manuel Blanco Diaz (2021-08-17). President Maduro on Mexico Talks: We Should Resume Diplomatic Relations with the US. orinocotribune.com After completing the first phase of the negotiations between the Bolivarian Government and opposition elements in Mexico, President Nicolás Maduro stressed this Monday, August 16, that there are expectations of a a direct dialogue with the US administration. | In a press conference offered from the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, the Venezuelan president confirmed his willingness to address bilateral issues with representatives of the White House and respond to the need to address the impact of policies from abroad on Venezuela. | "I believe that we began to move through the solution with the first step, to dialogu…

Staff (2021-08-17). Mexico Talks to Resume September 3. orinocotribune.com The plenipotentiary envoy of the Venezuelan government for the peace talks in Mexico, Jorge Rodríguez, announced this Monday, August 16, that on September 3 negotiations between the government and the extreme-right opposition will resume. This was stated by Rodríguez during a press conference with international media, alongside the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro, while highlighting that it was agreed that they will not only meet in Mexico, but also in Venezuela. | Rodríguez emphasized that the meeting in Mexico was the result of six months of talks. "We issued a memorandum that was the starting point f…

teleSUR (2021-08-17). US West Declares First Water Shortage, Triggering Planned Cuts. telesurenglish.net The shortage will reduce water distributions to Arizona, Nevada and Mexico for the year beginning in October, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, an agency of the Interior Department, said in a statement. | Arizona will lose 18 percent of its annual distribution, while Nevada could experience cuts of seven percent. Allocations to Mexico, required under a 1944 treaty, will be reduced by five percent. | RELATED: | Ten Western go…

Staff (2021-08-17). Freddy Guevara Free Again, Joins Mexico Talks. orinocotribune.com Venezuelan opposition politician Freddy Guevara is free to join the dialogue process taking place in Mexico as a member of the delegation that represents the extreme right. Guevara spoke to the media in Caracas, on Sunday, August 15. | In addition, international news agencies reported that "in Mexico, Guevara could replace Carlos Vecchio"—the current representative of former deputy Juan Guaidó before the US, who calls himself "ambassador" in the North American country. | When speaking to the press minutes after his release, Guevara stated that he has "zero political information" when asked about the reasons…

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