A panel of judges has upheld the order for the Biden administration to reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the Remain in Mexico policy, agreeing with the original lawsuit claiming that the administration had violated both federal immigration law and administrative procedures of the US government. Although President Biden created an order suspending the program on his first day in office, Republicans in the states of Missouri and Texas sued to have it reinstated, with a US District Judge ordering the administration to do so; this new ruling is just the latest in the administration's attempts to remove the policy again. The opinion written by the panel of judges, of which two of the three were appointed by former President Trump, argues that "DHS claims the power to implement a massive policy reversal — affecting billions of dollars and countless people — simply by typing out a new Word document and posting it on the internet," and that the suspension of the policy was "arbitrary and capricious". The policy, reimplemented last week, has already affected over a hundred migrants, and with the Biden administration's plans to spread the area of effect along the border, many more could be affected in the coming weeks. It remains to be seen whether the administration will take their appeal to the Supreme Court.
Source: CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/appeals-court-upholds-order-requiring-revival-of-remain-in-mexico-border-policy/
At least 55 migrants from Central America were killed on Thursday when a tractor-trailer carrying them crashed in the Mexican state of Chiapas; over 100 more were injured. Victims of the crash included men, women, and children, mostly from Guatemala, Honduras, and Ecuador. The truck flipped and was torn in half when it hit a sharp bend in the road at too high of a speed and hit a pedestrian crossing bridge. The driver of the truck appeared to be injured after the accident, but left the scene before authorities arrived. Smugglers have started using these tractor-trailers to transport migrants across the Mexico-United States border, often charging thousands of dollars for passage, though this horrific crash -- the highest loss of life in a single day in Mexico since 2010 -- highlights the dangers of the transportation. The presidents of both Guatemala and Mexico offered their condolences to the victims and their families and their deepest regrets over the tragedy.
Source: Washington Post; BBC News
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/12/09/tractor-trailer-full-migrants-crashes-southern-mexico-killing-least-49/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-59603801
Several collaborators of an international human-trafficking ring have been indicted for exploiting immigrants from Central America by offering fraudulent temporary Visas. Migrant farmworkers were brought to Georgia under false pretenses and then forced to work for mere cents a day digging up onions with their bare hands, or sold to farms in other states. The workers were often threatened with guns and other physical violence, while at least one worker was repeatedly sexually assaulted and two others died under the conditions of forced labor. Over 100 people were rescued from the trafficking ring when the arrests were made. The charges for those indicted include human trafficking, visa fraud, and money laundering, and can carry up to a life sentence if convicted. The arrests show a shift by the government to focus on exploitative employers instead of undocumented workers, although immigration advocates warn that these conditions are not out of the ordinary for many worksites. Charles Kuck, a Georgia-based immigration attorney, said "we know that the conditions for workers that they described are not unusual. This is just people getting caught.”
Source: NBC News
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna8273