I’m combining the last 2 days because I can barely keep up. Yes, I know this is a lot of links. Sorry?

(Even more here)

February 2-3, 2021

Western Hemisphere Regional

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) has been denounced as a “rogue agency” after new allegations of assaults on asylum seekers emerged, and deportations of African and Caribbean migrants continued

Nichols has a long history of working in Latin America, where he served as ambassador to Peru and as a consulate officer early in his career

The Senate voted 56 to 43 to confirm Mayorkas. Six GOP members voted with the Democrats

Perhaps most concerning among all the investigation’s findings is the weaponization of the whistleblowing process, DHS OIG’s most important function, within the watchdog agency itself

In recent days, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported immigrants to at least three countries: 15 people to Jamaica on Thursday and 269 people to Guatemala and Honduras on Friday

Senior administration officials acknowledge that some of Trump’s border-control measures will remain in place for the time being, in a sign of their concern about a new migration wave

Brazil

Brazil’s Congress on Monday chose lawmakers endorsed by President Jair Bolsonaro as speakers of its two chambers, giving the far-right leader a base among center-right politicians

Central America Regional, Mexico, U.S.-Mexico Border

My Administration will implement a multi-pronged approach toward managing migration throughout North and Central America that reflects the Nation’s highest values

Colombia

Some analysts warn that former guerrillas may see history repeating itself

Este martes ha sido hasta el momento la jornada más violenta que ha vivido el país en lo corrido del presente año

Insisten en que generará choques entre comunidades y Fuerza Pública y que terminará afectando la implementación del PDET

Campesinos cocaleros , expertos y hasta erradicadores y miembros de la fuerza pública aseguran que los reportes falsos son pan de cada dí

Al igual que Guillermo Botero y Carlos Holmes Trujillo (qepd), Molano proviene del corazón uribista y trabajó en los dos gobiernos de Álvaro Uribe; y, al igual que sus antecesores, llega sin experiencia en el sector defensa

Los resultados de la lucha antidrogas y los indicadores y situación de seguridad fortalecen un argumento clave que el Gobierno, hasta ahora, no ha querido entender: una política antidrogas no es lo mismo que una política de seguridad territorial

“This legal qualification is the highest reproach that this court can make and responds to the most serious violations of the principle of humanity”

Colombia, Cuba

The ELN negotiators had been given formal assurances of safe return, in line with standard protocols for peace negotiations, which the Cuban Government is right to uphold

Colombia, Cuba, Haiti

The scene resembles the refugee camps that line the U.S.–Mexico border. But some 3,000 miles south, out of the spotlight, migrants here in Necoclí have been living a similar reality

Cuba

Today on the show, we’re talking to a range of experts about what they think happened in Cuba, and what it might mean

Ecuador

Las encuestas de intención de voto dan con mayor preferencia al economista Andrés Arauz, un candidato cercano al expresidente Rafael Correa

Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela

Diversas organizaciones han criticado la medida, asegurando que el ejército no está capacitado para efectuar labores de control migratorio y que la medida atenta contra los derechos humanos de los migrantes

Se trata de un contingente que deberá “asegurar la eficiencia de las operaciones militares, especialmente en los patrullajes de control y vigilancia de frontera, para evitar el flujo ilegal por los pasos no autorizados”

Guatemala

The United States still insist on prioritizing work with the bad partner that is Cacif (the elite’s cartel-cum-business association). Just look at what it took for them to publish a gibberish-laden communiqué about the outrageous election of Mynor Moto

Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico

Regional militarization in response to migration increased during the administration of President Donald Trump, but it was a continuation of bipartisan efforts to contain migration from President Barack Obama’s tenure

Haiti

Whether Moïse stays or goes, observers fear more chaos as the country becomes increasingly ungovernable

Mexico

The state police officers charged in the killings knew their shell casing might give them away, so probably picked them up

At the Trump administration’s behest, Mexico mobilized its army and police to deter migration, despite objections from human rights groups. The police’s participation in last month’s massacre will force Biden to reckon with the risks of continuing that policy

Los autores de la masacre de migrantes hallados en Camargo serían policías estatales de Tamaulipas, de acuerdo con lo informado por la Fiscalía de esta entidad

El crecimiento del Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación, registrado mayormente en el sexenio pasado, está siendo acotado, no precisamente por las políticas públicas del Gobierno Federal o la Fiscalía General de la República, sino por sus enemigos naturales, los integrantes del Cártel de Sinaloa

Aunque la CNDH conocía del secuestro y extorsión a migrantes ha preferido mantenerlo oculto durante más de un año y no hablar de ello ni en sus informes ni en comunicados

López Obrador does not fear Biden the way he feared Trump. And so a politically calculated discourse of national sovereignty and anti-Americanism is again more useful than costly

Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela

The Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, close to Nicolás Maduro, is separating families

U.S.-Mexico Border

We document how Border Patrol has inserted themselves as the sole responder for undocumented migrants in need of search and rescue, fails to respond to such emergencies, and obstructs family and humanitarian search and rescue efforts

The 122-page report documented evidence of inaction, indifference, and obstruction to reports of missing migrants

The day before Mr. Biden’s inauguration, union leaders signed a labor agreement with Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, an immigration hard-liner and the acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, that requires ICE’s political leadership to consult with the union on policy decisions

The White House statement comes after a federal court panel ruled to stay a November order that had blocked the Trump administration from using a CDC coronavirus public health provision to expel the children

“There’s a lot of concerns and red flags about the way border security is framed and also the kind of very chummy relationships between the tech industry and the administration overall.”

Attorneys and advocates in the steering committee believe most of the 611 children are in contact with their parents, but that doesn’t mean the lawyers have been able to reach them

Officials have found themselves pleading for patience, saying they are constrained by President Trump’s tangle of executive orders and administrative restrictions on immigration, as well as by public health concerns

The Health and Human Services Department will reopen a facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, that can accommodate about 700 children and can be expanded if necessary

This bill has been discussed for about a decade. It is shameful that it has taken so long for it to become law. Nonetheless, it is an important accomplishment

It is not illegal to request asylum at border entry points, but under President Donald Trump, people were turned away

There is hereby established an Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families

Venezuela

The U.S. notably shifted away from such coordination with European allies, continuing to unilaterally impose individual sanctions en masse, while Switzerland and the EU largely ceased to sanction additional individuals

Chile and the Dominican Republic are the latest Latin American countries to join the EU-led International Contact Group (ICG) on Venezuela, a move that highlights Latin America’s growing distance from US sanctions-based policy