Judge says government must release Columbia University protester Mahmoud Khalil
A federal judge has ruled that the government must release Mahmoud Khalil, the former Columbia University graduate student whom the Trump administration is trying to deport over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
Khalil, a legal U.S. resident, was detained by federal immigration agents on March 8 in the lobby of his university-owned apartment, the first arrest under President Donald Trump's crackdown on students who joined campus protests against the war in Gaza.
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Winnipeg Free Press
38 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trump moves to merge wildland firefighting into single force, despite ex-officials warning of chaos
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered government agencies to consolidate their wildland firefighting into a single program, despite warnings from former federal officials that it could be costly and increase the risk of catastrophic blazes. The order aims to centralize firefighting efforts now split among five agencies and two Cabinet departments. Trump's proposed budget for next year calls for the creation of a new Federal Wildland Fire Service under the U.S. Interior Department. That would mean shifting thousands of personnel from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service — where most federal firefighters now work — with fire season already underway. The administration has not disclosed how much the change could cost or save. Trump in his order cited the devastating Los Angeles wildfires in January as highlighting a need for a quicker response to wildfires. 'Wildfires threaten every region, yet many local government entities continue to disregard commonsense preventive measures,' the order said. The Trump administration in its first months temporarily cut off money for wildfire prevention work and reduced the ranks of federal government firefighters through layoffs and retirement. The order makes no mention of climate change, which Trump has downplayed even as warming temperatures help stoke bigger and more destructive wildfires that churn out massive amounts of harmful pollution. More than 65,000 wildfires across the U.S. burned almost 9 million acres (3.6 million hectares) last year. Organizations representing firefighters and former Forest Service officials say it would be costly to restructure firefighting efforts and cause major disruptions in the midst of fire season. A group that includes several former Forest Service chiefs said in a recent letter to lawmakers that consolidation of firefighting work could 'actually increase the likelihood of more large catastrophic fires, putting more communities, firefighters and resources at risk.' Another destructive fire season is expected this year, driven by above-normal temperatures for most of the country, according to federal officials. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. A prior proposal to merge the Forest Service and Interior to improve firefighting was found to have significant drawbacks by the Congressional Research Service in a 2008 report. But the idea more recently got bipartisan support, with California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla and Montana Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy sponsoring legislation that is similar to Trump's plan. Before his election last year, Sheehy founded an aerial firefighting company that relies heavily on federal contracts. In a separate action aimed at wildfires, the Trump administration last month rolled back environmental safeguards around future logging projects on more than half U.S. national forests. The emergency designation covers 176,000 square miles (455,000 square kilometers) of terrain primarily in the West but also in the South, around the Great Lakes and in New England. Most of those forests are considered to have high wildfire risk, and many are in decline because of insects and disease.
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Carney should ignore any antics from Trump at G7 and focus on business, Chrétien says
Jean Chrétien says U.S. President Donald Trump is a 'bully' who will likely try to do something 'crazy' to capture headlines at the G7 summit in Alberta, but his advice to Prime Minister Mark Carney is to stay above the fray. Mr. Chrétien, who as prime minister in 2002 hosted a summit for what was then the G8, also in the Kananaskis region of Alberta, said Mr. Carney should stay focused on the work at hand. 'If he has decided to make a show to be in the news, he will do something crazy. So let him do it,' Mr. Chrétien said of Mr. Trump at an event in Calgary on Thursday. 'Just move on with the discussion is the way to handle that. He tends to be a bully once in a while. And don't lose your cool when you have a bully, unless you grab him by the neck,' he added, an apparent reference to his chokehold on a protester in 1996 when he was prime minister. Mr. Chrétien, who participated in a wide-ranging discussion during a G7-themed event at the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy, attended 11 such summits during his time as prime minister and finance minister. He said Canada's role at these meetings is to remain useful to everyone and build bridges – but be low-key and modest about it. Mr. Carney has been criticized for his decision to invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit. Canada-India relations have been strained since then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood in Parliament in September, 2023, and alleged that agents of India were responsible for murdering a Sikh activist in B.C. But Mr. Chrétien said Mr. Carney was right to invite his Indian counterpart. 'It's always good to talk,' he said. 'You cannot always go on your high horse for every problem you're confronted with. So I think the invitation to Mr. Modi, it's a good one.' Mr. Chrétien recalled that his decision to hold the 2002 G8 summit in picturesque Kananaskis, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, was intended to save money. He said he called then-U.S. President George W. Bush first to explain that every country would have to limit its number of attending officials to 40 – rather than the 1,000 or so with which the United States would normally show up. That year, organizers had to kill a bear in the vicinity, and some protesters mooned the world leaders, but aside from that Mr. Chrétien remembered it as a peaceful, successful event. And he believes this year's event will also be a success, particularly given Mr. Carney's CV and his time as governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. 'I think he has selected the real subjects that need to be discussed,' Mr. Chrétien said. The only problem will be the unpredictability of Mr. Trump, he added, but he thinks there is a good chance that other leaders around the table won't be reluctant to tell him he's on the wrong track. Emphasizing the importance of dialogue, Mr. Chrétien said one reason he believes this year's summit will be a success is the underlying tenet of the G7: bringing together a small group of political leaders to speak their minds frankly and arrive at solutions to problems facing the world. But it's also a chance for Canada to promote the fact it has everything going for it – energy, resources, land – and is in decent economic shape, he said. Mr. Chretien had advice for Mr. Trump, too. 'Stop that nonsense' about making Canada the 51st state of America, he said. 'We're an independent country. The last time they wanted to take over Canada, it was in 1812, and we burned the White House.'
Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Trump administration tells immigrants from four countries who entered U.S. under humanitarian program to leave
The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that it has begun notifying hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans that their temporary permission to live and work in the United States has been revoked and that they should leave the country. The termination notices are being sent by email to people who entered the country under the humanitarian parole program for the four countries, officials said. Since October 2022, about 532,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela were allowed to enter the U.S. under the program created by the Biden administration. They arrived with financial sponsors and were given two-year permits to live and work in the U.S. DHS said that the letters informed people that both their temporary legal status and their work permit was revoked 'effective immediately.' It encouraged any person living illegally in the U.S. to leave using a mobile application called CBP Home and said that individuals will receive travel assistance and $1,000 upon arrival at their home country. The department did not provide details on how the U.S. government will find or contact the people once they leave or how they will receive the money. Trump promised during his presidential campaign to end what he called the 'broad abuse' of humanitarian parole, a long-standing legal tool presidents have used to allow people from countries where there's war or political instability to enter and temporarily live in the U.S. Trump promised to deport millions of people who are in the U.S. illegally, and as president he has been also ending legal pathways created for immigrants to come to the U.S. and to stay and work. His decision to end the parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans was challenged at the courts, but the Supreme Court last month permitted the Trump administration to revoke those temporary legal protections. Immigration advocates expressed concern over the Trump administration decision to send the notices to more than a half million individuals. It 'is a deeply destabilizing decision,' said Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president of Global Refugee, a nonprofit organization that supports refugees and migrants entering the U.S. 'These are people that played by the passed security screenings, paid for their own travel, obtained work authorization, and began rebuilding their lives.' Zamora, a 34-year-old Cuban mother who arrived under the sponsorship of an American citizen in September 2023, said she fears deportation. However, for now, she has no plans to leave the country. 'I am afraid of being detained while my son is at school,' said Zamora, who asked to be identified only by her last name out of fear of being deported. 'I'm afraid to return to Cuba, the situation is very difficult there.' Zamora said she has sought other ways to remain in the U.S. legally through the Cuban Adjustment Act, a law that allows Cubans who have arrived legally to the U.S. and meet certain requirements to apply to get a green card. Although her process has not been approved yet, she is hopeful it may allow her to remain legally in the U.S. In the meantime, she said that she will stop working at a clinic if needed. 'I'm going to wait quietly without getting into trouble,' the Cuban said.
