Trump 'chipping away at civil liberties' in ban on foreign students
Alexandra Miller, interim executive director for Vecina, analyses Trump's decision to revoke international student visas and explores his motives.
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Al Jazeera
6 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Enlightened Americans should stay and fight, not leave
For all his faults and hubris, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy possesses one unmistakable quality: courage. That became apparent during a memorable moment more than three years ago when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. A foreboding, endless column of Russian tanks and other armoured vehicles had breached the border in a pincer pattern. In the halting face of such an intimidating display of overwhelming force, defeat seemed close by. Kyiv looked bound to fall. Zelenskyy and company would be arrested or killed as a lethal exclamation point while Russian President Vladimir Putin installed a puppet regime to bow and obey. The comedian turned unlikely wartime leader did not flinch. He stood his ground – on the sacred soil of Ukraine. To reassure fretful Ukrainians, Zelenskyy posted a short video on social media featuring himself surrounded by several solemn-looking officials and cabinet ministers. 'The president is here,' he said. 'We are all here … defend[ing] our independence.' I was reminded of that remarkable scene while I read accounts over the past few months from a disparate group of Americans, including artists and academics, departing their beloved homeland in the distressing wake of President Donald Trump's jarring return to the Oval Office. Before I continue, I am obliged to make two instructive points. First, by invoking Zelenskyy's vow to remain in Ukraine despite the ominous risks, I do not mean to imply that enlightened Americans opting to forgo living and working in the United States, lack courage. Far from it. Each of us has confronted or will confront in due course a defining dilemma: to stay or to go. Answering the prickly question can stir doubt and anxiety. Making a choice, regardless of the direction, is a bold act. It takes resolve to exchange the familiar for the unknown. Second, I have avoided the word 'flee' to describe why some Americans choose to emigrate due to Trump's egregious modus operandi. 'Flee' evokes impulsive panic or self-preservation, rather than thoughtful, deliberate decision-making. Still, Zelenskyy offers a compelling example of why it is necessary to stay instead of escaping to Canada or Europe when a bully threatens the values and principles that you hold dear – fairness, truth, empathy, tolerance, justice, diversity, and intelligence. So, enlightened Americans, I urge you to insist like Zelenskyy: We are all here. Your presence in America to fight for its promise is a duty and responsibility. Together, you can fashion a formidable, immovable buttress against the wretched aspects of Trumpism – its assault on facts, erosion of democratic norms, embrace of authoritarianism, and corrosive pursuit of division and fear. This contest cannot be won remotely – far from the epicentre of the urgent battle. It has to be fought face-to-face with an uncompromising adversary and hand-in-hand with other enlightened Americans, thin on the privileges and resources that have enabled your exit. Trumpism thrives when opposition retreats. Absence creates space for extremism to entrench itself even more deeply and widely into America's already frayed and discordant fabric. Withdrawal only comforts the Trumpists determined to quash dissent and erase resistance through edicts, threats, and coercion. Leaving can also be seen as an admission of defeat – a concession that an angry, ruptured country is beyond redemption or salvation. Dynamic governance is not self-sustaining; it requires citizens to keep up the struggle, particularly when it is trying. By forsaking the arena, some enlightened Americans forfeit their ability to shape the present and the future. In contrast, standing with and by enlightened Americans remaining behind, confirms that America belongs to all its people, not just the cartoonish characters shouting the loudest or demanding the most attention. Trump welcomes the idea of disheartened Americans building new lives in new places because he is president. It is, I suspect, a point of pride since it suggests his vindictive agenda is working. For Trump, the exodus of 'liberal elites' or 'out-of-touch' entertainers is proof that the old establishment, never subscribers to his jejune notion of America's 'greatness', is being replaced by 'authentic' patriots. This response is, of course, symptomatic of Trump's broader political strategy – drawing a Berlin-Wall-like line between 'real' Americans – his supporters – and everyone else. By celebrating the phenomenon of Americans parting in protest, he promotes the insidious attitude that protest is not an essential ingredient of a mature, confident nation, but a form of disloyalty. Trump is not interested in unity or persuasion. As such, he frames his presidency as a litmus test of fidelity. If you don't worship him, you're encouraged to join the despondent diaspora – and, in his jaundiced view, good riddance. Despite their arguments and reservations about resettling to avoid the depressing capitulation of major law firms, universities, and corporate media, Americans face an uncomfortable truth: walking out won't help drive change. Scholars and intellectuals with the mettle and means to challenge obstinate power should rejoin the fight where it counts: in classrooms, on airwaves, in town halls. Declarations from abroad, however poignant, are not substitutes for showing up, time and again, in person to remind America that kindness, resiliency, and decency matter. Trumpism thrives on spectacle, and few understand the potency of spectacle better than celebrities. Many bidding America adieu did so defiantly, wielding a righteous pulpit from foreign shores. Even so, symbolism without substance is hollow. Returning means tackling – head-on – the mess, the contradictions, the tarnished ideals of a battered nation still worth the imagination and effort. Public figures ought to leverage their popular platforms not just to condemn, but to galvanise, to convey resistance not as elitist scorn but as shared obligation. That would impress more than a pointed opinion column in the New York Times or a thread of disparaging tweets ever could. Zelenskyy knows that hard work is always done on the ground. This is where returnees can make a tangible difference – not as saviours parachuting in, but instead as allies to like-minded collaborators who do that hard work without notice or applause. Trumpism may be ascendant, but it is not invincible. What it fears most is solidarity that bridges class, race, and background – solidarity that declares that America is not Donald Trump's to disfigure or define. The bruised and disillusioned exiles can reclaim their rightful place in that grave fray – if they come home. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.
Al Jazeera
13 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Truck accident unleashes 250 million honeybees in northwestern US
A truck carrying millions of honeybees has overturned in the northwestern United States, prompting emergency warnings from local authorities. The truck, carrying approximately 31,751kg (70,000 pounds) of active beehives, overturned on Friday in Washington state's Whatcom County – a rural area near the Canadian border, about 48km (30 miles) south of Vancouver. '250 million bees are now loose,' the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) announced on its official social media page. 'Avoid the area due to the potential of bee escaping and swarming.' Authorities sealed off parts of the area and urged the public to keep a safe distance of at least 200 yards (182 metres) as officials and bee experts helped recover, restore and reset the hives, according to the sheriff's office. The goal, officials said, is to safely re-hive the bees and help them locate their queens, a process that could take up to 48 hours. While some beekeepers focus solely on honey production, many others lease their hives to farmers who rely on bees to pollinate their crops. The loss of millions of bees, even temporarily, could threaten the productivity of nearby farms during the growing season. 'While there is no general health risk to the public, anyone who is allergic to bee stings or has concerns should check the State Department of Health webpage on bees and wasps,' WCSO said. Honeybees are crucial to the food supply, pollinating more than 100 crops including nuts, vegetables, berries, citrus and melons. Bees and other pollinators have been declining for years, and experts blame insecticides, parasites, disease, climate change and lack of a diverse food supply. In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly sponsored the first 'World Bee Day' on May 20 to bring attention to the bees' plight. Beekeepers often transport millions of bees from one location to another because leaving them in one location for too long can deplete resources for other pollinators, The Seattle Times newspaper reported. In 2015, 14 million bees escaped a truck north of Seattle on Interstate 5 and started stinging people, the newspaper reported at the time.
Al Jazeera
21 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Trump says US will lift steel tariffs to 50 percent at Pennsylvania rally
United States President Donald Trump has announced his administration is raising tariffs on steel imports from 25 percent to 50 percent. Speaking to steelworkers and supporters at a rally outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Trump framed his latest tariff increase as a boon to the domestic manufacturing industry. 'We're going to bring it from 25 percent to 50 percent, the tariffs on steel into the United States of America, which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States,' Trump told the crowd. 'Nobody's going to get around that.' How that tariff increase would affect the free-trade deal with Canada and Mexico – or a separate trade deal struck earlier this month with the United Kingdom – remains unclear. Also left ambiguous was the nature of a deal struck between Nippon Steel, the largest steel producer in Japan, and the domestic company US Steel. Still, Trump played up the partnership between the two companies as a 'blockbuster agreement'. ' There's never been a $14bn investment in the history of the steel industry in the United States of America,' Trump said of the deal. Friday's rally was a return to the site of many election-season campaign events for Trump and his team. In 2024, Trump hinged his pitch for re-election on an appeal to working-class voters, including those in the Rust Belt region, a manufacturing hub that has declined in the face of the shifting industry trends and greater overseas competition. Key swing states like Pennsylvania and Michigan are located in the region, and they leaned Republican on election day, helping to propel Trump to a second term as president. Trump, in turn, has framed his 'America First' agenda as a policy platform designed to bolster the domestic manufacturing industry. Tariffs and other protectionist policies have played a prominent part in that agenda. In March, for instance, Trump announced an initial slate of 25-percent tariffs on steel and aluminium, causing major trading partners like Canada to respond with retaliatory measures. The following month, he also imposed a blanket 10-percent tariff on nearly all trade partners as well as higher country-specific import taxes. Those were quickly paused amid economic shockwaves and widespread criticism, while the 10-percent tariff remained in place. Trump has argued that the tariffs are a vital negotiating tool to encourage greater investment in the US economy. But economists have warned that attempting a 'hard reset' of the global economy – through dramatic tax hikes like tariffs – will likely blow back on US consumers, raising prices. Rachel Ziemba, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, said the latest tariff hike on steel also signals that negotiating trade deals with Trump may result in 'limited benefits', given the sudden shifts in his policies. Further, Friday's announcement signals that Trump is likely to continue doubling down on tariffs, she said. 'The challenge is that hiking the steel tariffs may be good for steel workers, but it is bad for manufacturing and the energy sector, among others. So overall, it is not great for the US economy and adds uncertainty to the macro outlook,' Ziemba explained. Trump's tariff policies have also faced legal challenges in the US, where businesses, interest groups and states have all filed lawsuits to stop the tax hikes on imports. On Thursday, for instance, a federal court briefly ruled that Trump had illegally exercised emergency powers to impose his sweeping slate of international tariffs, only for an appeals court to temporarily pause that ruling a few hours later. Before the tariff hike was announced, Friday's rally in Pittsburgh was expected to focus on Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of US Steel, the second largest steel producer in the country. 'We're here today to celebrate a blockbuster agreement that will ensure this storied American company stays an American company,' Trump said at the outset of his speech. But the merger between Nippon Steel and US Steel had been controversial, and it was largely opposed by labour unions. Upon returning to the White House in January, Trump initially said he would block the acquisition, mirroring a similar position taken by his predecessor, former US President Joe Biden. However, he has since pivoted his stance and backed the deal. Last week, he announced an agreement that he said would grant Nippon only 'partial ownership' over US Steel. Speaking on Friday, Trump said the new deal would include Nippon making a '$14bn commitment to the future' of US Steel, although he did not provide details about how the ownership agreement would play out. 'Oh, you're gonna be happy,' Trump told the crowd of steelworkers. 'There's a lot of money coming your way.' The Republican leader also waxed poetic about the history of steel in the US, describing it as the backbone of the country's economy. 'The city of Pittsburgh used to produce more steel than most entire countries could produce, and it wasn't even close,' he said, adding: 'If you don't have steel, you don't have a country.' For its part, US Steel has not publicly communicated any details of a revamped deal to investors. Nippon, meanwhile, issued a statement approving the proposed 'partnership', but it also has not disclosed terms of the arrangement. The acquisition has split union workers, although the national United Steelworkers Union has been one of its leading opponents. In a statement prior to the rally, the union questioned whether the new arrangement makes 'any meaningful change' from the initial proposal. 'Nippon has maintained consistently that it would only invest in US Steel's facilities if it owned the company outright,' the union said in a statement, which noted firmer details had not yet been released. 'We've seen nothing in the reporting over the past few days suggesting that Nippon has walked back from this position.' The rally on Friday comes as Trump has sought to reassure his base of voters following a tumultuous start to his second term. Critics point out that steel prices have risen in the US by roughly 16 percent since Trump took office, and his Republican Party faces potentially punishing congressional elections in 2026.
