Latest news with #DepartmentofHomelandSecurity
NBC News
6 hours ago
- Climate
- NBC News
Number of missing plummets to 3 in hard-hit Kerr County in wake of Texas floods
The number of people reported missing in the wake of historic July 4 flooding in Kerr County, Texas, has dropped from a peak of more than 160 to three, with many now verified as being safe, officials said Saturday. "Extensive follow-up work" and "extraordinary efforts" were credited with the reduction after 173 people statewide were reported missing amid floodwaters two stories deep, officials said in nearly identical statements from Kerr County and the city of Kerrville. "This remarkable progress reflects countless hours of coordinated search and rescue operations, careful investigative work, and an unwavering commitment to bringing clarity and hope to families during an unimaginably difficult time," Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said in the statements. Dozens upon dozens of people reported missing by loved ones were taken off a list of missing persons after their safety was verified, officials said. "Many individuals who were initially reported as missing have been verified as safe and removed from the list," the city and county statements said. "This has been an ongoing effort as investigators worked diligently to verify reports of missing persons and confirm their status." County officials did not immediately respond to a request for more information Saturday. It wasn't clear if any one factor, such as the return of cellphone service interrupted by the storm, may have been instrumental in locating those initially reported as missing. Rapidly rising floodwaters in the early morning hours of July 4 swept through river-adjacent summer camp bungalows, washed cars off roadways and left some survivors clinging to trees. A "flood wave" also swept down the Guadalupe River, rapidly increasing its depth and damaging structures along its banks. Federal weather data showed the Guadalupe, which runs through Kerville and Kerr County, rose 26 feet in 45 minutes. At least 27 campers and staff members died at Camp Mystic, which was hosting more than 750 children when it was inundated by the sudden river flooding. The process of warning residents is under scrutiny as the federal Integrated Public Alert & Warning System was not used to send Emergency Alert System texts to cellphone users in the region. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, earlier this week called for a formal investigation into the Department of Homeland Security's response to the flooding. President Donald Trump toured flood-damaged Kerrville last week and defended the stance of his administration, saying the federal response was immediate. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was 'there right from the beginning,' the president said. State and local officials have also had to grapple with criticism of the lack of timely alerts being sent to residents ahead of the floods. 'It happened so rapidly that nobody, nobody could have anticipated it,' Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice told NBC News this week, arguing that the historic and overwhelming nature of the flooding could barely be avoided with the best warnings and forecasts.
Cedar News
12 hours ago
- Business
- Cedar News
U.S. Introduces New 'Visa Integrity Fee' for All Foreign Visitors Starting 2025
A new law passed under the Trump administration's One Big Beautiful Bill Act will require all foreign visitors to the United States who need nonimmigrant visas to pay a 'U.S. visa integrity fee' starting in fiscal year 2025. The new charge will be a minimum of $250 and cannot be waived, according to the legislation. The fee, which is in addition to existing visa costs, is aimed at promoting compliance with U.S. immigration rules. However, travelers may be eligible for reimbursement under certain conditions. Who Must Pay the U.S. Visa Integrity Fee? The fee applies to all nonimmigrant visa categories, including: Tourists (B-1/B-2) Business travelers International students (F-1, M-1, etc.) The visa integrity fee will be paid only if a visa is approved. If a visa application is denied, the fee will not be charged. Does the Fee Replace Other Visa Costs? No. The new fee is in addition to existing visa application fees, such as the $205 for an H-1B application. It also adds to the Form I-94 fee, which was recently raised from $6 to $24. Travelers should prepare to pay significantly more when applying for U.S. visas after the new rule takes effect. Is the Fee Refundable? Technically, yes — but only if visa holders comply with all conditions: Do not accept unauthorized employment Do not overstay the visa by more than 5 days Reimbursement will occur after the visa expires, but no system has been announced yet to manage this process. Legal experts are advising travelers to treat the fee as nonrefundable, given the uncertainty. When Will the Fee Be Implemented? No specific date has been set. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stated that inter-agency coordination is required before launching the new fee. It's unclear how or where the DHS will collect it, since the State Department handles the visa issuance process. Impact on International Travel Immigration experts warn that the U.S. visa integrity fee could deter tourists and students due to higher travel costs. It also comes as the U.S. prepares to host major events in 2026 — including its 250th independence anniversary and part of the FIFA World Cup. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the policy will generate $28.9 billion in revenue and help reduce visa overstays — a long-standing issue in U.S. immigration enforcement.
Miami Herald
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
U.S. restores Haitian TPS protections, work permits until early February after court ruling
Tens of thousands of Haitians living and working in the United States with temporary protections from deportation will now be allowed to remain until at least February 2026 with employment authorization, according to the Department of Homeland Security website. The restoration of Haiti's Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, designation comes after a New York federal judge earlier this month blocked the Trump administration's efforts to shave six months off of the protections, which are usually for 18 months. U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan, ruling in a suit against the Trump administration's decision to prematurely end Haitians' TPS status and their work permits, had found that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exceeded her authority when she rolled back the timeline. The TPS designation— originally set by the Biden administration to end on Feb. 3, 2026 after being extended for Haiti — had allowed up to more than a half-million Haitian nationals to shield themselves from deportation and against losing their work permits. In his ruling, Cogan also partly denied the administration's motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Haitian immigrants with TPS, a labor union and a clergy group with TPS beneficiaries. 'It is a victory,' said Ira Kurzban, one of the lawyers in the lawsuit. 'We are pleased that the Court, as have many others, stopped the administration from engaging in unlawful and vicious actions against immigrants.' Administration 'vehemently disagrees' It's not immediately clear if the Trump administration would attempt to appeal the decision. In an alert posted Friday on its website, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services noted that Haiti's TPS designation and related benefits were slated to terminate on Sept. 2, 2025 but on July 15, 'a single judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued a final judgment' in a lawsuit. 'The Department of Homeland Security vehemently disagrees with this ruling and is working to determine next steps,' immigration services said in the alert. The restoration follows several efforts by the Trump administration to end legal protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants, including more than 200,000 Haitians who entered the U.S. under a Biden-era humanitarian parole program. Last week during a visit to Washington by Haiti Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, the uncertain status of Haitians in the U.S. — and more support for a Kenya-led multinational security support force fighting armed gangs were among the concerns raised in meetings with the State Department and congressional lawmakers. In late June, Noem determined that Haiti no longer meets the conditions for its TPS designation and announced the end of the country's designation once the current status ends. The decision, USCIS said, was taken 'after reviewing country conditions and consulting with the appropriate U.S. government agencies.' TPS designations have historically been given to countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions. The United Nations is warning that hunger continues to deepen across Haiti. The food crisis is compounded by ongoing violence, which is disrupting local food production in areas such as the community of Kenscoff in the hills above Port-au-Prince and the Artibonite, Haiti's breadbasket. With more than 5.7 million Haitians experiencing hunger, including famine-like conditions, and Haitians increasingly being targeted by armed gangs, the county is a textbook case for TPS designation, immigration and Haitian advocates have argued. On Saturday, they welcomed the announcement but stressed that it was a court-imposed victory and they vowed to continue fight the effort by the Trump administration to end TPS for Haitians. 'This is not just a policy decision—it is a hard-fought legal victory for the Haitian community and all who have stood in defense of our immigrant families,' Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-FL, said in a Saturday statement following the administration's confirmation that it will comply with a federal court order halting deportations until at least February. 'The court's ruling makes clear what we have always known: TPS holders deserve stability, protection, and respect, not political games or legal uncertainty.' McCormick said Haitian TPS holders who were wrongfully fired due to confusion around work permits must be reinstated immediately. 'These individuals are essential workers, caregivers and taxpayers, and they deserve justice. 'Let's be clear: this is the enforcement of the law. Our communities should not have to rely on court orders to be treated with dignity. A stronger path forward begins at home, with permanent protections and immigration reform that centers humanity, not politics,' she said. Revoking TPS 'unconscionable' Her sentiments were echoes by the Family Action Network Movement, a Haitian rights groups in Miami. 'We are relieved that the Administration finally acknowledged the correct end-date of Haiti's current TPS designation,' said Paul Christian Namphy, political director of FANM. 'We are encouraged that the court recognized the dire conditions that Haitians threatened with deportation would face upon arrival in Haiti.' Sending back TPS holders 'to a country mired in gang violence, political instability and humanitarian crisis would be unconscionable,' the group added. With more than 4,000 Haitians already killed this year and armed gangs expanding to other regions of the country, Haitians face a dire situation marked by widespread violence, rape, kidnapping, armed robbery, lack of access to basic resources and governmental collapse. Just this week, scores of residents in Marchand Dessalines, a rural community in the Artibonite region, were forced out of their beds by armed gangs who invaded the community and set fire to the local police station before they were repelled by a self-defense group. On Friday, the United Nations said that as of last month, there were nearly 250 active displacement sites across Haiti, housing many of the more than 1.3 million now displaced because of gangs. 'The vast majority are informal sites— with just over a fifth managed by humanitarian organizations, in collaboration with local authorities. This means that many families are living in precarious conditions,' U.N. Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq said. 'Since the beginning of the year, the U.N. and its partners have provided support to more than 113,000 displaced people, including essential services such as water, shelter, sanitation and healthcare. Nearly 1.3 million people are now internally displaced in Haiti— the highest number ever recorded in the country due to violence,' he added during a press briefing. Haq said that in June alone, more than 200 alerts were reported across displacement sites including reports about a lack of food, water, shelter or healthcare. FANM said that the court's decision provides a crucial, if temporary, reprieve for the more than 500,000 Haitians and their families who depend on TPS to remain safely in the United States and can legally work. The group called on the administration and the courts to respect immigrant protections from deportation, and said it remains committed to advocate with Congress for comprehensive immigration reform solutions which include a path to residency and citizenship for long-term TPS holders. 'Immigrants who have lived, worked, paid their taxes and taken care of their families and contributed in meaningful ways to their communities and to society for decades, deserve long-term protections and permanent status,' FANM said.
Politico
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Politico
‘It's like a game of Whac-A-Mole': How Trump's ICE raids knocked Los Angeles to its knees
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, contested reports that most people detained did not have a criminal record. She said the government's operations have arrested 'drug traffickers, MS-13 gang members, convicted rapists, convicted murderers — people you would not want to be your neighbors. And yet, Karen Bass, instead of thanking law enforcement, continues to demonize them and attack them.' The fear permeating Latino life has added resonance for Bass; her late ex-husband was Mexican American and many family members, including her late daughter, her step-children and grandchildren, have Latino heritage. 'So yes, it impacts me personally, because I know that all Latinos are suspect now, anybody that looks Latino,' Bass said, pointing to border czar Tom Homan's comments that 'physical appearance' was sufficient for federal authorities to detain someone. He later said appearance could not be the sole reason for suspicion. But the federal judge who blocked the roving immigration raids in Los Angeles said officials were relying on improper factors, such as race, occupation and speaking with an accent, during their operations. McLaughlin said it was a 'convenient and disgusting smear to say that law enforcement targets based on skin color. It is about it is about legal status, that everything and criminality. That's what we're focused on.' Beyond the family bonds, Bass said, leaning into immigrant rights is 'fundamentally who I am' — a culmination of years of community activism, of anti-apartheid advocacy, of collaborations between Black and Latino communities in the 1980s and 1990s. 'It's not because it's politically in. It's not because of some calculation of what happened in the first part of the year,' she said. 'This is an issue that has been fundamental to me for my entire adult life.' Loathe as Bass is to make comparisons to her handling of the fires, the contrast is notable, even to her closest allies. The mayor was hamstrung from the start of the blazes, when she was out of the country, and she failed to regain control of the narrative upon her return. This time, Bass has ramped up her media presence; during her brief stop at El Chapulín, she squeezed in two Zoom interviews with Spanish-language media, and she has been a regular staple on national cable. 'She is really trying to paint a different picture of what is going on here — not letting Breitbart and Fox tell the story,' said Courtni Pugh, a senior adviser for Bass' political operation. 'We really tried very hard to put a human face on the toll.' Onlookers watch as federal agents with US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) ride on an armored vehicle driving slowly down Wilshire Boulevard near MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, California, on July 7, 2025. | Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images When militarized federal agents, including officials on horseback, descended onto MacArthur Park in the heart of downtown in an intimidating though largely theatrical display, Bass rerouted from a ceremony marking the six-month anniversary of the fires to the scene, demanding to speak to whoever was in charge.
Time of India
18 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
H-1B visa: US considering 'weighted selection process' for hiring foreigners, DHS drafting new rule
No lottery for H-1B? New rule may add weightage on the wage offered for a position. The Donald Trump administration is considering introducing a new process for H-1B hiring under the capped part of the system. The Department of Homeland Security sent the proposal to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for review. The capped part of the system means the statutory cap decided by Congress for every year. The cap is 85,000 slots, including 20,000 reserved for workers who have a master's degree. Universities and research institutions are eligible for cap-exempt visas. For 2026, the USCIS has already closed the process as they announced Friday that enough petitions had been submitted to reach the annual cap, which means there will be no lottery for FY 2026. In the present system, there's a random lottery each year for visas subject to the cap. After the lottery, employers with winning entries submit petitions to sponsor workers who will join their companies around October. In Donald Trump's first term, the DHS came up with a selection process based on the wage offered for a position instead of the random lottery so that companies hire more high-skilled workers instead of filling their positions with low-wage foreign workers. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Struggling With Belly Fat? Try This at Home Home Fitness Hack Shop Now Undo That rule, one of several offered as part of a 'Buy American, Hire American' initiative, was later shelved by the Biden administration in 2021. The draft regulations drew more than 1,000 public comments, including many that argued it would drastically reduce the number of available H-1B workers, Bloomberg reported. H-1B: Lottery versus weighted selection process The lottery system was brought in so that no company or applicant would get any favor. But larger companies can apply for more visas resulting in such companies getting more H-1Bs. In January, the Institute for Progress, a nonpartisan think tank examining innovation policy, floated the idea of eliminating the H-1B lottery. It argued that the economic value of the visa program could be increased by 88 per cent of applicants were evaluated based on seniority or salary.
