Latest news with #HumanRightsWatch
Miami Herald
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
‘Death sentence': CHNV ruling upends lives of South Floridians from troubled nations
Activists, lawyers and elected officials warned Friday of chaos and devastation to come after a Supreme Court decision upended the lives of half a million migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela, many living in South Florida, who could face deportation to their troubled nations after losing legal protections under a Biden-era parole program. Among them: Orlando Valecillos, 71, and his wife, Fanny, Venezuelans who used the humanitarian parole program to reunite with their daughter and is scheduled to have an operation next month. 'I hope I won't be deported before my surgery,' Valecillos, who lives in Homestead, told the Miami Herald. 'I've had serious prostate issues, and treatment only began after we arrived in the U.S.' The Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's request to lift a lower court order that protected immigrants coming through the Biden-era parole program from being potentially deported, following an earlier administration decision to strip them of their legal status. The program is known as CHNV, for the Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans protected under the Biden administration policy. The litigation in the case continues, but in the short term, many migrants will be left with difficult choices. According to some estimates, as many as half of the migrants who entered the United States through the program have applied for other immigration benefits to adjust their status and may have a path to remain in the country –for example, those who had already applied for asylum or for a green card under the decades-old. Cuban Adjustment Act. But others will need to decide whether they will remain in the U.S. without documentation — potentially facing detention and deportation proceedings — or voluntarily returning to countries wracked by violence, hunger and human-rights abuses. The ruling 'sets a dangerous precedent by allowing the Trump administration to dismantle longstanding humanitarian protections for people fleeing persecution and abuse in countries in crisis', said Ida Sawyer, the director of the Crisis, Conflict and Arms division at Human Rights Watch. 'This marks a shameful betrayal of U.S. commitments under international law and human rights norms. The U.S. should be expanding protections, not closing the door.' Ending the protections granted to Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans under CHNV will force many to return to countries experiencing 'widespread violence, repression, and instability—putting their lives at greater risk,' she said. 'Haitians, for example, could be sent back to Port-au-Prince, where they could be subjected to killings, kidnappings, forced recruitment, and widespread sexual violence by criminal groups who control nearly all the capital, and where more than half the population suffers from acute hunger,' she said. Friday's decision, potentially green-lighting deportation orders for hundreds of thousands of immigrants, amounts to the 'largest…de-legalization in the modern era,' said Karen Tumlin, founder and director of the immigration advocacy group Justice Action Center. 'I cannot overstate how devastating this is: the Supreme Court has allowed the Trump Administration to unleash widespread chaos, not just for our clients and class members, but for their families, their workplaces, and their communities,' she said. Elected officials from South Florida, where many of the migrants from the four countries have settled, joined in the criticism. U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson called the ruling 'cruel and inhumane' in a post on X. 'These are folks who were escaping brutal dictatorships, gang violence, and turmoil,' she wrote. Wilson noted that the migrants affected by the ruling came to the U.S. legally and have made contributions to South Florida communities. 'Deporting them is a death sentence,' she added. U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz echoed the criticism in a post on X, saying it was 'sick and depraved to deport 500,000 people who applied from home, passed background checks, earned work permits, and paid their own way.' She stressed that the migrants are neither criminals nor undocumented. 'They came here legally. But Trump and the Republicans who bow to him could care less,' she added. U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, a Miami Republican, said the Supreme Court order must be respected but 'was not what many hoped for.' She too said the migrants came legally to the United States. 'One truth remains undeniable: These migrants entered the United States legally, relying on promises made by the Biden administration,' she said. 'These individuals are fleeing brutal regimes and life-threatening conditions. That's why I strongly urge the administration to use its executive authority and grant Deferred Enforcement Departure to prevent them from being sent back to violence and repression.' Maureen Porras, an immigration attorney and vice mayor of Doral, home to large Venezuelan community, said the decision 'is not only devastating but also unprecedented. Its hard to believe that with the stroke of a pen, about half a million people will lose their lawful immigration status and work authorization.' 'It will have a chilling effect on communities across the U.S.,' she added. Families reeling from the court decision In cities like Miami, migrants who came through the program quickly assimilated into the communities here because they were granted legal work permits and had come to the country sponsored by relatives. But Friday's ruling has left many families again facing separation. Valecillos arrived in the U.S. with his wife in August from Venezuela to reunite with their daughter in Miami. Instead of spending their golden years in peace, Valecillos and his wife have endured the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, which forced them to emigrate twice — first to Chile, where they lived for several years, and then to the United States, where they finally reunited with their only daughter after a long separation. The couple entered the U.S. under the humanitarian parole program, which initially granted them two years of protection through August 2026. But less than a year after arriving, they received a notice from the Department of Homeland Security that their parole had been terminated, once again throwing their future into uncertainty. They have since applied for political asylum. Valecillos says he remains hopeful their application will be approved. Their daughter is a green-card holder, and the family hopes that once she becomes a U.S. citizen, she will be able to petition for her parents to adjust their immigration status. 'We had hoped the election in Venezuela would help fix things. Instead, everything is worse,' Vallecillos said, his voice trembling. 'How are we supposed to go back? If we can't stay here, where are we supposed to go? There's so much uncertainty.' Fear among migrants Friday news also sent shock waves through Miami's Haitian community, which finds itself in a particularly troubling situation. Haitians who have fled rampant gang violence and political turmoil say returning to their home country is simply not an option. Kenny Francois, the CEO of LETS Community Center in Miami Gardens, which serves the Haitian immigrant community, was shocked to learn of the Supreme Court's decision. On Friday morning, while he was at a graduation, he didn't know why he was getting so many phone calls. 'So basically, whatever Trump wants to do, he can just do it,' Francois said. 'You know that was the little hope people had, the Supreme Court? That was the only little hope people were holding on to.' Little Haiti native Sammy Lamy, the founder of Jobs4Us, who has helped place more than 600 Haitians in jobs around the country since the Biden-era humanitarian program was launched, said the next few weeks and months are going to be tough. 'The dream has crashed and reality is hitting,' he said. 'I, of course, don't agree with the decision and now we have to figure out what's next, because a lot of people are in limbo.' Lamy, whose parents were both Haitian immigrants, said the uncertainty and fear from Friday's decision will only deepen, especially among Haitians whose country is being gripped by violence and, in some cases, have had armed gangs taking over their homes. One of the most immediate effects of the ruling is that many migrants will lose their jobs. Amid the uncertainty, companies helping resettle refugees are already refusing to hire migrants whose work authorizations expire in less than six months. 'Even if people have time left on their work permit, they're being denied work because they don't have the necessary time,' Lamy said. Adding to the fear are commercials the Department of Homeland Security is running on popular YouTube programs in the Haitian community, warning folks to leave. 'It's a very daunting commercial,' said Lamy. 'People are scared,' Leaving the U.S. Among the four groups affected, Cuban migrants still might end up with better chances to remain in the country, thanks to the Cuban Adjustment Act, Wilfredo Allen, a Cuban-American lawyer, said. The 1966 law says that after one year in the U.S. migrants inspected by immigration authorities and admitted or paroled into the country are entitled to apply for permanent residency. 'It doesn't matter if their parole is revoked later,' Allen said. Still, he is advising Cuban migrants with several months to go to meet the one-year requirement to apply for asylum if they can, advice he says also applies to Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. Allen said the administration is succeeding 'in spreading chaos and panic' among immigrants, and many will likely choose to leave on their own — which the administration has labeled 'self-deportation' — even if actual deportation proceedings in court take time. Some immigrants have already decided that the risk of sudden detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is too much to face, especially when children are involved. Lilian Bustos, a 42-year-old mother from Nicaragua, had been bracing herself for the termination of the CHNV parole program. She and her two daughters, ages 10 and 17, arrived in the U.S. under the program in August 2023. With less than three months left on their stay, she made the heartbreaking decision to send her daughters back to Nicaragua two days ago. 'It's been devastating,' she said. 'My two daughters have been crying non-stop since they left. My oldest wanted to finish high school here—she was fully adjusted and happy. But I didn't want to break the law. We couldn't apply for asylum because we haven't faced any political persecution.' Bustos feels heartbroken that her 17-year-old daughter couldn't finish high school in the U.S. Now, she says, her daughter will likely face delays in completing her education back in Nicaragua. The family is from Chinandega, a rural region known for fishing and cattle ranching. A trained kindergarten teacher in Nicaragua, Bustos recalls how difficult it was to survive on a single income back home. In Miami, she worked in cleaning services and hoped to save as much as possible before her parole expired. Her goal was to return to Nicaragua and open a small business with her husband—who was unable to join the family in the U.S. under the Biden administration's parole program. Now, with the Supreme Court's ruling casting doubt on the program's future, she's unsure what will happen next, but she said she is also planning to return to Nicaragua to rejoin her family.
Arab News
10 hours ago
- General
- Arab News
Rights groups call on Houthis to release detained aid workers
DUBAI: Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called on Houthis to release dozens of UN and aid workers who have been detained for nearly a year. The arrest and detention of aid workers has 'a direct impact on the delivery of lifesaving assistance to people in critical need of aid' in a country enduring one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, the two rights groups said in a joint statement. Since May 2024, the Houthis have carried out several waves of arrests in regions under their control, targeting UN staff as well as workers in local and international humanitarian organizations. The arrests have prompted the UN to limit its deployments and suspend activities in some regions of the country devastated by more than a decade of civil war. The arrests have prompted the UN to limit its deployments and suspend activities in some regions of Yemen. The Houthis at the time claimed there was an 'American-Israeli spy cell' operating under the cover of aid groups — accusations firmly rejected by the UN. Only seven aid workers have been released, while at least 50 remain in detention 'without adequate access to lawyers or their families, and without charge,' HRW and Amnesty said, calling on the rebels to 'immediately and unconditionally release' them. 'It is shocking that most of these UN and civil society staff have now spent almost a year in arbitrary detention for simply doing their work in providing medical and food assistance or promoting human rights, peace, and dialogue,' said Diala Haidar, Yemen researcher at Amnesty International. 'They should never have been arrested in the first place,' she continued. Niku Jafarnia, Yemen and Bahrain researcher at HRW, meanwhile, said: 'The Houthis need to facilitate the work of humanitarian workers and the movement of aid. 'All countries with influence, as well as the UN and civil society organizations, should use all the tools at their disposal to urge the release of those arbitrarily detained and to provide support to their family members.'
CBS News
10 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
CPAC comes to Europe as alliance between the Trump White House and the international right grows
MAGA influencers and far-right leaders gathered in Poland and Hungary this week as the Conservative Political Action Conference, known as CPAC, held two international events — a show of strength in the increasing trans-Atlantic alliance between the Trump White House and Europe's populist conservative movement. On Thursday in Budapest, Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orbán was the keynote speaker for the country's CPAC event and hailed President Trump's first 100 days following his return to the Oval Office. "The Trump tsunami swept through the entire world," Orbán said. "It gave back hope to the world. We are no longer suffocating in the woke sea." Prior to the Hungarian leader's speech, a video message from President Trump was played to those in attendance in which Mr. Trump praised the event and Orbán himself. "You know how I feel about Hungary and you know how I feel about CPAC. I respect and love them both. I also want to pay special regard to the leader of Hungary, Viktor Orbán. He's a great man and a very special person," President Trump said in the video, which was later posted to social media by CPAC founder and chairman Matt Schlapp. Orbán, who according to Human Rights Watch has used his party's supermajority in Hungarian parliament to undermine the independence of the judiciary, crack down on independent media, demonize migrants and discriminate against LGBTQ people, was among a number of notable right-wing international leaders in attendance. Those leaders at the Budapest event included the leader of Germany's far-right AFD party Alice Weidel, the leader of the Dutch far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) Geert Wilders, and former U.K. Conservative Party prime minister Liz Truss, as well as American social media influencers Ben Shapiro and Jack Posobiec. Poland's conservative presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki arrives at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, on May 27, 2025, in Rzeszow, Poland. Alex Brandon / Getty Images Notable speakers at Tuesday's events in Jasionka, Poland, included U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who gave the keynote address at the event. "I do think it's good that we are collaborating with each other," Schlapp, a former White House political director, told CBS News on Friday. "I think what we're doing is what, in the old-fashioned days, you would have called it friendship building and diplomacy, and building relationships in order to have the prosperity in our countries." Poland was playing host to CPAC for the first time earlier this week. Budapest was a venue for the event for the fourth year in row— underlining the growing relationship between MAGA Republicans and the country under Orban's ruling Fidesz Party. Many American conservatives have in recent years viewed Hungary — and Orbán — as an aspirational playbook for governance in the United States. "I think their policies on the border and on immigration have changed the whole conversation in Europe," Schlapp said. "It's certainly between Orbán and Trump, that have normalized this idea that you don't just have to take an unspecific numbers of illegal migrants because some global institution tells you that you must." A growing alliance on the right The conference is happening amidst a backdrop of tension between President Trump and America's traditional allies in Europe. While Mr. Trump recently announced that his planned 50% tariffs on European Union goods would be delayed until July, the trading block and its European allies have had an unsteady relationship with the White House since Mr. Trump's return to power in January. Members of Trump's administration have at times broken the diplomatic norm by publicly weighing in on elections and policies in U.S.-allied nations. Vice President JD Vance berated European leaders at February's Munich Security Conference and accused U.S. allies of political censorship of right-wing ideas within their own countries. The vice president cited laws in the U.K. which criminalize protests within a certain distance of abortion clinics and EU laws on online content moderations, among other examples. That trend continued at Poland's CPAC event on Tuesday, where DHS Secretary Noem called for Poles to vote for right-wing presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki in the country's upcoming runoff election against liberal opponent Rafał Trzaskowski, the current mayor of Warsaw. "I have watched over the years as socialists, and people who are just like this mayor of Warsaw, who is an absolute trainwreck of a leader, have destroyed our countries," Noem said, addressing attendees at the Jasionka event. Kirsti Noem, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, during the CPAC Conservative Political Action Conference in Jasionka, Poland, on May 27, 2025. Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images The events this week also come just days after Samuel Samson, a senior adviser for the State Department's Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, wrote a blog post on the State Department's website which signaled a shift in the issues the U.S. is prioritizing in its traditional alliances in Europe. "The suppression of speech, facilitation of mass migration, targeting of religious expression, and undermining of electoral choice threatens the very foundation of the transatlantic partnership," the post read. The depth of the relationship between the populist right in Europe and President Trump was highlighted in the promotional description on CPAC Budapest's website. "With the triumph of Donald Trump and the rise of the European Right, the Age of the Patriots of Western Civilization has begun — CPAC Hungary 2025 will be the hub of this movement," the description of the event read. Chairman Matt Schlapp told CBS News that he believes the conference will only continue to expand globally. "We're going to go to Australia later on in the year. We're going go to Japan later on in the year, we're gonna go to Brazil later on this year. We're gonna to go Mexico. We're talking about having a CPAC in Colombia. We've had talks to have a CPAC in El Salvador. We've have talks to have CPAC in various other European countries," he said.
DW
11 hours ago
- Politics
- DW
Between chaos and democracy: Libya at crossroads again – DW – 05/30/2025
Recent violence in western Libya brought back the specter of renewed civil war. But observers say the fighting and ensuing protests may also offer a renewed chance to break the country's political gridlock. It may be comparatively calm this week but Libya's western capital Tripoli remains in turmoil. Earlier in May, violence broke out between armed groups and pro-government forces after Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah issued a decree ordering the dismantling of armed militias, including the influential Stabilization Support Apparatus, or SSA, militia. The head of the SSA was killed. According to the UN, the resulting violence killed eight civilians in Tripoli. Later another 58 bodies were found in a hospital under the SSA's control, "The latest fighting in Tripoli that resulted in civilian casualties is a strong indication of the fragility of the situation," Hanan Salah, Libya researcher and associate director in the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch, told DW. "The sheer recklessness of the warfare that Human Rights Watch documented in the middle of civilian neighborhoods shows the blatant disregard these armed groups have for the life and livelihoods of civilians," she said. Country split in half Since 2014, Libya has been split into two, with opposing governments located in the east and west of the country. A United Nations-backed administration known as the Government of National Unity is based in Tripoli in the west and headed by Dbeibah. Its rival, known as the House of Representatives, is based in the east, in Tobruk and headed by Prime Minister Ossama Hammad. He is supported by former warlord-turned-politician Khalifa Haftar. In the east, Haftar has managed to consolidate control over various armed militias under his command, ruling with an iron fist. In the west, Dbeibah has tolerated different militias competing. Observers say the recent fighting in Tripoli indicates that Dbeibah is now trying to do the same as Haftar and consolidate control over militias in the west too. In mid-May, the fighting ended after a few days with an undisclosed agreement between the militias and Dbeibah's administration. It was followed by popular protests. People demanded national elections as well as a return to the drafting of a constitution: Both were halted when a peace process under UN leadership failed in December also called for a Dbeibah's resignation. Dbeibah did not address those calls. In a televised speech he said, "we will welcome all those who choose to stand with the state… and we will sideline those who resort to blackmail and corruption. Our goal is a Libya free of militias and corruption." Observers agree that Dbeibah's key objective is likely to consolidate power and influence. In May, thousands of Libyans called for Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah's resignation Image: Ayman al-Sahili/REUTERS Unsolved problems "In recent years the conflict [in Libya] has been frozen as the spoils have been divided among the various actors," Tim Eaton, a senior research fellow with the Middle East and North Africa programme at London-based think tank Chatham House, said. Over time, "these groups had been competing against one another to grab ever greater parts of the Libyan state," he told DW. In a recent piece for the think tank's website, Eaton wrote that the contest had been exacerbated this May over "a dispute over control of a state institution, the Libyan Post, Telecommunications and Information Technology Company, which operates valuable monopolies in the telecommunications sector." In his view, the current situation is very perilous. "There clearly is a threat of a slide into another bout of civil war," he told DW. But, Eaton and other experts say, there's also some hope. "There is a real shot for the UN to capitalize on this moment to make some political progress," Eaton told DW. "This set of actions also seems to present an opportunity to reinvigorate the political track. When there were other outbreaks of significant conflict in Tripoli in 2014 and 2020, political change did follow," he pointed out. In 2014, fighting in Tripoli ended with the country splitting in half. In 2020, a UN-led political process to appoint a new government was started. "So there is clearly an opportunity for such an occurrence to happen again," Eaton suggested. Libya's western Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah has rejected any calls that he resign Image: Hamza Turkia/Xinhua/imago images New UN roadmap This month's crisis could well "represent a significant opportunity to begin changing the course of events by moving toward holding parliamentary and presidential elections," agrees Mohammed al-Dairi, a former foreign minister for the Tripoli-based government in the east. "The first step in this direction is the formation of a unified government that ends the institutional division currently plaguing our country," he told DW. Meanwhile, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, or UNSMIL, first launched in 2011 to help facilitate a political process that would lead to democratic elections in Libya, has published a new report that outlines four options which could serve as a roadmap towards ending the country's difficult transitional phase. The options include conducting presidential and legislative elections simultaneously or conducting parliamentary elections first, followed by the adoption of a permanent constitution. They also include adopting a permanent constitution before elections, or alternatively establishing a political dialogue committee to finalize electoral laws and define executive authority and a permanent constitution. "Libya's parties have to come to a consensus," HRW's Salah points out. "The human rights crisis and political divisions in Libya will not be solved overnight," she told DW. "Conducting free and fair elections is elusive today but at the end of the day, what option do the competing Libyan parties really have?"
New Straits Times
12 hours ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Many Ukrainians baulk at conceding land to Russia
MARIUPOL natives Oleksandr and Liudmyla Lytvyn fled home three years ago during Russia's 86-day siege of the port city in southern Ukraine. Now they are following peace talks between the warring countries anxiously, fearing they may never return. Mariupol, home to more than 400,000 people before the full-scale invasion, was seized by Russian forces in May 2022 when the city's last defenders were ordered to surrender, ending one of the bloodiest chapters of the war. "We lived our entire life in Mariupol. I believe that until the very last that it will be Ukrainian. I do not know how," said Liudmyla, 65, a retired teacher. Her longing to see occupied land back under Ukrainian control is widely shared, presenting a challenge to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he comes under pressure to consider territorial concessions under any peace agreement with Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has pushed Kyiv to cede not only occupied territory but also land not controlled by Moscow, while the United States has said loss of land seems inevitable. More than three years into its full-scale invasion, Russia controls nearly one fifth of Ukraine and its troops are making incremental but steady gains in the east. Zelenskyy himself has acknowledged that Ukraine cannot recapture all of its lost territory through military force, but wants to settle the issue through diplomacy. Oleksandr, 65, said the issue of what Ukraine may have to give up in return for peace depends not only on Kyiv. "The issue here is whether there are any limits on weapons," he said, referring to doubts over whether the US will continue military support for Ukraine now that Donald Trump is in the White House and moving closer to Russia. "It depends not only on Zelenskyy but also on other matters, weapons in particular," Oleksandr added, sitting next to his wife in a dormitory in the central city of Dnipro where they have moved temporarily. This month, Kyiv and Moscow held their first direct talks since 2022, yielding little progress on ending the war. After a subsequent phone call between Trump and Putin, the US president appeared to withdraw from efforts to mediate peace, leaving Ukraine exposed against a larger enemy. For displaced residents of Mariupol — the largest Ukrainian city to fall to the Russians since 2022 — that raises concerns not only about territorial concessions but also over whether justice will be served. Vadym Boichenko, Mariupol's mayor-in-exile, said his team gathered evidence showing at least 22,000 civilians were killed in nearly three months of fighting that reduced a city once famous for its vibrant port and giant steel plants to rubble. Human Rights Watch, along with Truth Hounds and SITU Research, estimated 8,000 people died from fighting or war-related causes. Russia pounded Mariupol with artillery, rockets and missiles and cut off access to electricity, heating, fresh water, food and medical supplies — creating a humanitarian catastrophe, Boichenko added. "All we ask for is recognition (of the alleged crimes) and punishment," he said in Kyiv in one of the "IMariupol" centres set up in 22 cities across Ukraine to help displaced residents with basic needs. Moscow-installed authorities have overseen a major reconstruction programme in Mariupol, and hold it up as a symbol of the benefits of Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian regions as well as the Crimean peninsula. Moscow has demanded that Ukraine withdraw its troops from four Ukrainian regions where fighting is raging, even though it does not control all of them. The overwhelming majority of Ukrainians — 82 per cent — reject those demands, according to an opinion poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology conducted in May. Slightly more than half of the population — 51 per cent — would support a compromise with a de-facto recognition of currently occupied territories in exchange for security guarantees from Europe and the US. But about 40 per cent considered this unacceptable, raising questions over how Ukraine and Russia can break the deadlock in a nascent peace process. "It is not fair to leave them what they took away. It is our land," said Dmytro, 35, who had settled in Mariupol after being forced to leave the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk in 2015.
