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Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Situation Report - 166
From the Highlights: "WHO [World Health Organization] is providing support to bridge a shortfall in oxygen supplies in Iraq. To counter severe shortages, WHO has airlifted 300 oxygen concentrators from WHO's warehouses in the United Arab Emirates. As African countries begin to reopen borders and air spaces, it is crucial that governments take effective measures to mitigate the risk of a surge in infections. The UN Secretary-General, Mr António Guterresin his remarks to the Security Council on the Maintenance of International Peace and Security warned that the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic has been affecting peace and security around the world. He stated that 'Collective security and our shared well-being are under assault on many fronts led by a relentless disease and abetted by global fragilities.' In Yemen, healthcare workers face a double battle - COVID-19 in a conflict zone. WHO chronicles the work of Dr Sami Al Hajj, a young doctor working at the Science and Technology Hospital in Sana."
World Health Organization
2020-07-04
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COVID-19 and Border Politics
From the Introduction: "Since its emergence in January 2020, six months later Covid-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] is still holding large parts of the world in its grip, as countries have closed their borders and restricted movement within them. Although the virus, and measures to stop or contain its spread, have had a devastating impact on millions of people and societies, refugees and migrants face even greater risk. For them, the virus comes on top of difficulties that were already exacerbated by increasingly stringent and often abusive border and migration policies across the world. This briefing takes a look at the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic for refugees and migrants, and its anticipated influence on the border security and control market. What are the direct effects on migrants and refugees who are already living in vulnerable situations? What does it mean for people crossing international borders, seeking asylum, and transiting the deadly and treacherous migrant routes across regions, continents and seas? And how are they affected by government responses to the outbreak?"
Transnational Institute
Akkerman, Mark
2020-07
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Department of Homeland Security's Nationwide Expansion of Expedited Removal [Updated June 30, 2020]
From the Document: "Non-U.S. nationals (aliens) apprehended by immigration authorities when attempting to unlawfully enter the United States are generally subject to a streamlined, expedited removal process, in which there is no hearing or further review of an administrative determination that the alien should be removed. Since the enactment of the expedited removal statute in 1996, expedited removal has been used primarily with respect to aliens who have either arrived at a designated port of entry or were apprehended near the border shortly after surreptitiously entering the United States. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), however, authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to apply expedited removal more broadly to aliens in 'any part' of the United States who have not been admitted or paroled by immigration authorities, if those aliens have been physically present in the country for less than two years and either did not obtain valid entry documents or procured their admission through fraud or misrepresentation. In 2019, DHS issued notice that it was expanding the use of expedited removal to the full extent permitted under the INA. The expansion prompts significant questions concerning the relationship between the federal government's broad power over the entry and removal of aliens and the due process rights of aliens located within the United States. Recently, a federal appellate court upheld the expansion against a legal challenge seeking to stop its implementation."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Smith, Hillel R.
2020-06-30
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Israel and the Palestinians: Chronology of a Two-State Solution [Updated June 30, 2020]
From the Document: "The idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict developed gradually in the years after Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. This product highlights the evolution of this idea. In 2002, U.S. policy became explicitly supportive of creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Since then, unsuccessful negotiating efforts and other developments have led many observers to doubt the viability of a twostate solution. Analysts debate whether the Trump Administration's 2020 release of the Administration's 'Vision for Peace' will help or hinder the parties in resolving core issues of dispute (security, borders, settlements, Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees). The plan sets some arguably difficult preconditions for a future Palestinian state, and could permit Israeli annexation of some West Bank areas--primarily Israeli settlements and the Jordan Valley."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Zanotti, Jim
2020-06-30
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Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 116th Congress [Updated June 19, 2020]
From the Summary: "The House and the Senate have considered measures on a variety of immigration issues in the 116th Congress. These issues include border security, immigration enforcement, legalization of unauthorized immigrants, temporary and permanent immigration, and humanitarian admissions. Several immigration measures were enacted into law. Among them are the Northern Mariana Islands Long-Term Legal Residents Relief Act (P.L. 116-24) and the Citizenship for Children of Military Members and Civil Servants Act (P.L. 116-133). The 116th Congress also enacted immigration provisions as part of larger defense and appropriations bills. [...] This report discusses these and other immigration-related issues that have seen legislative action in the 116th Congress."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Bruno, Andorra; Kandel, William; Wilson, Jill, 1974-
2020-06-19
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Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 116th Congress [June 12, 2020]
From the Introduction: "The 116th Congress has seen considerable committee and floor action on immigration legislation, particularly in the House. The House and/or the Senate have acted on bills addressing a range of immigration issue areas, including border security, immigration enforcement, legalization of unauthorized immigrants, temporary and permanent immigration, and humanitarian admissions. Some of these bills include amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the basis of U.S. immigration law. Several immigration provisions were enacted as part of larger appropriations and defense authorization bills. These provisions variously address the H-2B [Temporary Non-Agricultural Workers] visa, U.S. refugee admissions, Afghan special immigrant visas, and the immigration status of Liberians who are long-time U.S. residents, among other issues. Through FY2019 and FY2020 consolidated appropriations measures, the 116th Congress extended the EB-5 [Employment Based Immigration- Fifth Preference] Regional Center Program for immigrant investors, the E-Verify employment eligibility verification system, and two other immigration programs, all of which are now authorized through September 30, 2020. The 116th Congress also enacted stand-alone measures concerning immigration in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and citizenship for children born abroad to parents who are U.S. military servicemembers or U.S. government employees. This report discusses these and other immigration-related measures that have received legislative action in the 116th Congress."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Bruno, Andorra; Kandel, William; Wilson, Jill, 1974-
2020-06-12
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Capping Report: CBP Struggled to Provide Adequate Detention Conditions During 2019 Migrant Surge
From the Document: "U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is responsible for providing short-term detention for aliens arriving in the United States without valid travel documents, in compliance with the 'National Standards on Transport, Escort, Detention, and Search'. During fiscal year 2019, there was a surge in Southwest Border crossings between ports of entry, resulting in 851,508 Border Patrol apprehensions and contributing to what senior CBP officials described as an 'unprecedented border security and humanitarian crisis.' Our unannounced inspections revealed that under these challenging circumstances, CBP struggled to meet detention standards. This capping report, which supplements two Management Alerts published last year about issues requiring DHS' immediate attention (OIG-19-46 and OIG-19-51), summarizes our observations of the 21 Border Patrol facilities and CBP ports of entry we inspected in 2019. Several Border Patrol stations we visited exceeded their maximum capacity."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Office of Inspector General
2020-06-12
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Army Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABS) [Updated June 11, 2020]
From the Document: "Security Force Assistance (SFA) is defined as 'unified action to generate, employ, and sustain local, host nation or regional security forces in support of a legitimate authority.' By definition 'security forces include not only military forces, but also police, border forces, and other paramilitary organizations, as well as other local and regional forces.' SFA involves organizing, training, equipping, rebuilding, and advising foreign security forces (FSF)."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Feickert, Andrew
2020-06-11
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Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate: H.R. 5828, DHS Illicit Cross-Border Tunnel Defense Act
This is the Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate as ordered reported by the House Committee on Homeland Security on February 12, 2020. From the Document: "H.R. 5828 would authorize the appropriation of $1 million in 2021 and in 2022 for Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to remediate illicit tunnels that cross the nation's border. The bill also would require CBP to produce a strategic plan for identifying and remediating such tunnels, including an assessment of technology, personnel, and resource needs for future remediation operations, and to report to the Congress on the implementation of the plan within one year."
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2020-06-09
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Human Trafficking Trends in the Western Hemisphere
From the Executive Summary: "We see evidence of domestic and foreign sex and labor trafficking victims in Western Hemisphere countries. Some key trafficking trends across the region include: an increase in Venezuelan victims and concerns with other vulnerable migrants, internally displaced persons, indigenous peoples, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) populations. There are also special challenges of child domestic servitude in Haiti ('restavek') and Paraguay ('criadazgo'), and increased risk of trafficking in border areas (e.g., Central American countries; the southern and northern borders of Mexico; the Dominican Republic/Haiti border; the tri-border area between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay; the Darién Gap between the Panamanian and Colombian borders; and migrants along Peru's southern border) due to lack of regulatory and security gaps and insufficient transnational cooperation. Illegal armed groups are involved in the trafficking of children in the Andean Republics. Over the past five years, more cases of forced labor and forced criminality, as well as child sex trafficking in resort and tourist areas by U.S. and European perpetrators have been reported in the Western Hemisphere. Traffickers are using social media recruitment and multiple-destinations across the region to move victims; there remain continuing problems with complicity of government officials."
William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies
Ellision, Mary C.; Vogel, Kathleen M., 1970-
2020-06
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Test Results for Disk Imaging Tool: Cinolink Dual HDD Dock
From the Introduction: "The Computer Forensics Tool Testing (CFTT) program is a joint project of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Programs Office and Information Technology Laboratory (ITL). CFTT is supported by other organizations, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center; U.S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division Electronic Crimes Program; and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Secret Service. The objective of the CFTT program is to provide measurable assurance to practitioners, researchers, and other applicable users that the tools used in computer forensics investigations provide accurate results. Accomplishing this requires the development of specifications and test methods for computer forensics tools and subsequent testing of specific tools against those specifications. [...] This document reports the results from testing the disk imaging function of the Cinolink Dual HDD Dock using the CFTT Federated Testing Test Suite for Disk Imaging, Version 5."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Science and Technology Directorate
2020-06
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Test Results for Disk Imaging Tool: Roadkil's Disk Image Version 1.6
From the Introduction: "The Computer Forensics Tool Testing (CFTT) program is a joint project of the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), the National Institute of Justice, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Programs Office and Information Technology Laboratory. CFTT is supported by other organizations, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center, U.S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division Electronic Crimes Program, and the DHS Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Secret Service. The objective of the CFTT program is to provide measurable assurance to practitioners, researchers, and other applicable users that the tools used in computer forensics investigations provide accurate results. Accomplishing this requires the development of specifications and test methods for computer forensics tools and subsequent testing of specific tools against those specifications. [...] This document reports the results from testing the disk imaging function of Roadkil's Disk Image Version 1.6 using the CFTT Federated Testing Test Suite for Disk Imaging, Version 5."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Science and Technology Directorate
2020-06
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S. Rept. 116-229: Synthetic Opioid Exposure Prevention and Training Act, Report to Accompany H.R. 4739, Including Cost Estimate of the Congressional Budget Office, June 1, 2020
From the Purpose and Summary: "The purpose of H.R. 4739, the Synthetic Opioid Exposure Prevention and Training Act, is to require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to develop a policy that specifies effective protocols and procedures for the safe handling of, and exposure to, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl by CBP officers, agents, other personnel, and canines. It also requires mandatory and recurring training on the handling of synthetic opioids and how to access and administer opioid receptor antagonists. The Act requires the Commissioner to regularly monitor the implementation of the policy, and as necessary, revise the protocols and procedures. Finally, the Act requires the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) to conduct a compliance audit within three years following the enactment of this Act."
United States. Government Publishing Office
2020-06-01
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Quality of Life Crossborder Collaboration on Public Health: The 2009 U.S. - Mexico Response to H1N1
From the Key Findings: "[1] The United States, Mexico, and Canada had been formally planning for a possible pandemic originating in Asia since shortly after the 2003 SARS [severe acute respiratory syndrome] outbreak. The Security and Prosperity Partnership, begun in 2005 by the Bush, Fox, and Martin administrations, became the key forum to develop truly regional plans for pandemic response. [2] Although H1N1 [Swine flu] developed into a pandemic and thus quickly superseded efforts at containment, years of collaborative efforts to track and address infectious diseases by federal, state, and local agencies along the U.S.-Mexico border helped communication and monitoring of the disease. As is the case with many pandemics, H1N1 developed and spread very quickly. As such, there was little time to develop new mechanisms or relationships. Officials had to rely on the prior planning where they could and improvise where there were no plans. [3] Addressing pandemics in the U.S.-Mexico requires close coordination across agencies and borders. [...] [4] Because of the rapid spread of H1N1 that surpassed border controls and the importance of crossborder U.S.-Mexico trade to both economies, a consensus developed in the spring of 2009 among U.S. and Mexican officials that closing the U.S.-Mexico border was neither desirable nor helpful."
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Lee, Erik
2020-06
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Food Security in Asia and the Pacific Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
From the Document: "The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has heightened food security risks in Asia and the Pacific. Disruptions to domestic and international food supply chains-- caused as rising health risks led to major travel restrictions--have undermined food availability and accessibility. Domestically, disruptions in the upstream food supply chains have arisen from mobility restrictions and worker illnesses during planting and harvesting, in addition to hindered operations in processing, trucking, logistics, and trading. Losses of employment and income are also reducing food consumption, leaving vulnerable groups at risk of hunger and malnutrition. Basic food handouts are often limited and may not meet the nutritional needs of children and pregnant women. Internationally, border closures and export restrictions could imply limited availability and affordability of certain food items for countries that rely on imports."
Asian Development Bank
Kim, Kijin; Kim, Sunae; Park, Cyn-Young
2020-06
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Openness is as Important Now as it Has Ever Been
From the Document: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic has shaken the world. Faced with the lack of medical treatment or a vaccine, nations around the globe have opted for the only remedy known against the easily communicable virus -namely, the adoption of social distancing measures that curtail its contagion. As the pandemic rolled from Wuhan, China, to other nations, international borders closed, quarantines were imposed on newcomers and, overall, international mobility came to a near-complete halt. In the United States, the President's announcement on restrictions placed on international arrivals from 26 countries on March 11, 2020,2 led to the State Department's suspension of exchange programs, which allow qualified foreign-nationals to participate in work- and study-based exchange visitor programs, for, at least, 60 days. Participants in these exchange visitor programs include foreign-born medical school graduates who complete their residency requirements and sub-specialty training in the United States prior to going back home for two years before they can return to the United States-usually through an H1-B or L-1 visa. [...] An important challenge in recovering from the pandemic will be fighting perceptions of immigrants as economic and security threats. And instead creating and maintaining an open economy that welcomes the international exchange of ideas that has characterized and fueled growth in the United States for decades."
Utah State University. Center for Growth and Opportunity
Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina
2020-06
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Test Results for String Search Tool: EnCase Version 8.09.00.192
From the Introduction: "The Computer Forensics Tool Testing (CFTT) program is a joint project of the Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Programs Office and Information Technology Laboratory (ITL). CFTT is supported by other organizations, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center, U.S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division Electronic Crimes Program, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Secret Service. The objective of the CFTT program is to provide measurable assurance to practitioners, researchers, and other applicable users that the tools used in computer forensics investigations provide accurate results. Accomplishing this requires the development of specifications and test methods for computer forensics tools and subsequent testing of specific tools against those specifications."
National Institute of Standards and Technology (U.S.). Office of Law Enforcement Standards; United States. Department of Homeland Security. Science and Technology Directorate
2020-06
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Army Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs) [Updated June 1, 2020]
From the Document: "Security Force Assistance (SFA) is defined as 'unified action to generate, employ, and sustain local, host nation or regional security forces in support of a legitimate authority.' By definition 'security forces include not only military forces, but also police, border forces, and other paramilitary organizations, as well as other local and regional forces.' SFA involves organizing, training, equipping, rebuilding, and advising foreign security forces (FSF)."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Feickert, Andrew
2020-06-01
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Master Question List for COVID-19 (Caused by SARS-CoV-2): Weekly Report 26 May 2020
From the Foreword: "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is paying close attention to the evolving Coronavirus Infectious Disease (COVID-19) situation in order to protect our nation. DHS is working very closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), other federal agencies, and public health officials to implement public health control measures related to travelers and materials crossing our borders from the affected regions. Based on the response to a similar product generated in 2014 in response to the Ebolavirus outbreak in West Africa, the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) developed the following 'master question list' that quickly summarizes what is known, what additional information is needed, and who may be working to address such fundamental questions as, 'What is the infectious dose?' and 'How long does the virus persist in the environment?' The Master Question List (MQL) is intended to quickly present the current state of available information to government decision makers in the operational response to COVID-19 and allow structured and scientifically guided discussions across the federal government without burdening them with the need to review scientific reports, and to prevent duplication of efforts by highlighting and coordinating research."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Science and Technology Directorate
2020-05-26
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Army Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs) [Updated May 18, 2020]
From the Document: "Security Force Assistance (SFA) is defined as 'unified action to generate, employ, and sustain local, host nation or regional security forces in support of a legitimate authority.' By definition 'security forces include not only military forces, but also police, border forces, and other paramilitary organizations, as well as other local and regional forces.' SFA involves organizing, training, equipping, rebuilding, and advising foreign security forces (FSF)."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Feickert, Andrew
2020-05-18
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How COVID-19 Restrictions and the Economic Consequences Are Likely to Impact Migrant Smuggling and Cross-Border Trafficking in Persons to Europe and North America
From the Executive Summary: "The unprecedented crisis that COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] has suddenly unleashed upon the world is affecting all aspects of society and is likely to have an effect on the routes and characteristics of both regular and irregular migration. Smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons will also be affected in certain ways by the crisis. Many factors shape the dynamics of these two criminal phenomena, from the international political and security landscape to macro socio-economic dynamics and national law enforcement capacity - all of which have been affected by the global pandemic. The impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, and of the measures adopted by governments to contain it, differ across the globe, and the effects of these measures on smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons are likely to vary from country to country and from region to region. This Research Brief analyses possible scenarios of how smuggling of migrants and cross-border trafficking in persons are likely to be affected by the COVID-19 crisis along mixed migration routes to two important destination regions: North America and Europe."
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Sarrica, Fabrizio; Healy, Claire; Serio, Giulia . . .
2020-05-14?
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Mexico: Background and U.S. Relations [Updated May 12, 2020]
From the Introduction: "This report provides an overview of political and economic conditions in Mexico, followed by assessments of selected issues of congressional interest in Mexico: security and foreign aid, extraditions, human rights, trade, migration, energy, water, and border environmental issues."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Seelke, Clare Ribando
2020-05-12
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CBP's ACAS Program Did Not Always Prevent Air Carriers from Transporting High-Risk Cargo into the United States
From the Document: "Air cargo shipments pose significant threats to national security. CBP [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] and TSA established the ACAS [Air Cargo Advance Screening] Program with the goal of identifying and preventing high-risk cargo from entering the United States. We conducted this audit to determine to what extent the ACAS program prevents air carriers from transporting high-risk cargo from foreign airports into the United States."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Office of Inspector General
2020-05-11
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Special Commentary: 'Hole' of Government: What COVID-19 Reveals About American Security Planning
From the Document: "The coronavirus, COVID-19, typifies the 'compound' nature of today's security threats. This deadly adversary is inimical to accepted international laws and conventions regarding warfare and human security protections. It is a true omnivore, respecting no borders and consuming all classes, genders, races, and faiths. This adversary has driven mass societal disruption and managed in about four months' time to infect over 1.2 million (confirmed cases) with nearly 72,000 deaths, in the United States alone. Worldwide economic recession, even depression, seems likely and national publics now question their governments' capacity and will to contain the adversary. Should governments fail to do so (most experts agree that the opportunity to contain COVID-19 is lost), big-data computer projections predict as many as 173,000 could die in the United States by the end of May 2020. The yet untold damage from such a toll across all sectors--political, economic, and societal--is incalculable. The potential for a global paradigm shift in the way we should perceive these threats is real."
Army War College (U.S.). Strategic Studies Institute
Wilson, Isaiah, III
2020-05-06
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Test Results for Write-Protected Drive: Apricorn Padlock DT Firmware Version 0510
From the Introduction: "The Computer Forensics Tool Testing (CFTT) program is a joint project of the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Programs Office and Information Technology Laboratory (ITL). CFTT is supported by other organizations, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center, U.S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division Electronic Crimes Program, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Secret Service. The objective of the CFTT program is to provide measurable assurance to practitioners, researchers, and other applicable users that the tools used in computer forensics investigations provide accurate results. Accomplishing this requires the development of specifications and test methods for computer forensics tools and subsequent testing of specific tools against those specifications. [...] This document reports the results from testing the read-only function of the Apricorn Padlock DT device firmware version 0510 using the CFTT Federated Testing Test Suite for Hardware Write Blocking, Version 3.1."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Science and Technology Directorate
2020-05
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Test Results for Write-Protected Drive: Apricorn L3 Fortress Firmware Version 0510 [May 2020]
From the Introduction: "The Computer Forensics Tool Testing (CFTT) program is a joint project of the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Programs Office and Information Technology Laboratory (ITL). CFTT is supported by other organizations, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center, U.S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division Electronic Crimes Program, the DHS Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Secret Service. The objective of the CFTT program is to provide measurable assurance to practitioners, researchers, and other applicable users that the tools used in computer forensics investigations provide accurate results. Accomplishing this requires the development of specifications and test methods for computer forensics tools and subsequent testing of specific tools against those specifications."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Science and Technology Directorate
2020-05
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Pandemic as Pretext: Trump Administration Exploits COVID-19, Expels Asylum Seekers and Children to Escalating Danger
From the Document: "The Trump Administration is exploiting the coronavirus crisis to pursue its long-held goal of preventing refugees from seeking and receiving humanitarian protection in the United States. Under the guise of a much-criticized Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) order, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is expelling [hyperlink] asylum seekers and unaccompanied children without the legally required processes to countries where they face persecution, trafficking, and other serious violence. With little public debate, the administration has essentially eliminated asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. But public health is a pretext, not its priority. The CDC order has no public health rationale [hyperlink], according to numerous public health experts, who stress that fair treatment of refugees, as required under U.S. law, does not [hyperlink] undermine efforts to combat the virus."
Human Rights First (Organization)
Kizuka, Kennji; Acer, Eleanor; Gendelman, Rebecca
2020-05
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Mexico: Background and U.S. Relations [Updated April 29, 2020]
From the Introduction: "The 116th Congress has demonstrated renewed interest in Mexico, a neighboring country and top trading partner with which the United States has a close, but complicated relationship. [...] In recent decades, U.S.-Mexican relations have improved as the countries have become close trade partners and worked to address crime, the environment, and other issues of shared concern. Nevertheless, the history of U.S. military and diplomatic intervention in Mexico and the asymmetry in the relationship continue to provoke periodic tension. As the United States-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA), approved by Congress in January 2020, enters into force on July 1, 2020, its implementation is likely to receive congressional attention. Congress remains concerned about the effects of organized-crime-related violence in Mexico on U.S. security interests and U.S. citizens' safety in Mexico and has increased oversight of U.S.-Mexican security cooperation. Congress may appropriate foreign assistance for Mexico and oversee bilateral efforts to address U.S.-bound unauthorized migration, illegal drug flows, and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This report provides an overview of political and economic conditions in Mexico, followed by assessments of selected issues of congressional interest in Mexico: security and foreign aid, extraditions, human rights, trade, migration, energy, water, and environmental issues at the border."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Seelke, Clare Ribando
2020-04-29
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COVID-19 and the Food and Agriculture Sector: Issues and Policy Responses
From the Document: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic is a global health crisis that is already having devastating impacts on the world economy -both directly and through necessary measures to contain the spread of the disease. These impacts are also being felt by the food and agriculture sector. While the supply of food has held up well to date, in many countries, the measures put in place to contain the spread of the virus are starting to disrupt the supply of agro-food products to markets and consumers, both within and across borders. The sector is also experiencing a substantial shift in the composition and -for some commodities -the level of demand. How damaging these impacts turn out to be for food security, nutrition and the livelihoods of farmers, fishers and others working along the food supply chain will depend in large part on policy responses over the short, medium and long term. In the short term, governments must manage multiple demands -responding to the health crisis, managing the consequences of the shock to the economy, and ensuring the smooth functioning of the food system. While the pandemic poses some serious challenges for the food system in the short term, it is also an opportunity to accelerate transformations in the food and agriculture sector to build its resilience in the face of a range of challenges, including climate change."
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
2020-04-29
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Department of Homeland Security: Fiscal Year 2020 Expenditure Plan: U.S. Customs and Border Protection - Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (Fiscal Year 2020 Report to Congress)
From the Document: "This report provides an expenditure plan for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for Procurement, Construction, and Improvements (PC&I) appropriations enacted in P.L. 116-93 and for prior-year balances as reported at the time that Section 208 was enacted. Those balances were identified to the Appropriations Committees through DHS's submission of its Monthly Execution Report (MER) covering the period through December 31, 2019. Differences in funding amounts are attributable to rounding and accounting updates that have occurred since submission of the MER."
United States. Department of Homeland Security; U.S. Customs and Border Protection
2020-04-29
