More work visas OK'd for Haiti, 3 Central American nations
The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor will allocate thousands of temporary work visas for citizens of Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Haiti in 2022, the federal agencies said Monday, only days after the Biden administration was criticized for not inviting the Northern Triangle countries, along with other Latin American and Caribbean nations, to its Summit for Democracy.
Twenty thousand additional H-2B visas — which authorize U.S. employers to hire foreigners who do not work in agriculture on a temporary basis — will be available to hire more employees during the first half of the government’s fiscal year, which runs from October through September. The majority of the permits will be awarded to returning workers, but 6,500 will be reserved for Salvadorans, Hondurans, Guatemalans and Haitians.
Haitian nationals were only recently welcomed back to the guest visa program following a three-year hiatus after the Trump administration banned them, alleging that they often overstayed or abused their work authorizations. The Biden administration also restored Haitians to the H-2A program, which is for temporary agricultural workers, many of who come to work in the United States on a seasonal basis.
The measure comes as the Biden administration touts high job growth and news of American employers struggling to find enough workers for their businesses make headlines. Among the requirements to issue H-2B visas is that the employer must show there are not enough U.S. workers to meet demand.
“Additional H-2B visas will help to fuel our nation’s historic economic recovery,” said DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, adding the program would be reformed in the near future.
—Miami Herald
Police reexamine DNA evidence in JonBenet Ramsey case
DENVER — The day after Christmas will mark 25 years since 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey was found dead in the basement of her parents' Boulder home, setting off a firestorm of national media attention.
Her killing has never been solved, but for the first time, Boulder police are acknowledging that they are looking into what they describe as "genetic DNA testing processes to see if they can be applied to this case moving forward." The development was announced in a news release Monday.
At issue is unidentified DNA found in JonBenet's underwear and touch DNA discovered on the waistband of her long johns. Investigators said the DNA doesn't match any of the persons of interest in the case.
So far, the profiles have not had a positive hit in the FBI's Combined DNA Index System. The database, known as CODIS, includes genetic profiles from more than 20 million known offenders and arrestees and has helped in 545,000 investigations.
In Monday's news release, Boulder police said they have analyzed nearly 1,000 DNA samples, including 750 reference samples through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
In the last 25 years, according to the release, Boulder Police Department's Major Crimes Unit has also received and reviewed or investigated 21,016 tips, letters and emails, and traveled to 19 states to check out 1,000 suspects in the case.
—The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Citing ‘personal sacrifice,’ Rep. Stephanie Murphy won’t run again
WASHINGTON — Florida Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy, the first woman born in Vietnam to serve in Congress and the first minority woman to co-chair the moderate Blue Dog Coalition, said Monday she would not seek a fourth term in 2022.
“These last few years have been some of the most rewarding moments of my life, but also some of the most challenging,” she said in a video announcing her decision. “Public service is not without personal sacrifice. And as a mom of two young children, my time away from them has been hard. … This was not an easy decision, but it was the right decision.”
Murphy, who first won election to Florida’s 7th District by defeating GOP then-Rep. John Mica in 2016, could have been facing a Democratic primary battle under new congressional lines being drawn by the Republican-controlled legislature.
Florida has not finished redistricting, but State House Republicans drafted a plan that would move Orlando communities with a high Black population into her district from retiring Democratic Rep. Val Demings‘. They also cut Democrat-leaning Seminole County into nearby Republican Rep. Mike Waltz’s district.
—CQ-Roll Call
Teachers stage a ‘sick out’ after student dies of COVID-19
PHILADELPHIA — Teachers at the school attended by a 17-year-old who died of COVID-19 last week called out in large numbers Monday, forcing Olney Charter High School to go virtual — and the company that runs the school has threatened legal action, the teachers union says.
Alayna Thach, a senior at Olney, died last Monday. Teachers at the school have asked ASPIRA of Pennsylvania for stepped-up health and safety protocols; the company says it has made changes, but teachers contend more are needed.
It was not immediately clear Monday how many faculty had called out, or what steps ASPIRA was preparing to take.
“The union’s mass ‘call out’ has hindered and interrupted Olney’s ability to operate and provide in-person instruction tomorrow, leaving administrators with no choice but to conduct classes virtually,” the company said in a statement Sunday night.
ASPIRA said it believed teachers were in violation of their collective bargaining agreement. Most charter schools’ faculty is not unionized; Olney’s organized and ratified their first contract in 2017.
—The Philadelphia Inquirer
