DHS to restart ‘Remain in Mexico’ for asylum-seekers next month
WASHINGTON — The Homeland Security Department could restart as early as next month a controversial Trump administration border program requiring asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for their court dates, according to a court filing late Thursday night.
In a document filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the federal government said it “anticipates being in a position to re-implement” the so-called Remain in Mexico program, formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, “by mid-November.”
Under MPP, which began under the Trump administration and was formally terminated in June, asylum-seekers who cross the U.S.-Mexico border and request protection are required to wait in Mexico for decisions in their U.S. immigration court cases. The wait could be months, and the pandemic even stretched some to more than a year.
Following a lawsuit by Texas and Missouri, U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk ordered the Biden administration to make a good faith effort to reinstate the program, finding that the administration hadn’t sufficiently explained its reasons for ending it. Last month, the states filed a motion accusing the administration of delaying the reinstatement of the program in violation of that court order.
In Thursday’s filing to update the court on its compliance, government lawyers reported that the Department of Homeland Security has initiated the rebuilding of facilities in Laredo and Brownsville, Texas, to hold immigration court hearings for those in MPP. The department is also working with the Justice Department to make room for additional immigration hearings on the immigration court system’s crowded docket and is developing protocols to guard against the spread of COVID-19, the filing says.
—CQ-Roll Call
Late October rains in California could dampen wildfires and help with drought, forecasters say
LOS ANGELES — A wetter-than-average forecast for late October could dampen wildfires burning in Northern California and help ease drought conditions, according to the National Weather Service.
The latest weather outlook for the latter part of this month calls for above-normal precipitation in California, with possible high-elevation heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada and the Cascades. There is also potential for an atmospheric river between Oct. 21 and Oct. 27, forecasters said.
The increase in moisture is anticipated to quell ongoing wildfire activity and help to improve drought conditions, said the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center.
There is a moderate risk of heavy precipitation from southern Oregon to Central California.
Although the outlook, issued Wednesday, peers fairly far into the future in weather terms, the models have been consistent in recent days about development of this weather pattern over the northeastern Pacific, according to forecasters.
"We are monitoring this, and it looks like it could be something above normal, but nothing earth-shattering," said David King,a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Bay Area office in Monterey.
—Los Angeles Times
UK politician’s slaying prompts calls for safety review for members of Parliament
United Kingdom Home Secretary Priti Patel ordered a review of police security for members of Parliament after Conservative MP David Amess was fatally stabbed at a meeting in his constituency.
The attack revives questions about the safety of lawmakers meeting face to face with residents in their districts, usually with little security. A 25-year-old U.K. national was arrested on suspicion of murder, which authorities have declared as a terrorist incident.
“The early investigation has revealed a potential motivation linked to Islamist extremism,” Metropolitan Police said in a statement. “It is believed that he acted alone, and we are not seeking anyone else in connection with the incident at this time.”
It’s the second time in five years that a British MP has been murdered in public after Jo Cox was killed while attending such a so-called constituency surgery in 2016. Another Labour MP, Stephen Timms, suffered near-fatal injuries during a stabbing in 2010.
The events are held by most MPs in their constituency once a week, usually on a Friday, and allow residents to ask them to take up issues on their behalf.
“The Home Secretary has asked all police forces to review security arrangements for MPs with immediate effect and will provide updates in due course,” Kelsey Stubbs, a spokesperson for Patel, said in a statement.
—Bloomberg News
