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Trump admin eases asylum freeze for vetted migrants, keeps bans on ‘high-risk’ nations

Trump admin eases asylum freeze for vetted migrants, keeps bans on ‘high-risk’ nations

The Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday it is slackening restrictions on asylum applications set in place after an Afghan asylee allegedly murdered one West Virginia National Guardsman and gravely wounded another in Washington last fall. The November incident near Farragut Square led President Donald Trump to crack down on allowing asylum seekers into the country, and the administration hammered more lax Biden-era policies that allowed Afghans such as the suspect into the country. A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the stringent screening process itself will not change, nor will restrictions on emigrants from a list of “high-risk” countries. “Under the leadership of President Trump, maximum screening and vetting for all aliens continues unabated,” the spokesperson said. DOJ ACCUSES COURTS OF UNDERCUTTING EXECUTIVE POWER IN HIGH-STAKES SUPREME COURT BORDER CASE “USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) has lifted the adjudicative hold for thoroughly screened asylum seekers from non-high-risk countries. This move allows resources to focus on continued rigorous national security and public safety vetting for higher-risk cases.” Some of the 39 countries the administration deemed lacking in the provision of adequate screening and vetting information to U.S. officials still include Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Niger, Yemen, Syria, Somalia and Sierra Leone; the latter being where two different migrants named Jalloh, accused of recent violent crimes in Virginia, hailed from. JUSTICE JACKSON AUTHORS UNANIMOUS SCOTUS OPINION HANDING TRUMP AN IMMIGRATION WIN “Since taking office, President Trump has prioritized national security and public safety by implementing a series of executive orders and proclamations that mandate strict screening and vetting of foreign nationals seeking entry or immigration benefits,” USCIS said in a statement. The agency said that security gaps in applications for naturalization or permanent residency exposed serious public safety risks and endangered the integrity of the U.S. immigration system. “[A]pplications were approved and individuals were naturalized who should not have been,” the agency said. The latest move is expected to have limited impact on the situation, according to The Hill newspaper, but will still ease the overall restrictive environment.

Venezuela’s ‘Chavismo’ movement faces a crossroads after US attack

Venezuela’s ‘Chavismo’ movement faces a crossroads after US attack

A new economic partner? Libertad Velasco, a Chavista who grew up in the 23 de Enero neighbourhood, was only a teenager when Chavez came to power. She went on to become one of the founding members of the youth wing of Chavez’s party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Eventually, she became the head of a government agency to expand access to higher education to members of vulnerable communities. Still, Velasco described the period after Maduro’s abduction as a sort of awakening. “It’s like we’re looking at ourselves without makeup,” Velasco said. “Now, everything is laid bare, revealed in its purest state, and we are beginning to recognise ourselves again.” Since the US attack and Maduro’s removal, Velasco has thought deeply about her “red lines”: the ideals she feels should not be violated under the new government. Standing up against invasive foreign powers remains one of her top priorities. “I refuse to be colonised,” Velasco said. “For me, we shouldn’t have relations with Israel, and abandoning anti-imperialism is non-negotiable.” Yet Velasco does not believe that the Venezuelan government has crossed that line yet. Rather, she is open to the prospect of the US as a trading partner to Venezuela, paying for access to its natural resources. “It is a customer who should pay market price for the product they need. If Venezuela must act as a market player to lift people out of suffering, I can go along with that,” Velasco said. Delia Bracho of Caricuao, Venezuela, says she has grown disillusioned with the Chavismo movement [Catherine Ellis/Al Jazeera] But it is unclear whether that is happening. Critics point out that the Trump administration has demanded greater control over Venezuela’s natural resources. It has even claimed that Chavez stole Venezuelan oil from US hands. Already, Venezuela has surrendered nearly 50 million barrels of oil to the US, with the Trump administration splitting the proceeds between the two countries. Rodriguez, Venezuela’s interim president, has also agreed to submit a monthly budget to the US for approval. Among Chavistas, there remains debate about whether the relationship with the US is beneficial or exploitative. But economic recovery is an overwhelming priority for many Venezuelans of all political leanings. Under Maduro, Venezuela entered one of its worst economic crises in history. Inflation is currently at 600 percent, and living standards remain low. Many Chavista loyalists blame US sanctions for their economic woes. Yet, analysts credit a combination of factors, including declining oil prices, economic mismanagement and pervasive corruption. Delia Bracho, 68, lives in a district of Caracas called Caricuao, where water is delivered just once a week. Once a committed Chavista, she said her faith in the movement has faded. Today’s movement, she explained, has been “ruined”, and she no longer wants anything to do with it. “It’s like when you put on a pair of shoes,” she said. “They break, and you throw them away. Are you going to pick them up again, knowing they are no longer useful?” Despite her initial fear after the US intervention, Bracho said she now feels cautiously optimistic that Venezuela might change for the better. “It’s not that everything is fixed, but there is a different atmosphere — one of hope.” Adblock test (Why?)

LIVE: Bosnia vs Italy – World Cup 2026 qualifying final

LIVE: Bosnia vs Italy – World Cup 2026 qualifying final

blinking-dotLive MatchLive Match, Follow our live build-up with full team news coverage before our text commentary stream of the FIFA decider. Published On 31 Mar 202631 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)

Cuba crisis explained: Who holds power, and could Diaz-Canel be replaced?

Cuba crisis explained: Who holds power, and could Diaz-Canel be replaced?

Cuba is facing one of its worst crises in decades, as the Caribbean island contends with nationwide blackouts, fuel shortages and growing political uncertainty. The crisis comes as the United States increases pressure on the communist government in Havana. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list As recently as Friday, US President Donald Trump hinted that he might attack Cuba, following military operations in Venezuela and Iran. “I built this great military. I said, ‘You’ll never have to use it.’ But sometimes you have to use it. And Cuba is next,” he said. Trump’s threats have raised questions about the future of Cuba’s leadership and whether political change could be on the horizon. Here is what to know about the US campaign against Cuba’s government and the powerful figures who lead Havana: What is happening in Cuba? Nearly every aspect of Cuban society is under strain amid a de facto US oil blockade. The island relies on imported oil to generate electricity and run public transport. But fuel shipments have largely stopped since January. On January 11, Trump announced that no more oil or funding would come from Cuba’s close ally Venezuela, following a US attack on that country. Then, on January 29, he issued an executive order threatening tariffs against any country that supplies Cuba with fuel. Since then, only one tanker has reached the island: On Tuesday, a Russian vessel carrying 730,000 barrels of oil arrived in Havana’s harbour. But it is unclear how far one ship will go in addressing the island’s oil crisis. The depletion of the island’s fuel supply has pushed the nation’s already fragile infrastructure past its breaking point. Advertisement In March alone, Cuba faced two island-wide blackouts, as well as regional power outages. Analysts have blamed both US policy and ongoing problems with Cuba’s ageing power grid. But the result has left nearly 10 million Cubans in complete darkness. Residents walk down a street during a national power outage in Havana, Cuba, on March 21 [Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA] The effects are being felt across daily life. The fuel shortage is disrupting water systems and food distribution across the island. Litter is piling up in Havana because rubbish trucks lack fuel. Hospitals are limiting surgeries. Public transport has been reduced. And many people have resorted to using wood fires to cook and heat water. Reporting from Havana, journalist Ed Augustin told Al Jazeera’s The Take that the crisis is “absolutely eviscerating every part of life”. In Havana, residents face blackouts lasting up to 15 hours a day, while in some rural areas, outages can last far longer, sometimes stretching into more than a full day without electricity. “Cubans are living in unbearable conditions, and that is clearly part of what this policy is designed to do,” Augustin said. A person shines a torch during a power outage in Havana, Cuba, on March 4, 2026 [Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA] What is the human cost of the fuel shortage? The United Nations has warned of a possible humanitarian “collapse” in Cuba as a result of the fuel shortages. Journalists like Augustin warn that there is a human cost to steep economic sanctions like those the US has imposed on Cuba. “It’s worth pointing out: Sanctions kill,” Augustin said. “There’s a lot of academic literature that show that sanctions kill.” He pointed to a 2025 study in The Lancet Global Health journal, which estimated that 564,000 excess deaths each year were linked to economic sanctions. Augustin added that children are especially vulnerable. “I’ve been going to various Cuban hospitals, and the Cuban doctors are telling me that the infant mortality rate this year is rising,” Augustin said. “And it’s rising because staff can’t get to work, because there are no buses. It’s rising because cleaners can’t get to work, so more children and mothers are getting sepsis. It’s because prenatals [vitamins] and folic acid are not getting to mothers. Milk is not getting to children.” Faced with international criticism, Trump in recent weeks has signalled he may loosen the oil embargo, allowing a Russian vessel to reach Havana. Mexico too has indicated it may resume oil shipments to Cuba. Advertisement How long have Cuba and the US been at odds? Current tensions with Cuba stretch back to the Cold War, when the US took an adversarial stance against left-wing governments throughout the Americas. The Cuban Revolution in the 1950s led to the overthrow of a US-backed, military-led government, and by the early 1960s, the US had placed the island under a comprehensive trade embargo, designed to weaken Havana’s new communist leadership. “No country in modern history, at least since the French Revolution, has been sanctioned as long as Cuba has been sanctioned,” Augustin said. But the pressure has intensified under President Trump, who tightened economic restrictions on Cuba during his first term, from 2017 to 2021. Since returning to office in 2025, Trump has labelled Cuba an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US security and has threatened a “takeover” of the island. The energy blockade is part of that campaign, Augustin explained. “The US is purposely de-industrialising Cuba,” Augustin said. “By targeting energy, it’s targeting all of the infrastructure on which life depends.” Who holds power in Cuba? Although Miguel Diaz-Canel is Cuba’s president, power in Cuba does not sit with the presidency alone. Cuba is a one-party state, and the most powerful institution in the country is the Communist Party of Cuba, which is defined in its constitution as the “leading force of the state and society”. In practice, this means the party — not the government — sets the country’s political direction. While Diaz-Canel is the secretary-general of Cuba’s Communist Party, analysts say there are signals he might not be the one deciding the country’s future. The US and Cuba are currently in negotiations, and reports have emerged that the Trump administration is pressuring other powerful Cuban leaders to remove Diaz-Canel from power. “Politically, I think what is happening is that we are seeing the real