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Migrants trek through the Darien Gap towards the border with Panama.
Sexual assault spikes in the Darién Gap
Crossing the remote, dense jungle is dangerous enough, but now the migrants face a worrying uptick in sexual assaults against women and children. Médecins Sans Frontières has documented nearly 400 sexual assaults there this year, as armed gangs exploit the record number of migrants crossing the jungle. Due to the stigma around sexual assault, fear of perpetrators, and concern that reporting will delay the journey north, the real number is likely far higher. Most of the violence is occurring on the jungle’s Panama side, which lacks the drug cartel that acts as a police force on Colombia’s side of the border.
In August, communication between Panama and Colombia fell apart after they failed to reach a deal to regulate their border. Talks have not resumed, with both countries pointing the finger at the other to take the lead. Yesterday, the US Department of Homeland Security announced it would send a team to Panama, but solely for training purposes. With no sign of a drop in migration, the fear is that the perils facing migrants are becoming normalized as governments fail to address the crisis.Migrants gather near the border wall
Biden is (re)building the wall
No, you haven’t gone back in time to 2016. Yes, the US government is building a wall along the southern border.
The Biden administration announced this week that it will bypass environmental laws to fast-track 20 miles of barrier construction in the Rio Grande Valley – where 245,000 border arrests were made over the last year.
President Joe Biden, who campaigned on stopping Donald Trump’s border wall, is being called a hypocrite by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. In a press conference on Thursday, he told reporters the decision was not a policy reversal, and while he does not believe border walls are effective, the money Congress allocated to barrier construction under Trump in 2019 could not be allocated elsewhere.
But if the money has been allocated since 2019, why restart construction now? Biden is facing pressure from his party to get illegal immigration under control. Democratic leaders from New York to Illinois fear it could strengthen Republicans' tough-on-crime platforms and cost them suburban and moderate voters.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who has criticized Biden’s inaction, convinced the president to authorize work visas for nearly 500,000 Venezuelans to ease the strain on his city’s resources. Adams is currently on a tour of Latin America to dissuade would-be asylum-seekers from coming to the Big Apple.
Democrats will be trying hard not to lose gains in the state’s increasingly liberal cities and suburbs, particularly among Hispanic voters who are increasingly voting for the GOP. In Starr County, which is 95% Hispanic and construction on the wall is about to resume, voters shifted to the right by 55 points in 2020 compared to 2016.
Constructing a 20-mile barrier will neither win back these voters nor fix the country’s migrant crisis. But Biden’s decision underscores that border policy is a complex issue with decisive consequences in the 2024 election.
Hard Numbers: Migrant boat tragedy, Polish border build-up, new COVID strain, Indian lottery winners
41: The Italian Red Cross and rescue groups reported Wednesday that 41 people drowned after a boat carrying migrants capsized off Tunisia in rough seas. Just four survivors were rescued.
2,000: Poland announced on Wednesday it will send 2,000 troops, double the expected number, to patrol its border with Belarus. The larger-than-expected mobilization may be intended to discourage fighters from Russia’s Wagner Group from making trouble inside Poland, a NATO member. It may also be to stop Belarus and Russia from pushing Middle Eastern and African migrants across the border.
17: The EG.5 variant, known as Eris, now makes up about 17% of all COVID cases in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control, making it the most dominant current strain of the disease. Fortunately, it does not appear to cause serious illness.
100 million: Eleven female sanitation workers in the Indian state of Kerala have won a 100 million-rupee ($1.2 million) lottery jackpot. The women have vowed not to quit their jobs collecting non-biodegradable waste from households and public bins and prepping it for recycling.
Line Graphs of the number of migrants accepted into various EU countries
The Graphic Truth: Where are Migrants Going in the EU?
Migration to Europe has been climbing over the last two decades, with migrants largely coming from the Middle East, North Africa, and – since 2022 – Ukraine. While some EU countries have opened their arms to migrants, others have erected fences and closed borders. We take a look at how the number of migrants EU countries have accepted in recent years.
Migrants use their phones to access the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in a shelter near the US-Mexico border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico February 24, 2023.
Hard Numbers: Glitchy US border app, Japanese no-show canned, Paris stinks, Argentina’s inflation hits triple digits
2.5: A new US government app meant to speed the processing of asylum-seekers and other migrants arriving from Mexico has a rating of just 2.5 stars on Google play. Small wonder, given that the app is reportedly glitchy, difficult to use, and creates opportunities for scammers to prey on migrants and their families.
7: WFH FTW? Not in Japan’s parliament. After failing to show up to work a single time in seven months, Japanese MP Yoshikazu Higashitani was expelled from parliament on Tuesday. Higashitani, a YouTube star who specializes in celebrity gossip under the name GaaSyy, was elected last July as a member of a party whose only issue is to reform Japan’s public broadcast system.
5,600:Paris le Pew! Some 5,600 tons of stinking, uncollected trash have piled up in the City of Light, the result of an ongoing strike by public sanitation workers opposed to the government’s controversial plan to raise the pension age.
100: Argentina’s annual inflation rate has hit 100%, cracking triple digits for the first time since way back in 1991, when, to put things in proper perspective, Maradona was still with Napoli. The country’s soaring prices are a major concern for voters ahead of what is sure to be a super-contentious election this fall.
What obligations do rich nations have when it comes to refugees?
The recent tragedy of the migrant boat that sunk off the coast of Italy and killed 64 people raises an important question: are European leaders taking the right approach to prevent migrants from risking their lives in the first place? On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer and David Miliband, the President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, discuss the complex and urgent nature of the migrant crisis and the need for effective solutions.
Miliband notes that migration is not just a European issue but a global one, with people “on the move more than ever before” due to persecution, war, and disaster. He emphasizes the need to “balance fairness with humanity” and “fulfill legal as well as moral obligations for people who have been driven from their homes.”
To address this challenge, Miliband outlines four key elements to fair, humane migration: fast processing of asylum claims, proper integration of those allowed to stay, addressing criminal elements that exploit the lack of legal migration routes, and creating legal routes for asylum-seekers and migrants to travel safely.
Miliband predicts that migration will be one of the biggest challenges for the rest of this century, as people in countries with a per capita income of less than $7,000 will continue to seek a better life elsewhere.
Watch the GZERO World episode: Challenge of survival/Problem of governance: Aid for Turkey & Syria
- The Graphic Truth: How many refugees does the US let in? ›
- No exit from Afghanistan ›
- Hard Numbers: UK-France migration deal, Amazon layoffs, Gabon's carbon credit mega-sale, North Korean crypto windfall, Lake's loss ›
- Europe plays the blame game over asylum-seekers ›
- The Graphic Truth: Migrants reach Italy by sea ›
- Swedish NATO bid caught in Erdoğan reelection effort - GZERO Media ›
Israelis demonstrate during "Day of Resistance" as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nationalist coalition government presses on with its contentious judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, Israel.
What We’re Watching: Chaos in Israel, Franco-British thaw, Trump's deepening legal woes, Biden’s budget battle
Israel’s unraveling
The situation in Israel continued to unravel on Thursday when protesters against the government’s planned judicial overhaul took to the streets in a national “day of resistance.” In a bid to create a balagan (state of chaos), Israelis blocked the Ayalon Highway, a main artery leading to Tel Aviv’s international airport, to try to disrupt PM Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu’s planned trip to Rome (he got out)! Indeed, footage shows police using heavy-handed tactics to break up the crowds, but that didn’t appear tough enough for far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who proceeded to fire the Tel Aviv district commander, decrying police for “not fulfilling my orders.” Israel's attorney general has since ordered the freezing of the police chief's ouster, citing legal concerns. Meanwhile, in a very rare emotional speech, President Isaac Herzog – who holds a mostly ceremonial position and remains above the fray of day-to-day politics – urged the government to ditch the judicial reforms. Crucially, things took a turn for the worse Thursday night when a Palestinian gunman opened fire on gatherers in central Tel Aviv, wounding at least three people. With deepening twin crises at home – a constitutional catastrophe and deteriorating security situation – Bibi is going to have a harder time than ever keeping his discordant far-right coalition intact.
Are French-UK relations back on track?
After years of tension, UK-France relations appear to be on the mend! British PM Rishi Sunak travelled to France on Friday to meet with President Emmanuel Macron for the first summit between the countries in … five years. “It’s the beginning of a beautiful, renewed friendship,” a French diplomat said, which was presumably a dig at former PM Boris Johnson, who butted heads with Macron. What's on the agenda? Maintaining a united front against Russia, post-Brexit fishing rights in the English Channel (see this explainer on the great roe row here) and climate change mitigation. Crucially, they are also focusing on how to tackle an influx of migrants arriving by boat through the English Channel. After Sunak this week unveiled fresh legislation that would ban migrants who enter illegally from applying for asylum, a move broadly condemned as a violation of international law, London confirmed Friday that it will offer Paris a lot of cash to help patrol French beaches, which is where most small boats headed for the UK come from. While this meeting is mostly about showing the world that relations are warm and fuzzy, the timing is still a bit awkward: On Monday, Sunak will appear in San Diego along with President Joe Biden and Australian PM Anthony Albanese to unveil the next stage of the AUKUS agreement, the trilateral security pact that incensed the French who were pushed to the side.
Trump may soon face criminal charges
Is an indictment looming? Manhattan prosecutors offered former President Donald Trump the opportunity to testify before a grand jury that’s looking into his business dealings, including alleged payment of hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels. The offer to testify – most potential defendants decline – usually signals that an indictment is about to drop. Trump is expected to steer clear of the grand jury, but his lawyers will be fighting in his corner and meeting with the District Attorney’s office in a bid to dodge criminal charges. If they fail, Trump may become the first former US president to face indictment – and the NY-based case could be just the start. District Attorney prosecutors in Georgia are also investigating and expected to bring charges against Trump for alleged interference in the 2020 election, while federal prosecutors are investigating his bid to undermine the election outcome. Whatever happens, No. 45 says he will stay in the 2024 presidential race, and experts say there’s nothing legally barring him from running, even if he’s convicted.
Biden’s budget blast
The US president on Thursday unveiled a $6.8 trillion budget proposal that would beef up the military, protect and expand social programs, and slash the deficit by $3 trillion over the next decade. How? By raising a slew of taxes on wealthier Americans (those who make more than $400 grand a year) and slapping a 25% tax on the wealth of billionaires. The budget as it currently stands has no chance of passing the GOP-controlled House — Speaker Kevin McCarthy immediately slammed the budget as “unserious” — but Biden knows that. The proposal is an opening salvo in what will be a bruising battle with Republicans, who say they want a balanced budget in order to raise the debt ceiling but have yet to produce a viable plan of their own. As Biden eyes 2024, that fiscal fight — in which he’ll highlight his progressive spending priorities — will be one of the cornerstones of his campaign.NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Finland's President Sauli Niinisto and Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson pose after signing a document during a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain.
What We're Watching: Turkey backs off, Texas migrant tragedy, bombshell Jan. 6 testimony, Iran woos BRICS
Turkey opens NATO door to Finland and Sweden
The first day of the NATO Summit in Madrid brought concrete results. Turkey, Finland, and Sweden came to an agreement that addresses Ankara’s security concerns and paves the path to Finland and Sweden joining NATO. The Nordics’ joint bid for membership, inspired by Russian aggression in Ukraine, was at the center of the summit’s agenda. Accession demands consensus, and Turkey had raised objections, making security-centric demands from Stockholm and Helsinki that threatened to slow the process. In response, Sweden and Finland have suspended a 2019 arms embargo against Ankara and agreed to cut assistance to the People’s Protection Units, an armed group affiliated with the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, Turkey’s enemy. Some of Ankara’s requests still need to be discussed, but Turkey is walking away from its veto option, swinging the doors open to Finland and Sweden’s membership in NATO. Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, has said the expansion doesn’t threaten Russia but warned that Moscow would respond to any extension of military infrastructure into that region.
Will latest Jan. 6 testimony move the needle?
The ongoing January 6 hearings on Capitol Hill took a notable turn on Tuesday when a former aide to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows provided new details about what went down that day. Crucially, Cassidy Hutchinson – who had unfettered access to the president’s inner circle – testified that Trump encouraged rioters to descend on the US Capitol knowing that many of them were armed with weapons. Hutchinson also testified that Trump said former Vice President Mike Pence was deserving of the mob’s wrath because he rebuffed Trump’s plea to reject the 2020 election results. She said she cleaned up a mess from Trump throwing his ketchup-soaked lunch against the wall in anger after former Attorney General William Barr gave a news interview in which he said he had not found widespread voter fraud. Hutchinson also said that Meadows, her former boss, later sought a pardon for his role in the events on that fateful day. Some legal analysts say that Trump allegedly knowing members of the crowd were armed and encouraging them to march to the Capitol could open him up to criminal charges. But will it impact American voters who are more deeply divided than ever ahead of November’s midterms?
Texas migrant tragedy and Biden’s immigration dilemma
The dual problem of a broken US immigration system and chronic instability in Central America was highlighted again this week when a truck filled with dozens of dead migrants was discovered near San Antonio, Texas. At least 46 people – including Mexican, Honduran, and Guatemalan nationals – were found dead in an abandoned tractor-trailer amid 100-degree temperatures. At least 16 others, including children, were taken to the hospital, where four later died, raising the death toll to 50. This tragedy, the deadliest US immigration event in recent years, highlights the ongoing challenge President Joe Biden faces in making good on his promise for a more "humane" immigration system. So what has the administration been trying to do? First, it sought to lift the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy, which requires migrants seeking entry to the US to wait in towns south of the border while their asylum applications are considered. That case is now awaiting a decision by the Supreme Court after Republican states sued to keep it in place. Biden has also sought to lift the Trump-era Title 42, which allowed the US to stop processing asylum claims due to COVID. For now, a federal court has banned Biden from lifting the law, which leaves the president open to mounting criticism from the left flank of his party.