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Washington Post
44 minutes ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
DHS ends deportation protections for Haitians, says Haiti is ‘safe'
The Trump administration announced an end to temporary legal protections for Haitian migrants in the United States, leaving hundreds of thousands of people at risk of deportation. The temporary protected status designation, or TPS, for Haitian nationals in the United States expires in early August and will terminate Sept. 2, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Friday. 'This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary,' DHS said in a statement Friday, adding that the 'environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home' and that Haitian nationals could 'pursue lawful status' through other means if they were eligible. The statement did not elaborate on why it considered Haiti safe for citizens. Meanwhile, the U.S. government continues to advise Americans against all travel to Haiti, which has been under a state of emergency since March 2024 because of 'kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and limited health care.' The State Department's travel advisory adds that 'mob killings and assaults by the public have increased' and that crimes including 'robbery, carjackings, sexual assault and kidnappings for ransom' are common. The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince this week noted that some domestic air travel had resumed, and urged Americans to leave the country 'as soon as possible.' A federal register notice of the decision said that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi L. Noem had decided to terminate the TPS designation for Hairi 'because it is contrary to the national interest to permit Haitian nationals … to remain temporarily in the United States.' 'Widespread gang violence in Haiti is sustained by the country's lack of functional government authority. This breakdown in governance directly impacts U.S. national security interests, particularly in the context of uncontrolled migration,' the notice said. It added that while the situation in Haiti was 'concerning … the United States must prioritize its national interests.' The United Nations' human rights chief, Volker Türk, said earlier this month that a record 1.3 million of Haiti's 11 million population had been displaced by violence, and urged other nations 'not to forcibly return anyone to Haiti, and to ensure that Haitians who have fled their country are protected against any kind of discrimination and stigmatization.' Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts), who is the co-chair of the House Haiti Caucus, described the move 'to send vulnerable families back to a country plagued with violence and a horrific humanitarian crisis' as 'unconscionable, shameful, and dangerous,' in a statement Saturday. Amnesty International USA also condemned the decision, writing on X: 'Ending TPS for Haitians is cruel and dangerous, and a continuation of President Trump's racist and anti-immigrant practices.' TPS, which was created in 1990, allows the government to grant undocumented immigrants from countries experiencing war, disaster or other crises protection from deportation. Haiti received the designation following a devastating earthquake in 2010, which killed up to 200,000 people. The humanitarian and political situation in the nation, the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, has deteriorated drastically since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. The decision is the latest in the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration — the administration has already announced an end to TPS for Afghans and up to 350,000 Venezuelans. President Donald Trump, who repeated false claims about Haitian immigrants during his 2024 election campaign, has sought to end TPS for Haitians before. In 2017, his administration said it planned to terminate TPS status for migrants from Haiti, Sudan, Nicaragua and El Salvador, before the decision was blocked by a federal judge. Haiti is also among more than a dozen countries included on Trump's newly reinstated and expanded travel ban.
Associated Press
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Trump helped these African countries sign a peace deal. Here's what we know
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A deal signed in Washington on Friday has been touted as a major step toward peace in Congo following decades of conflict that has killed millions, including thousands this year. The U.S.-mediated agreement is between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been battered by fighting with more than 100 armed groups. The most potent is backed by neighboring Rwanda, and it is not clear if it will abide by the deal as the group wasn't part of the negotiations. President Donald Trump says the deal gives the United States 'a lot of the mineral rights' from Congo. His administration has pushed to gain access to minerals key to much of the world's technology and is seeking to counter China, a key player in the region where the U.S. presence and influence have eroded. Both the Congolese and Rwandan presidents are expected in Washington in a few weeks to 'finalize the complete protocol and agreement,' U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. Here's a look at what we know about the agreement: The terms of the deal The agreement details general expectations but is short on how it will be implemented, particularly in getting the key actors of the conflict — the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels — to lay down their arms, according to a copy seen by The Associated Press. The deal emphasizes the two neighboring countries' sovereignty, territorial integrity and peaceful coexistence, with a commitment to halt all hostilities and any support for armed groups. Although it denies supporting the M23 rebels, Rwanda has said it is protecting its border and going after the ethnic Hutus, whom it accuses of participating in the 1994 Rwandan genocide and now working with Congolese forces after fleeing to the neighboring country. Armed gangs involved in the conflict may be reintegrated into Congolese security forces only after individual vetting based on loyalty, fitness and human rights records, the deal says. In what the U.N. has called 'one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth,' the deal includes a commitment to protect and facilitate humanitarian access for displaced people in Congo, estimated to be more than 7 million. The two countries also commit to creating an economic framework 'to expand foreign trade and investment derived from regional critical mineral supply chains,' including ones that 'link both countries, in partnership, as appropriate, with the U.S. government and U.S. investors.' Uncertainty over whether the hostilities will end Analysts say it is going to be difficult for the M23 rebels to withdraw from the cities they seized during their major advance this year and that such withdrawal may either take a long time or another round of fighting. Rwanda is estimated to have thousands of troops supporting the M23 rebels in eastern Congo. Even if Rwanda ends its support for the rebels, the M23 has been consolidating its grip in the cities it has seized, setting up local administrative offices and enforcing a new governing structure. A team of U.N. experts said in a report in December that Rwanda was benefitting from minerals 'fraudulently' exported from areas in the region under the control of the M23. Rwanda has denied involvement. The rebels were not directly involved in the U.S.-facilitated negotiations and have not spoken publicly about the deal. And Corneille Nangaa, leader of the Congo River Alliance, which includes the M23, told the AP in March that 'anything regarding us which are done without us, it's against us.' Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe pointed to separate talks happening in Qatar that are meant to get both Congo and the M23 rebels to agree among themselves how they will end the fighting. He also said Rwanda agreed to lift its 'defensive measures.' It was not clear if he meant withdrawing the troops that Rwanda has said are defending its territorial interests. What Congolese think of the deal Of five people that the AP spoke to in the conflict-battered region, none of them was convinced the deal would quickly end the fighting. They called for caution in granting the U.S. access to the region's minerals — resources that even late Pope Francis had reprimanded developed countries for exploiting to the detriment of the Congolese. 'We draw the attention of the Congolese government not to give in completely or to sell the Congo to the Americans just because the United States has supported us in restoring peace,' said Hangi Muhindo, a resident of Goma, the city at the center of the conflict. 'The commitments to the United States must not jeopardize the future of our people,' he added. Some also felt the agreement is only a part of the solution and called for more dialogue and justice. 'We want peace now, but we don't want the therapy to be worse than the disease,' said Prince Epenge, spokesperson for the local opposition political coalition. ___ Justin Kabumba and Saleh Mwanamilongo in Congo contributed to this report.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Ends Trade Talks With Canada, Threatens to Set Tariff
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said he was ending all trade discussions with Canada in retaliation for the country's digital services tax and threatened to impose a fresh tariff rate within the next week. Philadelphia Transit System Votes to Cut Service by 45%, Hike Fares US Renters Face Storm of Rising Costs Squeezed by Crowds, the Roads of Central Park Are Being Reimagined Mapping the Architectural History of New York's Chinatown Sprawl Is Still Not the Answer 'Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately. We will let Canada know the Tariff that they will be paying to do business with the United States of America within the next seven day period,' Trump posted Friday on social media. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNBC that he expects the administration will launch a so-called Section 301 investigation into Canada, a tool the US has used against other countries including China, which may lead to higher import taxes. Canada and the US have one of the world's largest bilateral trading relationships, exchanging more than $900 billion of goods and services last year. But the alliance has grown tense since Trump won the election. The president threatened 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and repeatedly said he thinks it should become the 51st US state. Since taking office, he has put taxes on steel, aluminum and automobiles and other goods. In response, many Canadians have boycotted US products and avoided travel to US destinations. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking briefly on his way out of a meeting on Friday, said he hadn't spoken with Trump since his post. 'We'll continue to conduct these complex negotiations in the best interests of Canadians,' he said. The Canadian dollar dropped more than 0.5% almost immediately after Trump's post before reversing those losses. Canada's benchmark equity index fell, ending the day down 0.2%, and the shares of companies that rely on moving goods across the border, including General Motors Co. and apparel maker Canada Goose Holdings Inc., also took a hit. Dozens of countries face a July 9 deadline for Trump's higher tariffs to kick back into place, and have been engaged in negotiations with the US. That deadline doesn't apply to Canada and Mexico. The president imposed tariffs on the US's North American neighbors earlier this year over fentanyl trafficking and migration concerns, and talks with them are being handled on a separate track. Last week, Trump and Carney met at the Group of Seven leaders' summit and agreed to try to hash out an agreement by the middle of July. Business groups and some politicians quickly applied pressure on Carney to drop the digital tax. 'In an effort to get trade negotiations back on track, Canada should put forward an immediate proposal to eliminate the DST in exchange for an elimination of tariffs from the United States,' said Goldy Hyder, chief executive officer of the Business Council of Canada. Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his call for the prime minister to abandon the digital tax. 'We've long supported the idea that global tech giants should pay their fair share in the countries where they operate. But the digital services tax hasn't achieved that,' the Council of Canadian Innovators, which represents technology executives, said in a statement. 'It's functionally a pass-through cost paid by Canadian advertisers and consumers, and it leaves our economy exposed to draconian trade retaliation.' Bessent on Thursday announced a deal with other G-7 countries that will exclude US companies from some taxes imposed by other countries in exchange for removing the Section 899 'revenge tax' from the administration's tax bill. However, the deal didn't address digital services taxes, which are in place in a number of countries but are opposed by Trump and his officials. Canada's digital tax isn't new. It was passed into law a year ago but companies haven't had to pay it yet. The government will proceed with implementing it, with the first payments due Monday, Canada's finance department said earlier Friday, before Trump's post. Business groups had warned it would increase the cost of services and invite retaliation by the US. A group of 21 US lawmakers wrote to Trump earlier this month asking him to push for the tax's removal, estimating it will cost American companies $2 billion. Trump has long railed against taxes and other non-tariff barriers, casting them as an impediment to US exporters. 'We were hoping as a sign of goodwill that the new Carney administration would at least put a brake on that during the trade talks,' Bessent said on CNBC. 'They seem not to have.' The US specifically asked for a 30-day delay in the tax when Trump and Carney met at the G-7, according to Kevin Hassett, Trump's National Economic Council Director, who spoke Friday in an interview with Fox Business. The Canadian digital services tax is similar to those implemented by other countries, including the UK. The levy is 3% of the digital services revenue that a firm makes from Canadian users above C$20 million ($14.6 million) in a year. It would apply to megacap technology companies including Meta Platforms Inc., Alphabet Inc. and Inc. and has been criticized by smaller players including Uber Technologies Inc. and Etsy Inc. 'We are disappointed by the Canadian government's decision to implement a discriminatory tax that will harm Canadian consumers, and we hope that this matter can be quickly resolved,' a spokesperson for Amazon said in an emailed statement. Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne suggested last week that the digital tax may be renegotiated as part of US-Canada trade discussions. 'Obviously, all of that is something that we're considering as part of broader discussions that you may have,' he said. --With assistance from Laura Dhillon Kane, Thomas Seal, Jordan Fabian, Daniel Flatley and Josh Wingrove. (Updates to include comments from Bessent, Amazon spokesperson and other changes. An earlier version was corrected to make it clear that Bessent's announcement on Thursday didn't address digital services taxes.) 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Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump celebrates U.S.-brokered peace deal between Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda
Washington — President Trump on Friday celebrated the signing of a U.S.-brokered peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, marking what the Trump administration hopes will be the end of a deadly conflict that has spanned nearly three decades. The agreement brokered by the Trump administration is an effort to stop the bloodshed in the eastern part of the DRC, where a militia allegedly backed by Rwanda occupies large pieces of land. Rwanda has denied directly backing the rebels. Officials from both countries signed the agreement in Washington this week. "So we're here today to celebrate a glorious triumph, and that's what it is, for the cause of peace," Mr. Trump said in the Oval Office. "This is a long time waiting. The signing of a historic peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda. The conflict has continued and it's been going on for many, many years. It's been going from, I guess they say 30 years." The region has been unstable for decades, and conflict in eastern Congo has led to thousands of deaths recently, and about 6 million deaths over the last three decades, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. The conflict has spawned a humanitarian crisis and widespread displacement in eastern DRC. Mr. Trump said the U.S. will be "putting a lot of pressure" on the countries to honor the agreement. "I will just say that there are big penalties if they violate," Mr. Trump said, including financial penalties. But, he added, he thinks they'll remain in peace. The agreement allows for U.S. access to the DRC's deposits of minerals, such as gold, copper and lithium. Mr. Trump on Friday took credit not just for the DRC-Rwanda agreement, but for his administration's role in intervening in other conflicts, too. "This is a tremendous breakthrough," he said. "In a few short months, we've now achieved peace between India and Pakistan, India and Iran, and the DRC and Rwanda, and a couple of others, also." Vice President JD Vance also praised the president's role in the DRC-Rwanda deal. "If I think about what I know about these two countries, for 30 years, pretty much the entire time that I can remember these two countries being in the news, much of the story has been about them fighting one another, about them killing one another," Vance said. "And now, we can look forward to a future where my children will look at this moment as the beginning of a new story, a story of prosperity and peace." Hegseth slams Iran strikes initial assessment that contradicts Trump's take Young Cuban girl asks Trump to lift travel ban stopping her from joining mom in U.S. Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez set for star-studded wedding in Venice
CBS News
17 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
Trump celebrates U.S.-brokered peace deal between Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda
Washington — President Trump on Friday celebrated the signing of a U.S.-brokered peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, marking what the Trump administration hopes will be the end of a deadly conflict that has spanned nearly three decades. The agreement brokered by the Trump administration is an effort to stop the bloodshed in the eastern part of the DRC, where a militia allegedly backed by Rwanda occupies large pieces of land. Rwanda has denied directly backing the rebels. Officials from both countries signed the agreement in Washington this week. "So we're here today to celebrate a glorious triumph, and that's what it is, for the cause of peace," Mr. Trump said in the Oval Office. "This is a long time waiting. The signing of a historic peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda. The conflict has continued and it's been going on for many, many years. It's been going from, I guess they say 30 years." The region has been unstable for decades, and conflict in eastern Congo has led to thousands of deaths recently, and about 6 million deaths over the last three decades, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. The conflict has spawned a humanitarian crisis and widespread displacement in eastern DRC. Mr. Trump said the U.S. will be "putting a lot of pressure" on the countries to honor the agreement. "I will just say that there are big penalties if they violate," Mr. Trump said, including financial penalties. But, he added, he thinks they'll remain in peace. The agreement allows for U.S. access to the DRC's deposits of minerals, such as gold, copper and lithium. Mr. Trump on Friday took credit not just for the DRC-Rwanda agreement, but for his administration's role in intervening in other conflicts, too. "This is a tremendous breakthrough," he said. "In a few short months, we've now achieved peace between India and Pakistan, India and Iran, and the DRC and Rwanda, and a couple of others, also." Vice President JD Vance also praised the president's role in the DRC-Rwanda deal. "If I think about what I know about these two countries, for 30 years, pretty much the entire time that I can remember these two countries being in the news, much of the story has been about them fighting one another, about them killing one another," Vance said. "And now, we can look forward to a future where my children will look at this moment as the beginning of a new story, a story of prosperity and peace."
