(HAWAII) — The Navy has shut down a second well following a water contamination that suspended operations at a facility in Hawaii.
The Hawaii Department of Health issued an an emergency order Monday to immediately halt operations at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Honolulu following reports of a water contamination.
About a week earlier, health officials and the Navy advised residents in Pearl Harbor to stop using tap water after dangerous levels of petroleum products were found in the water system at the Joint Base at Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Military housing residents reported a fuel-like odor coming from their tap water, ABC Honolulu affiliate KITV reported.
Navy officials confirmed to KITV that a second water well has been shut off amid the investigation into the contaminated water supply. Now that the Halawa and Red Hill wells have been turned off, the Navy is only pumping from the Waiawa shaft, according to the station.
Former commissioner on the Hawaii State Water Resource Management Commission Kamanamaikalani Beamer said during a virtual discussion with Hawaii’s congressional delegation Tuesday that the issue has been going on for “many years” and that during his time at the commission officials were questioning the Navy about the safety of the drinking water.
“There has never been a more serious and critical threat to the life-giving waters of Oahu than there is at this moment,” Beamer said.
The Navy is responsible for ensuring safe water for nearby residents and has been ordered by the state’s Department of Health to provide alternative drinking water to about 93,000 residents who may be affected.
The DOH also ordered the Navy to immediately install a drinking water treatment system at the Red Hill Shaft and submit a work plan to assess system integrity. Within 30 days of completing the correction action, the Navy must then defuel the underground storage tanks there.
The Navy plans to contest Gov. David Ige’s emergency order that shuttered operations at the fuel facility and is negotiating terms of a continuance with the Department of Health.
During Hawaii’s congressional delegation on Tuesday, Ige said he does not anticipate any delays to the investigative process, saying that finding the source of the contamination is of the utmost importance.
The health department will not declare whether the water is safe until no contamination has been detected over a period of time, Ige said.
ABC News’ Kiara Alfonseca contributed to this report.
(LONDON, U.K.) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing calls to resign over reports that members of his staff attended a Christmas party last year while the country was in lockdown.
The Daily Mirror newspaper reported that the party took place on Dec. 18, 2020, which would have been illegal under the coronavirus restrictions in place at the time. Johnson has denied the allegation.
In a video leaked to ITV News, the prime minister’s press secretary can be heard joking about a Christmas Party, four days after the party was alleged to have taken place.
In the video, the prime minister’s press secretary and other staff members can be seen holding a mock press conference, discussing how they would respond to allegations that Downing Street had held a Christmas party.
“It wasn’t a party, it was cheese and wine,” one person can be heard saying, prompting laughs across the room. The leaked video prompted fury from opposition lawmakers and residents alike.
Allegra Stratton, the staff member seen in the video, resigned from her post on Wednesday.
At a weekly scheduled parliamentary session on Wednesday, Johnson repeatedly denied that a party had taken place, but he did apologize for the leaked video, saying: “I was also furious to see that clip … I apologize unreservedly for the offense it has caused up and down the country.”
Johnson said he had ordered an internal investigation into the incident, but the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer, has called for evidence to be handed over to the police, saying the prime minister had taken the British public for “fools.”
There will be many people asking the Prime Minister the same heartbreaking question as Trisha:
“Her Majesty the Queen sat alone when she marked the passing of the man she’d been married to for 73 years,” Starmer said. “Leadership, sacrifice – that’s what gives leaders the moral authority to lead. Does the prime minister think he has the moral authority to lead and to ask the British people to stick to the rules?”
Further fallout could be on the horizon, with one lawmaker asking the prime minister about another party that may have taken place on Nov. 13, which Johnson also denied. As of June 2021, a month before social distancing measures were fully relaxed in England, a total of 366 fines had been issued in England and Wales for large gatherings, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
Critics of the prime minister say the video threatens to undermine public trust in the government, particularly at a time when new restrictions are set to be introduced to combat the spread of the omicron variant. One lawmaker, from Johnson’s own Conservative Party, went as far to suggest that the possible new restrictions, reported before the fiery exchange in Parliament, were a “diversionary tactic.”
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — House Progressives, led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley, said Wednesday they will introduce a resolution later in the day seeking to strip GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert of her two committee assignments in the wake of anti-Muslim remarks she made last month about Rep. Ilhan Omar.
The resolution, obtained by ABC News and first reported by The Washington Post, is co-sponsored by several House progressive members, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Pramila Jayapal, Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush, and Jamaal Bowman.
Their goal: to force Democratic leadership’s hand in punishing Boebert for repeatedly making Islamophobic and racist comments about Omar, likening her to a suicide bomber.
“I haven’t heard anything binding from leadership, which in and of itself is an embarrassment,” Ocasio-Cortez told the news outlet The Hill on Tuesday night. “This shouldn’t take this long; this should not drag on. It’s pretty simple. It doesn’t have to be a big huge thing. It’s pretty open and closed.”
In a video posted to Twitter last month, Boebert referred to Omar as a member of the “Jihad Squad” and claimed that a Capitol Police officer thought she was a suicide bomber in an encounter in an elevator on Capitol Hill.
Boebert later apologized on Twitter “to anyone in the Muslim community I offended,” adding that she had reached out to Omar’s office to speak with her directly, but the phone call did not go well.
Omar is one of only three Muslim members in Congress. She said she has received “hundreds” of death threats often triggered by Republican attacks.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said Boebert’s comments about Omar are “dangerous” and “indecent” and there have been discussions among the caucus about taking decisive action against Boebert. Pelosi has said that there are “different views” among the caucus regarding the appropriate response.
Leaders had discussed a resolution that would condemn Islamophobia, but House liberals, including Omar herself, are not keen to the idea, saying a resolution doesn’t go far enough.
Democrats have also called on Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy to condemn Boebert himself, but he has not done so.
“It’s the responsibility of Republicans to discipline their members,” Pelosi told reporters Wednesday when asked if she supported the new resolution from progressive members.
Pressley’s resolution would boot Boebert from her two spots on the House Committee on the Budget and the House Committee on Natural Resources. The resolution is not privileged, which means Democratic leadership does not have to put the measure on the floor for a vote.
“It is my expectation that Lauren Boebert is going to be held accountable,” House Democratic Caucus chairman Hakeem Jeffries told reporters Wednesday during a news conference.
“It would be a constructive thing if my friends on the other side of the aisle would handle their own business in terms of the out of control members. But we haven’t seen that level of accountability so far,” Jeffries said.
“At some point, I think the House as a whole is going to have to act,” he said, adding that “there is no hesitancy on our side” to take action against Boebert.
Late last month, the House voted to censure GOP Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona over a video he tweeted depicting violence against Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Joe Biden. He was also removed from his committee assignments.
Earlier this year, House Democrats also voted to remove GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee assignments over what they said were her violent social media posts aimed at Democrats.
But there are concerns among members and staff about creating a messy precedent that would force Democrats to punish any member for making racist or false statements.
It’s unclear if Pelosi will be moved to act given the public outcry and pressure campaign from members. ABC News has reached out to her office for comment.
“For a Member of Congress to repeatedly use hateful, anti-Muslim rhetoric and Islamophobic tropes towards a Muslim colleague is dangerous. It has no place in our society and it diminishes the honor of the institution we serve in,” Pressley said in a statement.
“Without meaningful accountability for that Member’s actions, we risk normalizing this behavior and endangering the lives of our Muslim colleagues, Muslim staffers and every Muslim who calls America home. The House must unequivocally condemn this incendiary rhetoric and immediately pass this resolution. How we respond in moments like these will have lasting impacts, and history will remember us for it,” she said.
Muslim congressional staffers sent a letter this week urging Pelosi to take action against Boebert. The staffers said in a signed letter that they do not feel welcome or safe working on Capitol Hill knowing there are Islamophobic members in Congress who will go unpunished when they make harmful statements.
The letter, obtained by ABC News, was signed by the “Muslim staff of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate” who said that they decided not to include their last names to “avoid potential additional harm.”
It’s unclear how many staffers signed on to the letter.
“Witnessing unchecked harassment of one of only three Muslim Members of Congress – and the only visibly Muslim Member – we feel that our workplace is not safe nor welcome. We must now come to work every day knowing that the same Members and staff who perpetuate Islamophobic tropes and insinuate that we are terrorists, also walk by us in the halls of Congress,” the letter stated.
“Congress must categorically reject this incendiary rhetoric that endangers the physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing of Muslim staff across both sides of the aisle,” the staffers wrote.
(NEW YORK) — Just as hope rose that this year’s holiday season would inch back to pre-pandemic normalcy, the omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 entered the picture , raising questions for many people.
Cases of the omicron variant have been confirmed in more than a dozen states across the country.
It comes as, for the first time in two months, the United States is now averaging more than 100,000 new cases per day, according to federal data.
Here are four things to know to help plan ahead for holiday gatherings and travel.
1. Vaccines are the best protection against omicron.
While researchers are still learning more about the omicron variant, it appears so far that being vaccinated helps protect people from getting severely sick, according to Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.
“My sense is you’ve gotten two shots or been previously infected [with COVID-19], you’ll probably end up having a much milder course,” he said. “[With] a booster, you’ll do even better.”
“If you have nothing, no vaccine, not previously infected, I’m not sure it will be a milder disease for you,” he said.
Similarly, a study released Wednesday by Pfizer-BioNTech found that being vaccinated with a booster furthers one’s protection against omicron.
The study, which was not peer-reviewed, found that omicron likely reduces efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine but does not render it ineffective and that a third dose offers even greater protection against the new variant.
2. Travel remains ‘pretty safe’ if vaccinated.
For people hoping to travel to see loved ones this holiday season, they should be sure to get vaccinated first, according to Jha.
“For most Americans, if you’re fully vaccinated, especially if you’re boosted, I think travel is pretty reasonable, pretty safe,” he said. “Obviously wear good masks on the airplane, all of the things that we say, but it’s still a pretty safe thing to do.”
3. COVID-19 testing should be used ahead of holiday gatherings.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday updated its guidance on COVID-19 testing and is advising people, even those who are vaccinated, to get a test before they head to an indoor gathering.
The agency said a rapid test ahead of a gathering is important if the gathering includes unvaccinated children and older people who are more vulnerable to COVID-19.
“Even if you don’t have symptoms and have not been exposed to an individual with COVID-19, using a self-test before gathering indoors with others can give you information about the risk of spreading the virus that causes COVID-19,” the CDC said in its guidance.
President Joe Biden announced a new plan last week for a winter coronavirus strategy that includes making at-home rapid tests free.
4. If you don’t know vaccination status at a gathering, wear a mask.
In cases of a small holiday gathering where you know everyone attending is fully vaccinated, it is safe to not wear a mask while celebrating indoors, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical adviser.
But if you are at a gathering where you do not know the vaccination statues of everyone attending, Fauci recommends protecting yourself and others by wearing a face mask.
“When you are in a public congregate setting in which you do not know the status of the vaccination of the people involved, it is very prudent to wear a mask, and that’s what I do,” he said at a Dec. 1 White House press briefing. “Sure, when you’re eating and when you’re drinking, take the mask down, but to the extent possible, keep it on when you’re in an indoor congregate setting.”
(UKRAINE) — President Joe Biden gave his first comments Wednesday on his video call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he was “very straightforward” with the Russian leader, that “there were no minced words,” and if Putin decides to invade Ukraine, he will face consequences “like nothing he’s ever seen.”
“I was very straightforward. There were no minced words. It was polite, but I made it very clear: if in fact, he invades Ukraine, there’ll be severe consequences. Severe consequences. Economic consequences, like nothing he’s ever seen, or ever have been seen, in terms of being imposed,” Biden told reporters, after first dodging the question.
The comments come one day after a two-hour video call on Tuesday in which Biden warned Putin that the U.S. “would respond with strong economic and other measures in the event of military escalation,” the White House said, as Russia builds up its forces on its border with Ukraine.
Asked about the possibility of U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine, Biden it’s “not on the table,” but a few moments later he said it would also depend on “what the rest of the NATO countries were willing to do.”
“The idea of the United States is going to unilaterally use force to confront Russia invading Ukraine is not in the cards right now,” he said.
The president said he “made it clear” to Putin that the U.S. would “provide the defensive capability” to Ukraine and “reinforce our presence in NATO countries.”
Biden also said he expects that by Friday the U.S. and “at least four” NATO allies and Russia will be able to announce high-level meetings to discuss Russian concerns “relative to NATO writ large” and work out a deal “as it relates to bringing down the temperature along the Eastern Front.”
“The positive news is that thus far, our teams have been in constant contact,” he said. “We hope by Friday, we’re gonna be able to say., I’ll announce to you that we’re having meetings at a higher level, not just with us, but with at least four of our major NATO allies, and Russia to discuss the future of Russia’s concerns relative to NATO writ large, and whether or not we can work out any accommodations as it relates to bringing down the temperature along the Eastern Front.”
And before walking away, Biden said “I am absolutely confident he [Putin] got the message.”
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, will face lawmakers Wednesday for a hearing about the potential harms of social media use for young people.
The Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security will convene the hearing at 2:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, and it will mark the first time Mosseri has testified before Congress.
“After bombshell reports about Instagram’s toxic impacts, we want to hear straight from the company’s leadership why it uses powerful algorithms that push poisonous content to children, driving them down rabbit holes to dark places, and what it will do to make its platform safer,” subcommittee Chair Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said in a statement.
“I appreciate Mr. Mosseri voluntarily coming to the subcommittee and hope that he will support specific legislative reforms and solutions, particularly in its immensely potent algorithms,” Blumenthal added. “My conversations with parents have deeply moved me to fight for such reforms and demand answers that the whole nation is seeking.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), ranking member of the subcommittee, added, “Instagram’s repeated failures to protect children’s privacy have already been exposed before the U.S. Senate.”
“Now, it is time for action,” Blackburn said. “I look forward to discussing tangible solutions to improve safety and data security for our children and grandchildren.”
The hearing comes amid mounting controversies for Instagram and its parent company, Meta, after a whistleblower alleged blatant disregard from company executives over the potential harms of the social media platform for young users. Documents leaked to the Wall Street Journal earlier this year by whistleblower Frances Haugen cited the company’s own internal research that reportedly said Instagram made body image worse for one in three teenage girls.
On Tuesday, just ahead of the hearing, Mosseri announced a slew of updates to Instagram that aim to protect teens and young users on the app. Among them is the “Take a Break” feature — which encourages young users to take a break from Instagram if they have spent a long time scrolling — and a hub of tools for parents and guardians set to roll out early next year.
In late September, Instagram announced plans to pause development of its “Instagram Kids” platform meant for children under the age of 13 in the wake of the Wall Street Journal investigation.
“While we stand by the need to develop this experience, we’ve decided to pause this project,” Mosseri said in a statement at the time. “This will give us time to work with parents, experts, policymakers and regulators to listen to their concerns and to demonstrate the value and importance of this project for younger teens online today.”
Wednesday’s hearing is the fifth in a series led by Blackburn and Blumenthal specifically related to social media companies and the potential dangers children face online. The hearing will be live-streamed on the Senate commerce committee’s website.
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — Lawmakers on Wednesday grilled Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, in a wide-ranging hearing on the potential harms of social media use for young people. The senators pledged that the age of “self-regulation” for Big Tech is over and bipartisan legislation to protect kids online is imminent.
Mosseri claimed a lot of the issues raised by the lawmakers are not unique to Instagram but are an “industry-wide challenge” that requires “industry-wide solutions and industry-wide standards.”
Mosseri called for an “industry body” to determine best practices when it comes to young peoples’ safety online, focusing on verifying age, building age-appropriate experiences and parental controls. He said he hopes Instagram can work together with lawmakers to reach the goal of keeping children safe online.
The hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security marked the first time Mosseri has testified before Congress and came amid a spate of scandals plaguing social media giant Meta, the newly named parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
A company whistleblower, Frances Haugen, alleged blatant disregard from company executives over the potential harms of the social media platform for young users during a hearing before lawmakers in early October. Documents leaked to the Wall Street Journal earlier this year by Haugen cited the company’s own internal research that reportedly said Instagram made body image worse for one in three teenage girls.
“In this series of hearings, we’ve heard some pretty powerful and compelling evidence about the dangers of Big Tech to children’s health, well-being and futures,” subcommittee Chair Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said during his opening remarks. “Our nation is in the midst of a teen mental health crisis. Social media didn’t create it, but it’s certainly fanned the fuel and the flames.”
The senator cited a surgeon general report issued Tuesday that found depression and anxiety among young people has doubled worldwide during the pandemic.
Blumenthal accused Big Tech of contributing to this mental health crisis “with addictive products and sophisticated algorithms that can exploit and profit from children’s insecurities and anxieties.”
He pledged that the time for “self-policing and self-regulation is over.”
Finally, Blumenthal blasted a set of proposals aimed at protecting young people on the platform — that Instagram unveiled just Tuesday — saying it “looks more like a public relations tactic brought on by our hearings.”
Mosseri defended Instagram in his testimony, saying the internet has “changed what it’s like to be a teenager.”
“Teenagers have always spent time with their friends, developed new interests and explored their identities. Today they’re doing those things on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat,” Mosseri told the senators. “I firmly believe that Instagram and the internet more broadly can be a positive force in young people’s lives. I’m inspired every day by teens on Instagram.”
He said he believes Instagram can actually help young people “dealing with difficult things in their lives.”
“Now I recognize that many in this room have deep reservations about our company, but I want to assure you that we do have the same goal. We all want teens to be safe online,” he said. “The internet isn’t going away, and I believe there’s important work that we can do together, industry and policymakers, to raise the standards across the internet to better serve and protect young people.”
“We have a specific proposal,” Mosseri said. “We believe there should be an industry body that will determine the best practices when it comes to what I think are the three most important questions with regards to safety: How to verify age, how to build age-appropriate experiences and how to build parental controls.”
On Tuesday, just ahead of the hearing, Mosseri announced a slew of updates to Instagram that aim to protect teens and young users on the app. Among them is the “Take a Break” feature — which encourages young users to take a break from Instagram if they have spent a long time scrolling — and a hub of tools for parents and guardians set to roll out early next year.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), ranking member of the subcommittee, also blasted these updates during her opening remarks, calling them “half-measures.”
“While telling teens to take a break might seem helpful on the face of things, it’s probably not going to get most teenagers to stop doing what they’re doing and take a break,” the senator said. “Educational tools for parents can be helpful, but frankly, I’m more concerned about the things we know kids and teens are hiding from their parents.”
“This is a case of too little too late, because now there is bipartisan momentum both here and in the House to tackle these problems we are seeing with Big Tech,” Blackburn warned.
When pressed by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) over whether spending three hours on Instagram per day is a good idea for young people, which Klobuchar said was put in the new policies as an option for parents, Mosseri said he believes it’s the individual parent’s decision.
“I’m a parent, and I can understand that parents have concerns about how much screen time their kids have,” Mosseri said. “I ultimately think that it’s a parent that knows best what’s best for their teen. So the appropriate amount of time should be a decision by a parent about the specific teen. If one parent wants to set that limit at 10 minutes, and another parent wants to set that limit at three hours, who am I to say they don’t know what’s best for their children?”
In late September, Instagram announced plans to pause development of its “Instagram Kids” platform meant for children under the age of 13 in the wake of the Wall Street Journal investigation.
“While we stand by the need to develop this experience, we’ve decided to pause this project,” Mosseri said in a statement at the time. “This will give us time to work with parents, experts, policymakers and regulators to listen to their concerns and to demonstrate the value and importance of this project for younger teens online today.”
When pressed about Instagram Kids during the hearing Wednesday, Mosseri stopped short of permanently committing to stopping development of Instagram Kids. “What I can commit to today is that no child between the ages of 10 and 12, should we ever manage to build Instagram for 10- to 12-year-olds, will have access to that without their explicit parental consent,” Mosseri told the lawmakers.
Wednesday’s hearing is the fifth in a series led by Blackburn and Blumenthal specifically related to social media companies and the potential dangers children face online, leading many predict a bipartisan crackdown on Big Tech’s dominance now looms large.
(UNITED KINGDOM) — Members of Britain’s royal family got into the holiday spirit Wednesday, attending a Christmas carol service.
Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, were front and center at the service at Westminster Abbey, where the couple wed 10 years ago.
They were joined by William’s cousins Zara Tindall, who attended with her husband, Mike, and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
William’s aunt, Sophie Wessex, also attended, as did members of Kate’s family, the Middletons.
The service, “Together At Christmas,” was hosted by Duchess Kate, who chose for the occasion a festive red outfit by Catherine Walker and earrings borrowed from Queen Elizabeth.
In addition to celebrating the Christmas spirit, the service also celebrated the work of “of individuals and organizations across the U.K. who have supported their communities through the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to Kensington Palace.
Last year, amid the coronavirus pandemic, instead of attending an indoor carol service, the queen and other members of the royal family stood socially distanced outside of Windsor Castle as they listened to a Christmas concert.
This Christmas will be the family’s first without Prince Philip, who died at age 99 in April.
In past years, he and Elizabeth, who were married for 73 years, oversaw the family’s multi-day Christmas celebration at Sandringham.
Buckingham Palace has not yet announced where the queen will spend this Christmas and whether she will be joined by any members of the royal family.
The family traditionally holds their gift exchange on Christmas Eve, following the German tradition, where they often swap funny or homemade gifts.
On Christmas Day, they walk to St. Mary Magdalene Church for the Christmas service.
After the service, the royals enjoy a Christmas lunch at Sandringham and then gather to watch Queen Elizabeth II deliver her annual Christmas message.
In the evening, the royal family will get together again for a Christmas buffet dinner with 15 to 20 different delicacies prepared by the queen’s chef.
On the day after Christmas, known as Boxing Day in the U.K., the royals traditionally partake in a pheasant shoot on the grounds of Sandringham.
(ALABAMA) — Forty-five years after an Auburn University student vanished on his way to school, his car — and possibly his remains — have been recovered.
Kyle Clinkscales and his white 1974 Ford Pinto Runabout went missing on Jan. 27, 1976, when Clinkscales was on his way from LaGrange, Georgia, to Auburn University, about 45 miles away, said James Woodruff, the sheriff of Troup County, Georgia.
The 22-year-old never returned to school and his parents filed a missing persons report, Woodruff said.
The sheriff’s office has searched for Clinkscales and his car for 45 years, following hundreds of leads, though nothing substantial ever developed, Woodruff said.
On Tuesday, a man called 911 when he spotted the car in a creek in Chambers County, Alabama, Woodruff said at a news conference Wednesday.
Apparent human bones were found in the car, Woodruff said. The bones have not yet been identified, he noted, adding that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is examining them.
Clinkscales’ ID and credit cards were found in a wallet in the car, Woodruff said.
The creek runs under a well-traveled road, officials said. The car was about three miles from the interstate Clinkscales would have taken to school, officials said.
Police said they don’t know what the 911 caller was doing by the creek, adding that his contact information has been provided to investigators.
The sheriff said he hopes the remains will help determine if this was foul play or a car crash.
Clinkscales’ father died in 2007 and his mother died in January of this year, Woodruff said. While the sheriff said he wished Clinkscales’ mother was alive to see this development, “just the fact that we have hopefully found him and the car brings me a big sigh of relief.”
GUATEMALA) — Ruben spent four years in Chile working as a housekeeper at a hotel and despite his experience in the hospitality and tourism industry, he was unable to get a higher paying job. Originally from Haiti, he said he was skipped over for promotions and paid higher rent than lighter-skinned immigrants.
After years of struggling financially, and with the pandemic affecting the tourism industry, he decided to migrate to Mexico, where he said he now faces the same Xenophobia he tried to flee. He’s been in Tapachula, Chiapas, for three months waiting to be interviewed for a humanitarian visa.
“The situation is very difficult for all migrants, not only Haitians, there is no hope here,” he told ABC News in an interview conducted in Spanish. “There are no jobs and they don’t want to give us our papers. All we want to do is leave Tapachula and be in another city while we have our cases processed.”
Ruben is among the tens of thousands of migrants whose asylum claim has seemingly ground to a halt as Mexico’s leading refugee agency deals with an unprecedented number of requests for humanitarian visas.
Human rights organizations warn that as they wait for their cases to be processed, migrants have become easy targets for price gouging and criminals who scam them with the promise of a way out of the city. As the Mexican government puts mounting pressure on migrants to keep them from continuing north out of the state of Chiapas, migrants said they have been forced to live in makeshift shelters in the streets and in overcrowded homes.
ABC News is not reporting Ruben’s real name in order to protect his privacy as he waits to see if he’ll be given protection under a humanitarian visa.
Tapachula is known as the main port of entry for refugees in Mexico as it borders Guatemala. Still, the number of asylum requests as of the end of November is unprecedented. According to COMAR, the Mexican government’s agency that processes refugee status, at least 123,187 requests have been filed so far in 2021, surpassing the record set in 2019 of over 70,000. The majority of those requests, 73%, were filed in the state of Chiapas. Haitians are the leading demographic in asylum requests in Mexico, the agency said.
Andrew Bahena, who works with the international programs team at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Chiapas, has been documenting instances of discrimination and violence targeted toward the migrant community. Migrants are relegated to renting rooms in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. Those disparities are accentuated for migrants with darker skin tones like Haitians, the coalition said.
“If you’re a migrant and you’re just going to pay per person, there’s a certain stock of housing that you’re going to be living in, and it’s really hard to rent anywhere out of that once people understand that you’re a foreigner,” he said. “That happens with food where people get charged more for the same kilo of rice. The problems get worse as the system stops working.”
As the nation’s leading refugee agency, COMAR is the only entity able to grant refugee status and issue travel documents that allow migrants to move within the country freely. The agency’s director, Andres Ramirez, said they’re able to process up to 5,000 cases a month, less than a third of the requests that were filed in November alone.
“This year’s wave has been gigantic,” Ramirez told ABC News in Spanish. “In addition to the large quantity, some people who don’t fit the profile of a refugee as the law establishes have submitted requests because they don’t have other immigration alternatives.”
South American countries like Chile and Brazil have seen large quantities of Haitian migrants since 2010, when a devastating earthquake claimed more than 200,000 lives in Haiti. Those who are now fleeing Central and South American countries due to financial instability may have a harder time being granted refugee status in Mexico.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or ACNUR, as it’s known in Mexico, has been assisting the Mexican government in providing aid and temporary accommodations in three local shelters in Tapachula. Josep Herreros, a senior protection officer for UNHCR, thinks the congestion in the city can be eased by providing alternatives for people who do not qualify for refugee status, but still need support.
“People are suffering from the congestion,” Herreros told ABC News in an interview in Spanish. “This flow is what we call a mixed movement, where we have refugees who need protection and other migrants who have other needs. We think it’s important to provide alternatives to the asylum process.”
As another way of easing the congestion in Tapachula, the National Institute of Migration has been busing some migrants to other cities where they can continue their asylum process.
Buses have been departing from the Olympic Stadium but Arturo Viscarra, an attorney for CHIRLA, said those efforts have slowed to a “trickle” and thousands of people have descended upon the area. On Monday, Viscarra filmed how countless people took cover from the sun in makeshift shelters outside of the stadium.
“There’s this complete lack of response,” Viscarra said. “It’s both a result of the policies with the combination of the racism that makes it more difficult for Haitians to obtain work and housing.”
The National Institute of Migration did not respond to ABC News’ request for an interview.
Government checkpoints have been established outside of the city and throughout Mexico’s major highways, making it difficult for migrants to leave without the threat of being deported.
In recent months, groups of migrants sometimes referred to as “caravans” have formed in an effort to bypass the checkpoints and continue further into Mexico, with some hoping to reach the U.S. border, according to CHIRLA. In September, the U.S. Border Patrol was embroiled in a national controversy when images were published depicting mounted patrol agents using their horses to push back Haitian migrants as they attempted to cross the Rio Grande into Del Rio, Texas.
Ruben said he cried when he saw those images and felt disappointed in how the U.S. is treating Haitians. He has also grown increasingly frustrated with the asylum process in Mexico, but his dream is to settle in Mexico City and work in the tourism industry.
“I’m not trying to go to the United States; it’s not where I can have a better life,” he said. “I’m looking for a place where I can live peacefully. If I can realize my dream here in Mexico and have a good job, I’ll stay here.”
