October, 22 2018, 12:00am EDT
Americas: Authorities Must Not Deport Caravan Members to Face Danger
Mexican authorities must guarantee that no one at risk of danger in Honduras is deported and that caravan members are informed of their right to seek asylum, said Amnesty International today in response to news that several members of the caravan were transferred to a migration detention center rather than to a shelter.
WASHINGTON
Mexican authorities must guarantee that no one at risk of danger in Honduras is deported and that caravan members are informed of their right to seek asylum, said Amnesty International today in response to news that several members of the caravan were transferred to a migration detention center rather than to a shelter.
"Mexican authorities must at all times avoid detaining children and separating families; they should also attend to the urgent humanitarian needs, avoid using force at all costs and identify those people who are fleeing violence and are in need of international protection," said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.
Thousands of members of a caravan of people from Honduras and Central America began to cross the bridge that divides Guatemala and Mexico yesterday. Several people were wounded during the crossing and tear gas was briefly used by federal police. Thousands of people spent the night on the bridge without proper shelter, food or protection. Several caravan members were transported to a detention center in the city of Tapachula, which is commonly the place where deportation buses depart from.
"Returning people who fear for their lives due to violence or persecution in Honduras would violate international law. The Mexican government should put the human rights of the caravan members at the heart of the response, and not let the US Trump Administration's pressure prevent it from fulfilling its international obligations," said Guevara-Rosas
Amnesty International recently published a report that found that 75% of a group of people surveyed by Amnesty International detained by Mexican migrations authorities were not informed of their right to seek asylum in Mexico.
In addition, the Guatemalan and Honduran authorities have prevented people from crossing the border in response to the arrival of many more persons.
"The governments of Guatemala and Honduras must ensure the right to freedom of movement rather than focusing on a police response and the use of force and ensure proper protection and assistance for these people."
Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights outlines that: "everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own."
Amnesty International is a global movement of millions of people demanding human rights for all people - no matter who they are or where they are. We are the world's largest grassroots human rights organization.
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Khanna Becomes First in Congress to Sign 'Peace Pledge' Promising to Reject AIPAC Funds
The co-founder of AIPAC Tracker said the pledge is meant to give lawmakers who once backed Israel "a bridge to get on the right side of history."
Jun 17, 2026
Rep. Ro Khanna has become the first member of the US Congress to sign a "peace pledge" promising to swear off funds from the Israel lobby and block US support for countries that violate human rights.
The pledge was created by the political action committee Citizens Against AIPAC Corruption, which runs the widely shared "AIPAC Tracker" social media campaign that names and shames politicians who receive support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other pro-Israel groups that have spent tens of millions in recent election cycles to influence members of Congress.
Lawmakers who sign the pledge agree not to take money from AIPAC or pro-Israel lobbying groups and promise to make campaign finance reform a key priority.
Acknowledging the consensus among human rights organizations that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza, signatories also commit to taking actions in Congress to oppose US military and diplomatic support for Israel or any other nation whose military commits gross human rights violations.
They also agree to oppose efforts by the US government to sanction members of the International Criminal Court who seek the arrest of accused war criminals, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Signatories also agree to support First Amendment protections for speech critical of Israel as well as efforts to use financial pressure against the country, like the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which members of Congress have sought to criminalize.
In a video in which he signed the pledge on Wednesday, Khanna (D-Calif.) described its commitments as "pretty common sense."
"It means that we shouldn't be sending our tax [money] for foreign wars overseas, we should be spending it here at home," he said. "And it says we shouldn't be taking money from AIPAC or all of its affiliate PACs or bundled money from those organizations, and that we have to recognize the genocide that took place in Gaza."
He said, "I'm going to be signing this pledge, and I hope others will follow."
The push for lawmakers to sign the pledge comes as support for Israel has plummeted to historic lows, especially among Democratic voters in the wake of the Gaza genocide, its accelerating ethnic cleansing campaigns in the illegally occupied West Bank and southern Lebanon, and its role in pressuring the Trump administration to launch and continue a devastating war against Iran.
Voters increasingly view AIPAC as having undue influence over American lawmakers, and many Democrats—including longtime supporters of Israel—have seen the writing on the wall and become vocal critics of the lobby.
Khanna is one of them, having previously accepted money from the liberal Zionist group J Street and voted to fund Israel's Iron Dome in 2021 and in favor of a resolution conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism in the wake of October 7, 2023.
Cory Archibald, the co-founder of Track AIPAC, said the goal of the pledge is to give these politicians an opportunity to transform themselves on the issue while also forcing them to put their votes where their mouths are.
"While we have created a very successful pressure campaign to highlight and expose the extent of the influence of AIPAC and their allies on our lawmakers," she said Wednesday on the Breaking Points podcast, "we also have a responsibility as an organization to give people a bridge to get on the right side of history and to reflect that their policy positions have changed and to chart a new course."
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"Today, thanks to the people showing up and showing out, we won. Racist, rigged maps are dead for now."
Jun 17, 2026
Democrats in Georgia are celebrating as Republicans in the state abandoned efforts to redraw congressional maps that would have taken effect in 2028.
Eight Georgia Republicans, including Speaker of the House Jon Burns, sent a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday informing him that they would not be going through with his request to enact redistricting ahead of the 2028 election cycle.
"Changes to Georgia's maps should take place only when members of the General Assembly and citizens have been given ample opportunity to gather the facts, provide input, and engage in meaningful discussion," the letter states. "For this reason, we will not be taking up congressional or legislative redistricting for the 2028 election cycle during this special session."
However, there is still a chance that Georgia Republicans could ram through new maps later this year. According to Democracy Docket, Kemp "could still call another special session later this year—and if Republicans lose the midterms, they could try to lock in a 2028 advantage by passing new maps before Kemp leaves office next year."
Democrats in the state nonetheless celebrated Republicans' decision to shelve Kemp's redistricting plan.
In a joint statement, Georgia Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II and House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley called on supporters to celebrate "a monumental civil rights victory."
"Republicans thought they could get away with drawing racist, rigged maps without a fight," they said. "Today, thanks to the people showing up and showing out, we won. Racist, rigged maps are dead for now."
Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) praised the work of activists who protested against the redistricting plan earlier in the day, putting pressure on Republicans to drop it.
"Hours after I visited the State Capitol with thousands of Georgians, Georgia House Republicans announced they are backing down from gerrymandering our maps, potentially giving them two extra seats," wrote Warnock.
“John Lewis never backed down from getting into good trouble and I won’t either," he added, referring to the late civil rights icon and Democratic member of Congress.
Trump last year sparked an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting battle when he pushed Texas to redraw its congressional map to gain extra Republican seats, and GOP-led states including North Carolina, Missouri, and Florida have since followed suit.
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As Screwworm Disaster Widens, Trump USDA Denounced for Firing, Relocating Career Agency Staffers
Trump administration officials "did not act quickly on recommendations of career USDA staffers who sought to convey the seriousness" of a screwworm outbreak, according to a Wednesday report in Politico.
Jun 17, 2026
As the screwworm parasite spreads beyond initial contamination zones in Texas and New Mexico, some former US Department of Agriculture employees are pointing fingers at the Trump administration for exacerbating the crisis.
In a Politico report published Wednesday, three former USDA officials said that the administration's federal spending reviews have significantly hindered government efforts to contain the screwworm outbreak.
"USDA reviews held up funding for the construction of one facility that is crucial to slowing the flesh-eating pests threat to the US cattle supply," Politico reported, adding that "a $100 million research initiative designed to create new tools to slow the screwworm's advance was also delayed."
Two of Politico's sources also said the Trump White House "did not act quickly on recommendations of career USDA staffers who sought to convey the seriousness of a potential outbreak."
Politico's Rachel Shin also broke news on Wednesday that the Trump administration is plowing ahead with plans to carry out what she described as a "sweeping reorganization" of USDA that "will move thousands of employees out of the DC region," while "making clear workers must relocate if ordered or forfeit their jobs."
This report drew an angry reaction from Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), who accused the administration of ignoring the serious threat the screwworm outbreak poses to American farmers' livelihoods.
"As screwworm continues to spread," Beyer wrote in a social media post, "Trump's USDA is prioritizing firing and relocating the public servants responsible for containing this outbreak instead of investing in the infrastructure needed to control it and prevent it from happening again."
Spending reviews and staff reorganizations aren't the only actions taken by the Trump administration that have hindered the screwworm outbreak response.
In the early days of the Trump administration, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) axed a screwworm-monitoring program that only cost an estimated $15 million per year to maintain.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) on Tuesday called DOGE’s slashing of the monitoring program an example of its "peak incompetence."
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