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‘Purely a political act’: Venezuelans criticize Utah’s move to halt humanitarian parole program

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‘Purely a political act’: Venezuelans criticize Utah’s move to halt humanitarian parole program


Utah’s Venezuelan group says Utah’s determination to sue to halt a humanitarian parole plan is not sensible because it has been profitable and decreased border encounters. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret Information)

Estimated learn time: 7-8 minutes

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s Venezuelan group is talking out in opposition to the Utah lawyer normal’s determination to affix 19 different Republican states in suing the Biden administration to halt its humanitarian parole program for migrants from Haiti, Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela.

This system — which permits entry for as much as 30,000 migrants complete from the 4 international locations every month — got here in response to 1000’s of migrants on the southern border who’re fleeing turmoil of their residence international locations. The Biden administration concurrently introduced tighter safety on the border by growing expulsions of migrants from Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba who’re caught crossing illegally.

The 2-pronged strategy goals to alleviate the humanitarian disaster on the U.S.-Mexico border by discouraging unlawful migration and making a pathway for asylum seekers to legally migrate to the U.S. To be eligible for the parole program, migrants should go safety screenings and have a U.S. sponsor who will present monetary assist.

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Those that have been caught illegally crossing the border are typically disqualified from this system. As a substitute, migrants can apply from their residence international locations. As soon as accredited, migrants can be beneath a two-year parole and would obtain permission to work within the U.S.

This system appeared to achieve success previous to the states’ lawsuit primarily based on an earlier model restricted to Venezuelans that was introduced in October. Since then, Homeland Safety reported a 90% drop in border encounters with Venezuelan migrants. Utah particularly has gone from receiving about 300 Venezuelan households every month to only 50, stated Mayra Molina, director of the nonprofit Venezuelan Alliance of Utah.

She estimated Utah’s complete Venezuelan inhabitants is about 15,000.

“Our concern with this case is that, if by any probability the parole goes away, our individuals are going to begin coming via the southern border once more — and that represents a number of human trafficking, prostitution, kidnapping and all of these dangers,” Molina stated. “Our viewpoint is that parole is a good various not only for Venezuelans however for the opposite nationalities as properly to come back and to have that authorized assist.”

She added that the parole program made issues simpler for nonprofits just like the Venezuelan Alliance of Utah by permitting them to anticipate what number of migrants are coming to the state and to raised work with immigration authorities.

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Utah immigration lawyer Carlos Trujillo stated plenty of Venezuelan migrants have contacted his agency, Trujillo Acosta Regulation, after it carried out a Fb Dwell session relating to the parole program. Many had already began their journey to the U.S. however stopped after this system was introduced.

“They halted their plans in the midst of being in Panama or Mexico simply because lastly a approach was given to them to do that the best approach,” he stated. “All of those individuals have already bought their stuff, they’ve given every part away to hunt refuge on this nation and so they stopped.

“How unhappy it’s that they made that sacrifice and now they are going to return to pondering, ‘Properly, I suppose I will should restart my plans to cross a jungle or a river and danger my life simply because I am looking for refuge from the persecution and struggling in my nation.’”

Authorized arguments

Utah and different states argue that the Division of Homeland Safety is overstepping its energy and that this system violates federal regulation.

“DHS, beneath the false pretense of stopping aliens from unlawfully crossing the border between the ports of entry, has successfully created a brand new visa program — with out the formalities of laws from Congress,” the lawsuit states. “(The states) face substantial, irreparable harms from the division’s abuse of its parole authority, which permit doubtlessly lots of of 1000’s of further aliens to enter every of their already overwhelmed territories.”

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The states say this system doesn’t meet the necessities for parole packages, particularly that parole can be utilized “solely on a case-by-case foundation for pressing humanitarian causes or important public profit.”

The door of the Utah Attorney General’s Office is pictured at the state Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday.
The door of the Utah Lawyer Normal’s Workplace is pictured on the state Capitol in Salt Lake Metropolis on Wednesday. (Photograph: Laura Seitz, Deseret Information)

The Utah Lawyer Normal’s Workplace didn’t reply to KSL.com’s request for remark. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s workplace declined to touch upon the lawsuit and referred inquiries to the Utah Lawyer Normal’s Workplace.

Trujillo, the Utah immigration lawyer and a Venezuelan, says the states’ argument is ludicrous.

“The way in which that it will get processed beneath the humanitarian parole is on a case-by-case foundation. There are individuals who merely do not qualify as a result of they should do background checks amongst many issues earlier than they’re granted the power to come back beneath humanitarian parole. So beneath the letter of the regulation, we’re doing precisely what we’re alleged to be doing with this program,” he stated.

“If there’s anyone on the market who can argue with me that what the (Venezuelan) Maduro regime is doing to the opposition or anyone who does not agree with them is just not an pressing, humanitarian motive, they’re simply merely loopy,” Trujillo stated, including that Haitians, Nicaraguans and Cubans are struggling beneath related authoritarian regimes.

His sentiments are supported by a 2022 United Nations report that discovered that Venezuela is “nonetheless dealing with a profound human rights disaster,” together with extrajudicial executions, extreme use of power, arbitrary detentions and torture. Over 7 million Venezuelans have fled the nation since 2015. Reviews from Human Rights Watch describe related political and financial crises in Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua.

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Molina agreed that the conditions in Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua do represent an pressing humanitarian motive.

“They’re having this case the place individuals should flee simply to outlive,” she stated. “In Venezuela’s case, we all know it is a regime the place democracy is just not there. We need to ensure that all of the individuals which can be receiving a possibility to reside in democracy, to know what it’s to reside in a free nation.”

‘Purely a political act’

The parole program for Haitians, Venezuelans, Cubans and Nicaraguans was patterned after the same program for Ukrainians. The Ukrainian program, nonetheless, didn’t obtain pushback from states. Trujillo stated that distinction factors to the political nature of the states’ lawsuit and means that the crises in Venezuela and different Latin American counties are being ignored.

“It is purely a political act. … On the time Ukraine was being invaded by Russia and the conflict was beginning, I suppose it was not a great PR transfer to oppose one thing like that. However they do not have the identical considerations for the opposite international locations,” he stated.

“The Republican Celebration, particularly, can not have their cake and eat it, too. They wish to complain and present us how unhealthy the state of affairs is on the border, however now that there’s a program that really works and that really brings authorized migration on a short lived foundation, they shut it down. The subsequent surge on the border is to be blamed upon these lawsuits and these Republican states that determined to cease this program.”

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Trujillo added that whereas there’s “a number of blame to go round” relating to the state of the U.S. immigration system, he’s involved with a sample of Republican states submitting lawsuits in opposition to federal immigration packages in conservative Texas courts the place they’re more likely to efficiently halt these packages with an injunction. By the point the case has made its method to the Supreme Courtroom, a change in presidency and thus immigration coverage have rendered the case moot.

“I’ll plead with the native authorities to cease. These sorts of issues can’t be performed simply because we’re from one social gathering, simply because attorneys normal should be united in every part they do,” he stated.

“Utah is an immigrant state; we love immigrants right here. … Whoever is behind this within the state, whether or not it’s the workplace of the lawyer normal or the governor’s workplace — any person must reply to all of us immigrants right here that noticed this as an important alternative.”

Associated tales

Most up-to-date Immigration tales

Sydnee Gonzalez is a multicultural reporter for KSL.com protecting the variety of Utah’s individuals and communities. Se habla español. You will discover Sydnee at @sydnee_gonzalez on Twitter.

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Utah Highway Patrol responds to your suggestions on making Utah roads safer

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Utah Highway Patrol responds to your suggestions on making Utah roads safer


SALT LAKE CITY — FOX 13 News is Driven to Change and that includes bringing you reports on important topics like road rage, construction, and wrong-way drivers. During our coverage, we continually ask for any questions or concerns you may have along Utah’s roadways.

The feedback has gotten an enormous response, so FOX 13 sat down with Lieutenant Cameron Roden on Good Day Utah to help address input we have been getting, from the perspective of Utah Highway Patrol.

Speeding in Utah, there’s so much of it, and then you can sometimes say that that leads to tailgating, which may lead to road rage incidents. What are you seeing out there in terms of speed and what can we do to lessen the effects of that?

Lt. Cameron Roden: Speed is our number one thing that we see. That’s our number one traffic stop that we make, and we know that it leads to the majority of crashes in the state of Utah. So we definitely put an emphasis on speed and it does lead to other things. Not just crashes. It leads to road rage and other things .So, as far as what changes can we make, we need to start with ourselves, and really say, ‘Hey, do I have a problem?’ You know, we just need to start with ourselves and not think that it’s something else’s problem. If we slow our speeds ourselves, and then it’ll start to to catch on and people will do that speed limit. So, but the legislature has definitely taken some steps to help us address, especially the the speeds that are those excessive speeds where we have that one zero five law now that addresses those speeds and increases fines and and hopefully discourages people from those extreme speeds.

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Some of our viewers talked about maybe capping some of the speed limits for truck drivers. Is that something that’s even feasible?

You know, that would be something that would have to go through that, that legislative process to see whether we that would be something that would help. But ultimately, if we we start with ourselves, hopefully that will make that change and reduce crashes and fatalities.

There are things being done to try and intervene and stop wrong-way drivers before they happen. But some of our viewers propose things like spikes. What are your thoughts on implementing something like that?

We’ve had over the last several years, a rash of wrong-way drivers, and it’ll come in onesie twos, and then we’ll go for a period of time without that. And so, but this spike over the last couple of years has caused us to to create a task force to look at wrongly driving what things can be done. And so getting all these stakeholders together between UDOT and Highway Safety, looking at what technologies and things that could be implemented, and and things like, wrong way detection cameras. Those are some things that are being actually used in the state of Utah right now to help us spot those and and advance signage, getting people to realize they’re going the wrong way and turn around. The the spike strips have actually been talked about in our task force a little bit. And if something like that would even be, it is that technology available right now. And as what we could actually implement in the state of Utah, there’s nothing that really fits the bill right now because of our environment. We have our snow plows. We have snow and things like that. Something like that really wouldn’t be practical right now.

Probably the most talked about topic that we’ve received was distracted driving, texting while driving. You went out, I saw on the UHP social media page, that you guys just driving and you look to your right and left and you can find someone texting. What kind of enforcement do we have against distracted driving specifically on your phone?

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This is something that we like you said, we see it every day. We go out to crashes,and and we may suspect that a driver may be distracted. And so, it’s something that’s definitely under-reported. It’s it’s a bigger problem than than the numbers really show.And so not only do we address it during our normal patrols.Our officers are seeing it, and addressing it while they’re out there.But we’ll also do targeted patrols where the highway safety office actually gives out additional funds for that targeted enforcement, where we’ll get an unmarked vehicle. We go out driving down the roads where we try to spot these vehicles and and get them stopped because those are those are a big danger on our roadways where our attention and our focus needs to be on driving.

If you have ideas or suggestions for how to make Utah’s roadways safer click here to be taken to our Driven to Change form. There you can share your ideas or suggestions.

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Utah National Guard gets new, top-of-the-line Apache helicopters

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Utah National Guard gets new, top-of-the-line Apache helicopters


WEST JORDAN, Utah — The Utah National Guard has been serving the state since 1894 with roots dating back to the Minutemen of the 17th-century American colonies.

This weekend, they received quite the boost in the form of the Army’s most advanced attack helicopter.

“These aircraft are extremely fast compared to our other aircraft,” said Col. Patrick.

On Saturday, the Utah National Guard took their new Apache helicopters for a spin.

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“The flight went better than we could have hoped for. A little weather on the east coast, but after that, it wasn’t bad at all,” Patrick said.

The first four of 24 Apaches arrived early Saturday morning after they went under full inspection.

“They’ve got software on there that it’s like playing a video game. You just fly the video game and the airplane… is fast and smooth, which is the good thing, and so it’ll just hold the altitude and airspeed and just keep on trucking along. It’s pretty good,” Patrick said.

The first Apache helicopters arrived in Utah back in 1992.

“It just continues the legacy of the air pirates and what we bring to not only Utah, but really to the global fight and security, really,” Patrick added.

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The colonel calls it a major step forward.

“What a great day for Utah as we advance into the next couple decades of combat operations and what we can provide to, you know, the global security.”





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Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Utah Hockey Club – Game #21 Preview, Projected Lines & TV Info

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Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Utah Hockey Club – Game #21 Preview, Projected Lines & TV Info


The depth continues to be tested as the bodies keep dropping out of the lineup up front. Tonight, a resilient Maple Leafs team is seeking its fourth consecutive win as Alex Nylander debuts on an all-Marlies line against a tired 8-9-2 Utah Hockey Club (7:00 p.m. EST, TSN4).


Head-to-Head Stats: Maple Leafs vs. Utah

In the 2024-25 regular season statistics, Utah holds the advantage in three out of five offensive categories and three out of five defensive categories.


Game Day Quotes

Craig Berube on what he learned from the pre-scout of Utah’s 6-1 win over Pittsburgh last night: 

The power play was good. They got three. They’re fast, and they have a lot of skill. They make a lot of plays — a lot of west-west plays — and get up the ice really well. Their D are involved.

We have to check well tonight. We have to stay out of the penalty box. Our PK is going to be important.

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Overall, we need to take time and space away from this team right out of the offensive zone. Be hard on them breaking plays up. That will be very important tonight.

Berube on the decision to start Joseph Woll over Anthony Stolarz tonight: 

[Woll] had a really good game against Vegas. We are just thinking ahead here. Stolly has played a lot. We have some time here. He is working in practice and doing a lot of good things.

That’s really it. We just talk about things and make decisions on what we think is best for the goalies and the team.

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I talked earlier about how both goalies are going to see more net than they have in the past. It is important that we manage it to the best of our abilities.

Woll is coming off a real solid game against a real good team. We wanted to go back with him.

Berube on what improvements he is looking for from his team offensively after a week of practice: 

Attacking more than we are. There are times when we tend to just control the play a little bit too much on the outside. We could attack more with more shots to the net, get pucks low to high, and do more on-and-off shooting while getting people to the net with numbers around there.

Resets to the back of the net, making quick plays out of there, doing things a little bit quicker, moving it quicker, supporting it quicker, and getting more pucks to the net than we are.

Berube on why Fraser Minten is so trustworthy despite his lack of experience: 

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It goes back to a great draft pick, finding a player who is so responsible at a young age. You guys aren’t on the bench, but just hearing him talk on the bench and how he sees the game, he says all the right things.

You don’t see young guys do that very often. He is already doing it at a very young age with very little experience. It is great to see. It’s refreshing. It really is.

Minten on the keys to success for his line with Nikita Grebenkin and Alex Nylander:

We just have to be simple with pucks and forecheck, using our speed to get pucks back on the forecheck. From there, let the skill make things happen. Those guys are really good when they get it back, so we have to make sure we are forechecking hard to retrieve pucks, and we’ll go from there.

Minten on the keys to success in the net-front role on the top power-play unit: 

Try not to overcomplicate it too much. Get the goalie’s eyes, get in sight lines, try to get pucks back, get some tips, get some screens, and cause a little chaos. You can draw a defender with you. If you’re going backdoor, you give them a little more space. Be ready for anything coming to you. They are great players, so just try to read off of them, and hopefully, it goes well.

Minten on his experience level in front of the net on the power play: 

In junior, I was mostly a flank guy with the puck more, but last year, I kind of got into it more at the end of the year, and I have been playing that role with the Marlies every game so far this year.

Minten on Morgan Rielly’s guidance at the NHL level: 

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He has been amazing. We have a lot in common, being from the same place. He took me under his wing a little bit and has been super nice. It makes it easy when you are coming in at 18 or 19 and there is a guy who comes to talk to you and is a really nice, supportive guy and friend. He has been awesome.


Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines

Forwards
#74 Bobby McMann — #91 John Tavares — #16 Mitch Marner
#89 Nick Robertson— #29 Pontus Holmberg — #88 William Nylander
#71 Nikita Grebenkin  — #39 Fraser Minten — #92 Alex Nylander
#46 Alex Steeves — #24 Connor Dewar — #18 Steven Lorentz

Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe — #8 Chris Tanev
#44 Morgan Rielly — #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
#2 Simon Benoit — #25 Conor Timmins

Goaltenders
Starter: #60 Joseph Woll
#41 Anthony Stolarz

Extras: Jani Hakanpää, Philippe Myers
Suspended: Ryan Reaves (four games remaining)
Injured (IR): Auston Matthews, Max Domi, Matthew Knies
Injured (LTIR): Calle Jarnkrok, Dakota Mermis, Max Pacioretty, David Kampf


Utah Hockey Club Projected Lines

Forwards
#9 Clayton Keller — #27 Barrett Hayton — #8 Nick Schmaltz
#22 Jack McBain — #92 Logan Cooley — #11 Dylan Guenther
#63 Matias Maccelli — #17 Nick Bjugstad — #67 Lawson Course
#15 Alex Kerfoot — #82 Kevin Stenlund — #53 Michael Carcone

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Defensemen
#98 Mikhail Sergachev — #2 Olli Maata
#28 Ian Cole — #10 Maveric Lamoureux
#7 Michael Kesselring — #41 Robert Bortuzzo

Goaltenders
Starter: #70 Karel Vejmelka
Jayson Stauber

Injured: Sean Durzi, John Marino, Connor Ingram

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