US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington. Reuters
US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington. Reuters
US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington. Reuters
US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington. Reuters

US immigration system 'broken', Homeland Security secretary says


Kyle Fitzgerald
  • English
  • Arabic

US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said that the country's immigration system is “broken” during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

Lindsay Graham, Alex Padilla, Jon Ossoff and Dianne Feinstein were among the committee members that peppered Mr Mayorkas with questions.

“I think rebuilding a broken immigration system and rebuilding a dismantled one takes time,” Mr Mayorkas said.

During his remarks, he lambasted former president Donald Trump's immigration policies and added that he believed the administration of President Joe Biden has taken measures on immigration that are consistent “with our values as a nation".

“We have, indeed, instituted certain practices not just along the border … that have in fact borne fruit in terms of a reduced number of encounters of migrants along the southern border,” Mr Mayorkas said.

Unauthorised border crossings were on the decline for a third consecutive month in October after large numbers of migrants arrived at the southern border in the spring and summer, government data published on Monday showed.

US Customs Border and Protection recorded more than 164,000 migrant apprehensions in October — 23 per cent fewer than in July.

The agency became the subject of controversy in September when a video surfaced showing mounted agents using long leather reins to lash at Haitian migrants attempting to cross into the US, which Mr Mayorkas said the agency will address later this week.

The agents' actions sparked widespread condemnation, with Mr Biden calling it an “embarrassment".

Mr Mayorkas told senators on Tuesday that he stands by his department despite the actions of the mounted officers.

I think rebuilding a broken immigration system and rebuilding a dismantled one takes time
Alejandro Mayorkas,
Secretary of Homeland Security

“They do heroic work, putting their lives at risk to keep the American people safe each and every day,” Mr Mayorkas said.

“The misconduct of one does not define the heroism and integrity of the great majority of the men and women.”

The secretary added that “this Friday, we are going to be conducting a public engagement because we do not tolerate misconduct in any part of our workforce, whether that's US Customs and Border Protection or any corner of the Department of Homeland Security".

“We're going to have a public engagement this coming Friday to discuss transparency and accountability in Customs and Border Protection that is hosted by and propelled by the leadership of that agency. We take great pride in our workforce, and we will root out misconduct wherever it occurs.”

At one point, up to 12,000 Haitian immigrants had been camped at a border town near the Rio Grande in Texas, crossing the river periodically into Mexico for supplies.

More than 8,500 of the Haitian migrants have since been returned to their country, The New York Times reported, though they had originally travelled to the US to seek asylum following a presidential assassination and a devastating earthquake in their country.

The number of unauthorised Haitian migrants crossing the southern border fell last month by 90 per cent.

The Biden administration's mass deportation of the Haitian migrants was authorised under Title 42, a Trump-era policy which Mr Mayorkas stressed is a “public health imperative” and not an immigration policy.

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In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo 

 Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua

 Based: Dubai, UAE

 Number of employees: 28

 Sector: Financial services

 Investment: $9.5m

 Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. 

 
From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES

Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)

Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm) 
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm) 
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm) 
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn  (4.30pm) 
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm) 
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)

Sunday, May 17

Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)

Monday, May 18

Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)

Dubai World Cup Carnival card

6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m

7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m

7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m

8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m

8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m

9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m

10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m

The National selections:

6.30pm - Ziyadd; 7.05pm - Barney Roy; 7.40pm - Dee Ex Bee; 8.15pm - Dubai Legacy; 8.50pm - Good Fortune; 9.25pm - Drafted; 10pm - Simsir

pakistan Test squad

Azhar Ali (capt), Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari

MATCH INFO

BRIGHTON 0

MANCHESTER UNITED 3

McTominay 44'

Mata 73'

Pogba 80'

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

Company name: Farmin

Date started: March 2019

Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi 

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: AgriTech

Initial investment: None to date

Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Director: Peyton Reed

Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas

Three stars

ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures

October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA

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Types of bank fraud

1) Phishing

Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.

2) Smishing

The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.

3) Vishing

The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.

4) SIM swap

Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.

5) Identity theft

Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.

6) Prize scams

Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.

Company Profile

Company name: Yeepeey

Started: Soft launch in November, 2020

Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani

Based: Dubai

Industry: E-grocery

Initial investment: $150,000

Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year

Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

Rating: 5/5

Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)

Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.

Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.

Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.

Get your priorities right.

And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.

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Updated: November 16, 2021, 10:32 PM`