After Mass Shootings, Biden Signs Executive Orders for Gun Control – In the wake of recent mass shootings in several cities across the United States, President Biden has issued several executive orders to regulate the supply of firearms. Organizations in favor of gun control applauded the initiatives. They also insisted on the need for Congress to focus on passing stricter laws, such as criminal background checks that would help curb the loss of human life due to gun violence. José López Zamorano has the details from Washington DC.
Washington State Bans Private Prisons from Holding Immigrants – When Biden took office, he signed an executive order to terminate contracts with private prisons, but the measure did not include immigration detention centers. These prisons, where thousands await deportation trials, are run by companies that earn millions of dollars and have been accused of abuse and neglect by detainees and activists, especially during the pandemic. In response, the state of Washington has just signed a law that prohibits them and denies the renewal of the contract for the state’s only immigration detention center. José Luis Buen Abad reports from Seattle.
California Congresswoman Scolds Central American Presidents – Democratic congresswoman Norma Torres, the only Central American-born member of Congress, is urging the White House to restrict economic assistance to Central American governments, which she says are plagued by corruption and authoritarianism. Instead, she proposes channeling aid to non-governmental organizations. Congresswoman Torres spoke with Chelis López on this issue and about her heated exchange on Twitter with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele about the crisis of unaccompanied children. This is a summary of the conversation.
