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ECONOMY & BUSINESS 6 SATURDAy, FEBRUARy 16, 2019 PRAN national pickle winners awarded The gala awards ceremony of 19th PRAN National Pickle Competition- 2018 was held on Fridayevening at Bangabandhu International Conference Center. Pickle of Nowrin Ahsan of Dhaka was judged as the 'Pickle of the year'. She received Tk 2 lakh as prize money. Besides, a total of 12 women in four categories - sweet, sour, hot and mixed - won the awards while another 35 were given complimentary awards. Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni handed over the awards as chief guest while Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, CEO and Chairman of PRAN-RFL Group, Uzma Chowdhury, Director (Corporate Finance), EleashMridah, Managing Director of PRAN Group and Israrul Haque, Executive Director of Channel-i, among others, were present at the function. Addressing the program, DrDipuMoni said, "Pickle is a part of our tradition. The women of the country have been making pickle for long time. But they never consider it as a commercial item. This pickle competition is working as a platform for the women to move forward." Ahsan Khan Chowdhury said, "PRAN is running its activities with the country's general people especially women and farmers. PRAN is entering to world market after processing the farmer's crops and becoming popular to the world as PRAN (heart) of Bangladesh. PRAN group is working relentlessly regarding women empowerment. We have been organizing the event for last 19 years to show the respect to the activities of country's women folk." A total of 3,796 participants across the country took part at the competition with 7,892 pickles prepared by them. Nowrin Ahsan of Dhaka, Nuri Musaiyada of Chattogram, Shabana of Dhaka won first, second and third prizes respectively in sour category while SayedaAsma of Jashore, Rafeza Rashid of Dhaka and Salma Malek of Tangailgot first, second and third prizes respectively in sweet category. Abida Sultana of Barishal, Sharmin Jaman of Dhaka and Morjina Khanom of Khulna won first, second and third prizes in hot category whileFarzana Afrin, Laila Yesmin of Dhaka and Aporupa of Khulanawon first, second and third prizes respectively in mixed category. World stocks slip with few leads from US-China talks World markets were mostly lower on Friday in the absence of good news as the U.S. and China concluded yet another round of trade talks in Beijing, reports UNB. France's CAC 40 rose 0.4 percent to 5,080.31 while the DAX in Germany dipped 0.4 percent to 11,044.17. Britain's FTSE 100 edged up 0.1 percent to 7,202.54. Wall Street was set for losses on the open. S&P 500 futures shed 0.3 percent to 2,735.00. Futures for the Dow were 0.4 percent lower at 25,327.00. European traders were looking out for possible snap elections in Spain. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was to make an announcement Friday after his government lost a key budget vote. American and Chinese officials were to wrap up two days of negotiations in Beijing on Friday. It was unclear if they made headway on prickly issues such as Washington's unhappiness over Chinese technology and trade policies. Both delegations did not speak to reporters before Friday's meeting. The U.S. is set to more than double import taxes on $200 billion in Chinese goods after March 1. But Trump has hinted that he may hold off on these if both sides made enough progress at the trade talks. Tea output increases 57 pc in northern districts As the tea sector is thriving fast, the 'madetea' output marked 57 percent increase last year than previous year in the 'Kartoa Valley' ecological zone comprising of five sub- Himalayan northern districts. Officials at Panchagarh regional office of Bangladesh Tea Board (BTB) said 84.67-lakh kg 'made-tea' was produced in 2018 which is higher by 57 percent than the output of 54.40-lakh kg 'made tea' in 2017 in the valley, reports BSS. "Tea was cultivated on 7,645 acres of lands in Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat districts last year in the valley," said Senior Scientific Officer of BTB at Panchagarh Dr Mohammad Shameem Al Mamun. Of them, tea was cultivated on 2,243 acres of land in nine registered and 19 unregistered tea gardens and on 5,402 acres of land in 4,450 small-scale gardens in these five districts last year. In Panchagarh, 78.22-lakh kg of 'made tea' was processed from 3.77-crore kg of green tea leaves produced on 6,792 acres of land last year. In Thakurgaon, 6.45-lakh kg 'made tea' was processed from 39.07-lakh kg green tea leaves produced on 742 acres of land last year. Besides, 115 small growers cultivated tea on 111 acres of land in Dinajpur, Nilphamari and Lalmonirhat districts last year. 'Tea farming is expanding fast as BTB is implementing 'Expansion of Small Holding Tea Cultivation in Northern Bangladesh Project' since 2015 at Taka 4.97 crore to expand tea farming by more 500 hectares of land within 2020 in the valley," Mamun added. The 'small-scale gardening-basis' tea cultivation on plain lands has become a highly profitable venture inspiring the local farmers to expand its cultivation. "Following continuous expansion of tea cultivation, production of green tea leaves is boosting every year in the valley bringing fortune to many farmers and creating jobs for the poor, especially women," Mamun added. "Thirteen tea companies are processing tea after producing green tea leaves in their gardens as well as purchasing the same from farmers to produce 'made-tea' in Panchagarh and Thakurgaon for selling at Chittagong Auction Market," Mamun said. Earlier, 32-lakh kg 'made-tea' was produced in 2016, and 25.21-lakh kg 'madetea' in 2015 and 14.21-lakh kg 'made-tea' in 2014 and 14.55-lakh kg 'made-tea' in 2013 against only 1.61-lakh kg in 2005 when commercial basis cultivation began in Panchagarh. Talking to BSS, bigger tea grower Matiar Rahman of village Sonapatila in Panchagarh said he began cultivating tea on his 4.50 acres of land as a small-scale tea grower for the first time in 2002. "I am cultivating tea on about 52 acres of land now as a small-holder and selling the produced green tea leaves to 13 tea processing companies," Rahman said. Similarly, small-scale tea farmers Abdul Hakim, Solaiman Ali, Abdur Rahman and Sekendar Ali of different villages said that tea farming has brought fortune to their families along with improving standard of living. Predicting brighter prospect for expanding tea farming in the 'Kartoa Valley' ecological zone, President of Panchagarh Chamber of Commerce and Industry Abdul Hannan Sheikh said the tea thriving sector is also boosting economy in the northern region. French minister Britain must hurry up and decide on Brexit France's Europe minister is urging Britain to "hurry up" and decide whether it's leaving the European Union with or without a deal, reports BSS Nathalie Loiseau said on RTL radio Friday that "it's time for our British friends to decide whether they want to leave amicably or brutally." She said the EU worked hard to reach a Brexit agreement with British Prime Minister Theresa May's government, and "it's a little hard to understand that they can't sell their own proposition." May suffered another embarrassing parliamentary defeat Thursday over her Brexit strategy, further raising fears that the country could crash out of the EU without a deal, a development that would see tariffs imposed on trade. Loiseau said Britain should "hurry up" and decide for all businesses and citizens affected by Brexit. US, China hold 2nd day of talks with no tariff decision U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators held a second day of talks Friday after President Donald Trump's top economic adviser said he has yet to decide whether to escalate a technology dispute by going ahead with a March 2 tariff increase on imports from China, reports BSS Business groups and economists say this week's talks are too brief to resolve a sprawling dispute over Beijing's technology ambitions. They say China's goal is to persuade Trump to push back the March 2 deadline for a planned duty hike on $200 billion of Chinese imports. "The vibe is good," Trump's adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters in Washington. Trump had made "no decision" on the tariff hike, Kudlow said. The president said Tuesday he might let the March 2 deadline "slide for a little while" if the talks go well. Kudlow declined to give no details of the talks but said, "They're covering all the ground. They're hard at it." The battle between the two biggest economies has fueled fears it will drag on weakening global growth. Delegations led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and his Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier Liu He, were meeting at a government guesthouse. They said nothing to reporters before Friday's meeting. There was no indication whether negotiators made progress on the thorniest dispute: U.S. pressure on Beijing to scale back plans for government-led creation of Chinese global leaders in robotics and other technologies. Washington, Europe, Japan and other governments say those plans violate Beijing's market-opening obligations. Some American officials worry they might erode U.S. industrial leadership. Trump raised tariffs in July over complaints Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology. The dispute has spread to cover cyber-spying traced to China, the country's multibillion-dollar trade surplus with the United States and support for state industry. Beijing has offered to narrow its trade surplus by purchasing more American soybeans, natural gas and other exports. But the government has resisted pressure to cut back development plans it sees as a path to prosperity and global influence. An official newspaper, the Global Times, complained Friday that Washington "wants to influence China's development direction." "From politics to economy to ideology, the United States hopes to intervene in China's affairs," said the newspaper, published by the ruling Communist Party. Chinese officials also balk at U.S. pressure to accept an enforcement mechanism to monitor whether Beijing carries out its promises. Beijing has tried to deflect pressure by emphasizing China's growth as an export market. It has announced changes over the past year to open finance and other fields, including allowing full foreign ownership in its auto industry for the first time. A delegation of the Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed companies (BAPLC), led by its President Azam J Chowdhury called on Tipu Munshi, MP, the Minister, Ministry of Commerce at the Bangladesh Secretariat recently. BAPLC congratulated Tipu Munshi, MP on assuming the office of the Minister, Ministry of Commerce. President BAPLC introduced the members of the Executive Committee and took up some important issues of the listed companies with the Minister. The delegation thanked the Minister for his patient hearing and wished him great success in this important new leadership role. Anis A. Khan, Vice President, BAPLC and Managing Director & CEO of Mutual Trust Bank Limited (MTB), EC Members Ruhul Amin, Chairman, Bangladesh Industrial Finance Co. Ltd, Abdullah Al Mahmud, Managing Director, Hamid Fabrics Ltd, Shahriar Ahmed, Managing Director Apex Foods Ltd. and Md. Amzad Hossain, Secretary-General of BAPLC were also present at the meeting. Photo : Courtesy Outgoing president of Bangladesh Chamber of Industries handed over the responsibilities to the newly elected president Anwar Ul Alam recently for the year of 2019-2021. Photo : Courtesy Trump's new trade decision Impose tariffs on imported cars ? Sometimes, on a bad night, Brad Strong wakes at 2 a.m. and can't get back to sleep. The insomnia isn't about his family or money or health. It's about tariffs, reports UNB. The Strong family's three car dealerships in Salt Lake City could suffer a significant blow if President Donald Trump proceeds with a proposal to impose tariffs of 20 to 25 percent on imported autos and auto parts. Strong may be in for a few more sleepless nights. Tokyo stocks lose ground in morning on yen's rise, subpar U.S retail data Tokyo stocks lost ground Friday morning as the yen's rise against the U.S. dollar coupled with subpar U.S. retail data dented the market mood, reports BSS. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 253.44 points, or 1.20 percent, from Thursday to 20,886.27. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 14.65 points, or 0.92 percent, at 1,575.16. Food, nonferrous metal and service-oriented issues comprised those that declined the most by the morning break. Bangladesh's employment rate exceeded global average: ILO International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said the employment rate in Bangladesh and other countries in the region exceeded the global average and was expected to remain so in the coming years in view of government's social protection measures, reports BSS. "The regional unemployment rate (in Asia and Pacific countries including Bangladesh) is projected to remain at around 3.6 percent until 2020, below the global average," the ILO said in its World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2019 (WESO), released recently. It said the global average of the unemployment rate was 5.6 percent while the figure was around 3.6 percent in Bangladesh and the other Asia and Pacific nations. ILO attributed Bangladesh's better employment scenario to significant social protection measures while the countries with higher poverty rates lacked such measures. The global labour watchdog, however, said structural transformation moved huge workers out of agriculture, but this could not create significant improvements in job quality in the region. It found a large proportion of workers lacked job security, written employment contracts and income stability. "Like many countries in the region, Bangladesh is facing a number of challenges related to job security, child labour, and equal and fair payment for women workers," ILO Bangladesh Country Director Tuomo Poutiainen said coinciding with the release of the study. He said if Bangladesh was to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 there was a need to ramp up its efforts on improving social protection, skills training and occupational safety and health. "Bangladesh needs to create millions of decent and sustainable jobs each year if it wants to reduce poverty and reach middleincome status. Poutiainen, however, said Bangladesh government made important progress in these areas and continued to move forward to work on many important labour reforms jointly with ILO and other development partners. Bangladesh's Labour and Employment ministry along with the Planning Commission recently commenced a work with ILO on a comprehensive jobs strategy. The ILO country chief expected the initiative to contribute to new employment initiatives with a special focus on women and youth. The ILO report reveals a majority of the 3.3 billion people employed globally in 2018 had inadequate economic security, material well-being and equality of opportunity. The progress in reducing unemployment globally was not being reflected in improvements in the quality of work either. ILO feared the persistence of a number of major deficits in decent work and warning that at the current rate of progress, attaining the goal of decent work for all, as set out in the SDGs seemed unrealistic for many countries. The report cautioned that some new business models, including those enabled by new technologies, threatened to undermine existing labour market achievements - in areas such as improving employment formality and security, social protection and labour standards. It said the scenario appeared for the policymakers as a major challenge.
MISCELLANEOUS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2019 7 The Managing Director of National AgriCare Group KSM Mostafizur Rahman has received the world prestigious award " GLOBAL ENTREPRENUERSHIP AWARD-2019" in the recently held World Entrepreneurship Summit 2019, organized by the Global Entrepreneurs Grid (GEG) in collaboration with prestigious New Horizon College of Engineering on 2nd February 2019 at Bangalore, India for his outstanding contribution on Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development in Bangladesh. Photo : Courtesy First lady makes Valentine's Day art with pediatric patients Melania Trump showed love for her new hometown during a Valentine's Day arts-and-crafts session with pediatric patients Thursday, reports UNB. At a station where children wrote their "favorite things" on construction paper hearts, the first lady went with "My favorite city is Washington." She signed the heart with her name and stuck it on a board on a wall in the middle of several other hearts. During the visit to The Children's Inn on the campus of the National Institutes of Health outside Washington, she also helped make candy boxes - and assisted a line of children in filling them up with a variety of sugary treats - and snow globes. Amani, a 13-year-old boy from Judge to weigh fight over citizenship question on US census The Trump administration will try to persuade a U.S. judge Friday to let it add a citizenship question to the 2020 U.S. census for the first time in nearly 70 years, a move that opponents say would lead to an undercount of immigrants and Latinos, reports UNB. Lawsuits by California and numerous cities in the state say asking people whether they are citizens of the U.S. is politically motivated and would discourage immigrants and Latinos from participating in the population count. Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco is not expected to issue a ruling immediately after closing arguments. He heard nearly a week of testimony last month in the lawsuits, which assert that the question would result in an undercount that would jeopardize federal funding and the state's representation in Congress. Census numbers are used to determine states' distribution of congressional seats and billions of dollars in federal funding. The lawsuits urge Seeborg to keep the citizenship question off the census. A federal judge in New York already has barred the Trump administration from adding it in a separate set of lawsuits. The Trump administration says it will appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Justice Department argues that census officials take steps to guard against an undercount, including making in-person follow-up visits, so the final numbers will be accurate. Households that skip the citizenship question but otherwise fill out a substantial portion of the questionnaire will still be counted, Justice Department attorneys said in court documents. Mombasa, Kenya, showed her how to turn a wooden clothespin into a colorful clip. "This is a big project," Mrs. Trump said. Amani has sickle cell disease and is preparing for a bone marrow transplant, the White House said. The first lady told Amani that she will pray for him. He presented her with a red heart-shaped box that held a silver necklace with "Hope & Faith" inscribed on a silver circle. The first lady later wrote on Twitter that she "Loved sharing an afternoon with such sweet valentines! Your bravery, strength, and love is amazing." She thanked The Children's Inn and NIH for their "lifesaving work." The Children's Inn is a private, nonprofit residence for children and families participating in pediatric Congress lopsidedly approved a border security compromise Thursday that would avert a second painful government shutdown, but a new confrontation was ignited - this time over President Donald Trump's plan to bypass lawmakers and declare a national emergency to siphon billions from other federal coffers for his wall on the Mexican boundary, reports UNB. Money in the bill for border barriers, about $1.4 billion, is far below the $5.7 billion Trump insisted he needed and would finance just a quarter of the 200-plus miles he wanted. The White House said he'd sign the legislation but act unilaterally to get the rest, prompting immediate condemnation from Democrats and threats of lawsuits from states and others who might lose federal money or said Trump was abusing his authority. The uproar over Trump's next move cast an uncertain shadow over what had been a rare display of bipartisanship to address the grinding battle between the White House and lawmakers over border security. The Senate passed the legislation 83-16, with both parties solidly on board. The House followed with a 300-128 tally, with Trump's signature planned Friday. research at NIH. The first lady was at the inn on Valentine's Day last year when she was informed by her staff of a shooting at a south Florida high school that killed 17 people. She was greeted Thursday by Amber, 9, of San Jose, California. Amber, who participates in a gene therapy trial, was among the children with whom Mrs. Trump spent time during last year's visit. Mrs. Trump is focusing her work as first lady on the well-being of children. "This is a big project," Mrs. Trump said. Amani has sickle cell disease and is preparing for a bone marrow transplant, the White House said. The first lady told Amani that she will pray for him. He presented her with a red heart-shaped box that held a silver necklace with "Hope & Faith" inscribed on a silver circle. Congress OKs border deal; Trump will sign, declare emergency Violence, displacement and extremely harsh conditions in northern and eastern Syria have killed at least 32 children since December 2018, the UN children's fund (UNICEF) reported Thursday, reports UNB. Persistent fighting in the area surrounding Hajin, in eastern Syria, has forced thousands of people to embark on a long and arduous journey to safety at Al-Hol camp for internally displaced people -- almost 300 km to the north, the report said. Since December 2018, an estimated 23,000 people -- most of them women and children -- have arrived at the camp after the three-day journey in harsh desert winter conditions, with little food or shelter along the way, it said. Lack of security has made humanitarian access to children en route to the camp's screening area nearly impossible. The difficult journey, cold weather and Democrats overwhelmingly backed the legislation, with only 19 - most of whom were Hispanic - opposed. Just over half of Republicans voted "no." Should Trump change his mind, both margins were above the two-thirds majorities needed to override presidential vetoes. Lawmakers, however, sometimes rally behind presidents of the same party in such battles. Lawmakers exuded relief that the agreement had averted a fresh closure of federal agencies just three weeks after a record-setting 35-day partial shutdown that drew an unambiguous thumbs-down from the public. But in announcing that Trump would sign the accord, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also said he'd take "other executive action, including a national emergency," In an unusual joint statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said such a declaration would be "a lawless act, a gross abuse of the power of the presidency and a desperate attempt to distract" from Trump's failure to force Mexico to pay for the wall, as he's promised for years. Over 30 children killed in Syria by violence, displacement, harsh conditions since December: UNICEF long waiting periods at screening centers, where families wait sometimes for days, have reportedly contributed to the death of at least 29 children -- including 11 infants in the past two days alone. UNICEF said it is assisting children and mothers fleeing the fighting in Hajin with blankets, winter clothing, food, water, health and nutrition services, child-friendly spaces and child protection and family reunification services. In addition, since last week, fighting in Ma'arat al-Nu'man in Idlib, in northwestern Syria, has reportedly killed three children and injured scores more. UNICEF has appealed to all parties to facilitate safe, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access to all children in need, and has called on those fighting to keep children out of harm's way, even in areas of active conflict. MAG Osmani's 35th death anniversary Saturday SYLHET : The 35th death anniversary of General MAG Osmani, the commander-inchief of the Armed Forces during the War of Liberation, will be observed on Saturday, reports UNB. Different political, sociocultural and voluntary organisations have chalked out elaborate programmes to commemorate MAG Osmani's death anniversary. Meanwhile, Bangabir General MAG Osmani Birth Centenary Udjapon Parishad, Sylhet organised several programmes, including a doa mahfil, offering fatehta and placing wreaths at his grave, on Friday. Besides, Osmani Museum will arrange a Qurankhwani, a doa mahfil and a discussion on Saturday on the occasion. Osmani was born to a landowning family in Sunamganj, Assam Province during the British era on September 1, 1918 and died in London on February 16, 1984. He was educated in Assam and Sylhet and graduated from Aligarh Muslim University in India. Three-day book fair at IU from Feb 19 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY : A three-day book fair will be held at Islamic University (IU) in Kushtia from February 19, reports UNB. It will continue until February 21, IU Information, Publicationand Public Relations Office Director M Ataul Haque said on Friday. IU Vice-Chancellor Professor M Harun-Ur- Rashid Askari will address the inaugural session as the chief guest while short story writer Professor Hasan Azizul Huq of Rajshahi University will be present as the chief discussant. IU Treasurer Professor M Selim Toha will attend the function as the special guest while IU Pro-Vice- Chancellor Professor M Shahinoor Rahman will preside over it, he added. All preparations have already been taken to hold the fair in a peaceful atmosphere, IU Vice- Chancellor Professor Rashid Askari said. Report: Facebook, FTC discussing 'multibillion dollar' fine A report says Facebook and the Federal Trade Commission are negotiating a "multibillion dollar" fine for the social network's privacy lapses, reports UNB. The Washington Post said Thursday that the fine would be the largest ever imposed on a tech company. Citing unnamed sources, it also said the two sides have not yet agreed on an exact amount. Facebook has had several high-profile privacy lapses in the past couple of years. The FTC has been looking into the Cambridge Analytica scandal since last March. The data mining firm accessed the data of some 87 million Facebook users without their consent. At issue is whether Facebook is in violation of a 2011 agreement with the FTC promising to protect user privacy. Facebook and the FTC declined to comment. U.S. recalls nonemergency personnel from Haiti amid unrest U.S. State Department Thursday ordered the departure of all nonemergency U.S. personnel and their family members from Haiti due to the unstable situation, according to a statement issued by the State Department, reports UNB. White House scrambles to find pots of money to use for wall If President Donald Trump declares an emergency to build the wall with Mexico, he still needs money to pay for it. And shifting money from other accounts to deliver the $5.7 billion he wants is not without political problems, reports UNB. The administration has been eyeing several pots of money - including disaster funds, counternarcotic accounts and military construction dollars - to fund Trump's wall, according to congressional aides and White House officials. White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has said there are various accounts available. One possibility is shifting a portion of the $13 billion in disaster aid Congress approved last year for Puerto Rico and a dozen states, including California and Texas, hit hard by hurricanes, flooding and other disasters. The money funds Army Corps projects, and the Puerto Rico aid alone totals more than $2 billion. But Texas lawmakers revolted over White House plans to tap Hurricane Harvey funds, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Thursday they won assurances from the White House that the money won't be used for the wall. "We've been pretty clear we thought that would be a mistake," said Cornyn, who along with the state's governor and other lawmakers urged the White House to stay away from that account. "There's limited pots of money he can get into, but I'm pretty confident he won't get into disaster funds." A more likely option is the military construction account that's used to upgrade bases and facilities. Congressional aides said there is $21 billion available. That includes about $10 billion in funds from the current 2019 fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, and $11 billion remaining from the previous four years, said the aides. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the funding details. But tapping the military construction money also may hit resistance. The money often goes for improvements to housing, roads, hospitals and other facilities, and can be used to eliminate mold or other hazardous problems at military installations in congressional districts across the nation and around the globe. As an example, the aides said, there is funding for a medical facility at a U.S. base in Germany that has been partially constructed. If those funds were used, the medical center could be left half built. White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has said there are various accounts available. One possibility is shifting a portion of the $13 billion in disaster aid Congress approved last year for Puerto Rico and a dozen states, including California and Texas, hit hard by hurricanes, flooding and other disasters. The money funds Army Corps projects, and the Puerto Rico aid alone totals more than $2 billion. But Texas lawmakers revolted over White House plans to tap Hurricane Harvey funds, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Thursday they won assurances from the White House that the money won't be used for the wall. Trump administration sued over shift in asylum policy The Trump administration's policy of returning asylum seekers to Mexico while their cases wind through immigration courts violates U.S. law by putting the migrants in danger and depriving them of the ability to prepare their cases, a lawsuit filed Thursday by civil liberties groups claims, reports UNB. The lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco seeks a court order blocking the Department of Homeland Security from carrying out the policy that took effect in January at the San Ysidro border crossing in San Diego. The launch followed months of delicate talks between the U.S. and Mexico and marked a change to the U.S. asylum system that the administration and asylum experts said was unprecedented. Mexican officials have sent mixed signals on the crucial point of whether Mexico would impose limits on accepting families. The effort began at a San Diego crossing with Tijuana, Mexico for adults only, but U.S. officials have started to include families, which currently account for nearly GD-283/19 (8 x 3) half of Border Patrol arrests. "Instead of being able to focus on preparing their cases, asylum seekers forced to return to Mexico will have to focus on trying to survive," according to the lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies. "These pressures may deter even those with the strongest asylum claims to give up, rather than endure the wait under such conditions." Steven Stafford, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, said Congress has "explicitly authorized" Homeland Security officials to return migrants to a "contiguous foreign territory" during their immigration proceedings. "The Department of Justice will defend the Department of Homeland Security's lawful actions in court," he said in a statement. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the policy is "a vital response to the crisis at our southern border."
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