Global Tensions Flare: Immigration, Aid, and Arctic Echoes

International Law at Breaking Point Amid Global Turmoil; Judge Blocks Trump Administration's Action on Haitian Immigrants; Mexico Pledges Aid to Cuba

A new study revealed that international law, designed to limit the effects of war, is at a breaking point, as conflicts rage with near impunity. Meanwhile, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary protected status for up to 350,000 Haitians, and Mexico pledged to send humanitarian aid to Cuba despite U.S. efforts to cut off the island's oil access.

The study by the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, which surveyed 23 armed conflicts over the last 18 months, found that more than 100,000 civilians have been killed, with torture and rape committed with near impunity, according to The Guardian.

In the United States, Judge Ana Reyes issued a temporary stay preventing the U.S. homeland security secretary from implementing her decision to remove temporary protected status from Haitians, allowing them to legally live and work in the U.S. amid turmoil in their homeland, The Guardian reported.

Further south, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pledged to send humanitarian aid to Cuba this week and said Mexico was exploring all diplomatic avenues to send fuel to the Cuban people, despite efforts from Washington, according to The Guardian. This move came after Trump signed an order threatening tariffs on countries that sell oil to Cuba.

In other immigration-related news, a right-wing Brazilian influencer, Júnior Pena, who defended Trump's immigration crackdown, was arrested by ICE agents in New Jersey, The Guardian reported. Pena, who has reportedly lived in the U.S. since 2009, falsely claimed migrants being rounded up, including Brazilians, were all crooks.

Meanwhile, in the Arctic, Trump's threats regarding Greenland have opened old wounds for Inuit across the region, The Guardian reported. A demand by the U.S. that it take control of the Arctic island is, for many, a reminder of a troubling imperial past. In the Canadian Arctic, residents of Iqaluit marched through the Inuit territory of Nunavut, waving signs that read: "We stand with Greenland" and "Greenland is a partner, not a purchase."