OUR PICKS'Remain in Mexico' Policy is Over | Solution to Hate Speech on the Internet | Agriculture and Veterinary Defense, and more

Biden Administration Says ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy is Over  (Associated Press / VOA News)
The Department of Homeland Security said Monday that it ended a Trump-era policy requiring asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court, hours after a judge lifted an order in effect since December that it be reinstated.
The timing had been in doubt since the Supreme Court ruled on June 30 that the Biden administration could end the “Remain in Mexico” policy. Homeland Security officials had been largely silent, saying they had to wait for the court to certify the ruling and for a Trump-appointed judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, to then lift his injunction. The Supreme Court certified its ruling last week.

Ex-Rebel Takes Oath as Colombia President in Historic Shift  (Associated Press / VOA News)
Colombia’s first leftist president was sworn into office Sunday, promising to fight inequality and heralding a turning point in the history of a country haunted by a long war between the government and guerrilla groups.
Sen. Gustavo Petro, a former member of Colombia’s M-19 guerrilla group, won the presidential election in June by beating conservative parties that offered moderate changes to the market-friendly economy, but failed to connect with voters frustrated by rising poverty and violence against human rights leaders and environmental groups in rural areas.
Petro is part of a growing group of leftist politicians and political outsiders who have been winning elections in Latin America since the pandemic broke out and hurt incumbents who struggled with its economic aftershocks.

DHS S&T Seeks Information on Scientific Capabilities for Food, Agriculture and Veterinary Defense  (DHS S&T)
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) released a request for information (RFI) seeking capabilities for scientific support for the S&T Food, Agriculture and Veterinary Defense (FAV-D) Program, including laboratory and vivarium space, IT infrastructure, as well as subject matter expertise.

Banning Content Platforms is Not a Solution to Hate Speech on the Internet, Even When the Platform is Meta  (Julie Owono, Just Security)
Governments should recognize that pulling the plug on the internet – or on an entire social media platform – is not a viable solution to the spread of hate speech or misinformation online.

Terrorist Kept in Prison Because U.K. Home Office Plan to Deport Him Causes ‘Risk to Public’  (Lizzie Dearden, Independent)
The Parole Board has refused to release a terrorist from prison after finding that government plans to deport him could put public safety at risk abroad. Jawad Akbar, now 39, was jailed for his part in an al-Qaeda-inspired plot to bomb potential targets including London’s Ministry of Sound nightclub and the Bluewater shopping center in Kent. The plot was foiled in 2004, weeks after the Madrid bombings, and Akbar was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 17-and-a-half years for conspiring to cause an explosion. The Home Office imposed a deportation order on Akbar in 2017 following its own risk assessment, meaning that on release he would be sent to Italy - despite his alleged history of terrorist activity abroad. He had previously travelled with other jihadis to the Malakand terrorist training camp in Pakistan, which was said to be run by al-Qaeda, and had bomb-making manuals on his laptop. At trial, Akbar’s defense team claimed he “intended to leave for Pakistan rather than carrying out any acts of terrorism here”. He was born in Pakistan but moved to the UK with his family at the age of nine, and holds Italian citizenship through his father. Akbar’s minimum prison term expired in September last year, causing the Parole Board to formally decide whether it was safe for him to be freed from prison.