Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Friday released the Biden administration’s latest attempt to nix the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy that has roiled immigration and asylum advocates.

The policy, formally known as Migrant Protection Protocols, requires many asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while they wait for hearings to adjudicate their requests for safe haven in the U.S.

“MPP had endemic flaws, imposed unjustifiable human costs, pulled resources and personnel away from other priority efforts, and did not address the root causes of irregular migration,” Mayorkas said in a statement. “MPP not only undercuts the Administration’s ability to implement critically needed and foundational changes to the immigration system, it fails to provide the fair process and humanitarian protections that individuals deserve under the law.”

DHS released a four-page memo signed by Mayorkas sent to the respective leaders of the component agencies that deal with migrants and asylum seekers, as well as a lengthier document detailing the rationale for terminating the policy.

“Vice President Kamala Harris’ former staffers and fundraisers anticipate a potentially messy primary if she goes up against fellow Cabinet member Pete Buttigieg in a race for the White House,” Insider reports.

“A free-for-all Democratic presidential primary could come as early as 2024 if President Joe Biden decides he won’t run for reelection, though he has said that he plans to. Some Democratic donors and strategists are already privately discussing what the field could look like in 2024 if Biden opts out.”

https://politicalwire.com/2021/10/29/harris-aides-see-messy-primary-if-biden-steps-aside/

Letitia James, the New York attorney general who oversaw the inquiry into sexual harassment claims against former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo that ultimately led to his resignation, declared her candidacy for governor on Friday, setting up a history-making, high-profile matchup in the Democratic primary.

She begins the campaign as Gov. Kathy Hochul’s most formidable challenger, and her announcement triggers a start to what may be an extraordinarily competitive primary — a contest set to be shaped by issues of ideology, race and region in a state still battling its way out of the pandemic.

Her announcement also comes at a volatile moment in state politics, a day after Mr. Cuomo was charged in a sexual misconduct complaint based on the account of one of the women whose claims of sexual harassment were detailed in the attorney general’s report.

That development, Ms. James said, validated “the findings in our report,” and to her allies it further cemented the case for her leadership. But it has also added fresh fuel to Mr. Cuomo’s suggestion that her investigation was politically motivated, a message that may resonate with some of the voters who still view him favorably.

When New Yorkers show up to vote on Nov. 2, they will see a familiar name listed on the ballot for public advocate: Jumaane D. Williams, the Democratic incumbent.

Because of a quirk in political and electoral timing, this is the third time that Mr. Williams has had to run for public advocate in less than three years.

“I’m so honored to be your public advocate,” Mr. Williams told a crowd at a get-out-the-vote rally on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Sunday. “I’d be honored if you re-elect me one more time.”

But Mr. Williams, 45, left another political goal unmentioned that day: He is also a potential candidate for governor.

Just a few weeks earlier, Mr. Williams had traveled around the state, meeting with elected officials and potential constituents in Rochester, Syracuse and Hudson, pitching his economic and social vision for the state.

Mr. Williams has formed an exploratory committee to run for governor next year in what is expected to be a crowded, competitive Democratic primary field. He would have to unseat the incumbent, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and also might have to beat other candidates who are likely to include the state attorney general, Letitia James.

Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo was charged on Thursday with groping a female aide’s breast inside the Executive Mansion “for the purposes of degrading and gratifying his sexual desires,” according to a criminal complaint filed in Albany City Court.

The misdemeanor complaint was based on the account of one of the dozen or so women whose accusations of sexual harassment against Mr. Cuomo formed the basis of a state attorney general’s report that eventually led to his resignation in August.

For Mr. Cuomo, the complaint was a serious and potentially devastating development, as he continues to fight the allegations and attempts to discredit the report. It also served as a stunning chapter in the political demise of a man who dominated state politics for a decade, seemed on a glide path to a fourth term and, less than a year ago, was hailed as a national hero of the coronavirus pandemic.

Now Mr. Cuomo, who has spent time living on Long Island since his resignation, will be required to appear in court in Albany on Nov. 17 to be arraigned on a charge of forcible touching.

The House voted Thursday night to temporarily reauthorize transportation funding, abruptly reversing course after Democratic leaders earlier vowed to pass a bipartisan Senate-approved infrastructure bill.

The move came after progressives refused to relent in their opposition to the $550 billion infrastructure bill amid a standoff over Democrats’ separate, party-line $1.75 trillion social spending measure. It followed a visit to Capitol Hill by President Joe Biden, who personally asked House Democrats for their support on both the infrastructure plan and the separate social policy framework.

But Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team were ultimately unable to win over dozens of dug-in liberals in time for a Thursday evening vote. House liberals said they want to review the legislative text of $1.75 trillion social spending legislation the White House outlined Thursday and get a commitment of support from centrist Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) — something the two have not outright given.

Despite an aggressive whipping campaign from Democratic leaders, as many as 30 liberal Democrats threatened to block the roughly $550 billion Senate-passed infrastructure bill, according to multiple people familiar with the vote-tallying operation. As House Democrats headed home for the weekend in defeat, many were infuriated and left wondering how they had stumbled yet again, pointing fingers within their own party.