The impact of current immigration policies, laser focused to expedite the removal of asylum seekers from the border regardless of humanitarian concerns, has been exacerbated by Covid-19. Two significant reports outline the unacceptable realities.

On June 25, 2020, Novartis Hellas S.A.C.I. (Novartis Greece), a subsidiary of Novartis AG, a Swiss-based global pharmaceutical company, and Alcon Pte Ltd., a former subsidiary of Novartis AG and current subsidiary of multinational eye care company Alcon Inc., have agreed to pay more than $233 million in criminal monetary penalties to resolve the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).[1]

On June 9, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concluded that there was no jurisdiction for the suit of the Saretta Barnet Trust Foundation and Sotheby’s Inc. against the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports. The viability of the suit, which arose from Greece’s patrimony claims to a miniature horse figurine placed on auction by Sotheby’s, depended on the court’s interpretation of the commercial activities exemption to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. While the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York initially determined Greece’s claim was a commercial activity that exempted it from sovereign immunity, the Court of Appeals has remanded that decision.

        On June 24, 2020, the United States Department of Justice announced the return by a federal grand jury of a second superseding indictment, charging Julian P. Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. The new indictment does not add any additional counts to the prior 18-count superseding indictment returned against Assange in May 2019. However, it widens the scope of the conspiracy surrounding alleged computer intrusions with which Assange was already charged.

                On June 19, 2020, China indicted two Canadian nationals on espionage charges, a development Canada says is retaliation for the arrest and processing of the extradition request by the United States against Huawei Technologies Company chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.[1]   The indictment followed 557 days of interrogation and incarceration in places where the lights are kept on day and night.[2]

                On May 22, 2020, Ireland extradited Irish national John Slattery to the United States in response to an extradition request by the United States for his participation in trafficking horns from black rhinoceros.[1]

                On June 11, 2020, United States law enforcement arrested Michael Sang Correa, 41, a Gambian national, for torture charges arising out of his actions intended to cause severe physical pain and suffering on individuals in his custody and control in The Gambia in 2006.[1]

            The United States offers aid to the justice sectors and security forces of many Central American countries as a cornerstone policy to combat trafficking routes through the Northern Triangle.[1] Honduras is one of the most at risk countries in this region, where the illegal drug trade and resulting corruption take a heavy toll on the state’s institutions.[2] Consequently, the continuation and expansion of aid programs to Honduras is seen as critical to success in stabilizing the region and disrupting the flow of narcotics into the United States. The Honduran government recently passed the 2020 Air Sovereignty Law to help ensure the ongoing receipt of this aid and secure access to U.S. narcotics intelligence, but the new law comes amidst a concerning series of events.

On April 22, 2020, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) found the United States responsible for violating the human rights of Djamel Ameziane, a former detainee at the Guantánamo Bay detention facility.[1]

                On May 4, 2020, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the transfer of $311,797.876.11 to the Nigerian government pursuant to a February 3, 2020 trilateral agreement among the governments of the U.S., Nigeria, and Jersey.^[1] The agreement repatriates assets the U.S. forfeited that were traceable to the kleptocracy of former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and his co-conspirators.^[2]