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After a military coup in his native Mali in 2022, Sady Traoré said he fled the country for the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the coast of West Africa. Now 28, he works in the citrus groves of eastern Spain. He hasn’t been able to secure an appointment to apply for Spanish asylum.
Traoré, and hundreds of thousands of other undocumented workers in Spain, got good news yesterday. The Spanish government will give many of them a way to apply for renewable residency permits.
It will turn its illegal immigrants into legal ones.
“It brings me closer to my dream, and the dream of many others like me,” Traoré told our reporter, José Ba…
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After a military coup in his native Mali in 2022, Sady Traoré said he fled the country for the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the coast of West Africa. Now 28, he works in the citrus groves of eastern Spain. He hasn’t been able to secure an appointment to apply for Spanish asylum.
Traoré, and hundreds of thousands of other undocumented workers in Spain, got good news yesterday. The Spanish government will give many of them a way to apply for renewable residency permits.
It will turn its illegal immigrants into legal ones.
“It brings me closer to my dream, and the dream of many others like me,” Traoré told our reporter, José Bautista.
The government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, a Socialist, described the measure as critical to Spain’s economic future. Migrant labor plays a large part in the country’s economy. Spain’s minister for migration said it would have an impact “on our social cohesion, well-being, and also on the economy.”
Spain’s opposition leaders largely disagreed. Vox, a far-right party, said it would take the government to court over the decision. Its leader said Sánchez was* *“accelerating an invasion.”
An outlier
Spain’s decision is at odds with the posture toward immigration taken by many Western governments, with widespread public support. Britain recently tightened its rules surrounding refugees. Italy declared that it wanted to detain asylum seekers in Albania while it reviewed their claims. Greece jails those who remain in the country after it rejects their claims.
And in the United States, Trump has vowed to arrest and deport millions of illegal immigrants, ordering a crackdown in order to do so. Illegal crossings at the border have almost stopped, but enforcement elsewhere has led to fatal violence, strife and protests in those places, most notably Minneapolis.
“In the current international context, marked by the rise of anti-migration discourse, Spain’s decision represents a counterweight,” a migration researcher at Pontifical University of Comillas in Madrid told The Times.
How it happened
Spain has legalized waves of undocumented people before, and tried to present itself as a beacon for immigrants. There have been eight campaigns to do so in the country since the mid-1980s, and they’ve rolled out under both progressive and conservative governments. They helped keep Spain’s population from shrinking — the way other European countries have. At least a million migrants benefited, too.
Then came the coronavirus pandemic, when lockdowns in Spain laid bare the importance of migrant labor. A 2021 petition to revive the immigration debate, signed by more than 700,000 Spaniards, went nowhere.
Until Monday, when Sánchez’s government brokered a deal with Unidas Podemos, a smaller left-wing party, in exchange for the support of the Socialists in Parliament.
Traoré, the worker in the citrus grove, told José what that meant for him. The measure provides a chance, he said, “to live in peace and work with dignity to support our families.”
You can read more in this story. Now, let’s see what else is happening in the world.
A DOG WHISTLE?
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What is the meaning of this image? Evan Gorelick*, one of our writers here on The Morning, can tell you:*
Last week, I called the Department of Homeland Security to ask about an ICE recruitment ad that said, “WE’LL HAVE OUR HOME AGAIN.” That’s also the name of a song embraced by some white supremacists. I was reporting a story about government accounts that have pointed to neo-Nazi literature, ethnic cleansing and QAnon conspiracies.
A spokeswoman, Tricia McLaughlin, told me that it would be “morally repugnant” if the Homeland Security post were quoting the white-supremacist anthem. But, she said, it was unrelated: “There are plenty of references to those words in books and poems.”
Yet when I opened the post on Instagram, it played audio from the song’s chorus. When I pointed this out, McLaughlin said I was participating in a left-wing conspiracy theory and “mainstreaming racism” by drawing a false connection.
Less than 40 minutes later, the post had been erased.
To some people, these messages sound patriotic. But those well-versed in the language of right-wing extremism hear klaxons. Read more about the posts in my latest story.
THE LATEST NEWS
Minnesota
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Representative Ilhan Omar leaving a town hall yesterday.Credit...Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, was speaking at a town hall in Minneapolis last night when a man attacked her, spraying her with a syringe filled with strong-smelling liquid after she said, “We must abolish ICE for good.” Omar was unharmed and the man was arrested. Officials are now investigating.
At a rally in Iowa, President Trump called those arrested by ICE in Minnesota “vicious, horrible criminals,” although most have no criminal record.
A Minnesota judge ordered the leader of ICE to appear in court on Friday to explain why he should not be held in contempt for violating court orders arising from the agency’s aggressive immigration crackdown.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the deportation of Liam Conejo Ramos, 5, and his father. The image of the boy being detained in his blue bunny hat has become an emblem of ICE’s operation in Minnesota.
Pretti Killing
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Kristi NoemCredit...Al Drago/Getty Images
A Department of Homeland Security review did not say that Alex Pretti was brandishing a gun, as Kristi Noem, the department’s secretary, had claimed.
Trump promised a “very honorable and honest investigation” into Pretti’s death, but he again blamed Pretti for legally carrying a firearm.
Federal investigators are reviewing body camera footage.
Trump rebuked Noem after the killing, the second by federal immigration agents, but she soon seemed to be back in his good graces.
The top three House Democrats have said they support an effort to impeach Noem. And more Republicans in Congress are starting to criticize the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration tactics.
More on Immigration
Democrats across the country are taking steps to restrict ICE actions in their states.
ICE agents will accompany the U.S. delegation to the Winter Olympics in Italy next month. Many Italian politicians are outraged.
An Arizona man was wounded after he exchanged fire with a Border Patrol agent near the Mexican border.
More on Politics
The head of the federal agency that enforces laws against employment discrimination says she’s determined to rid her office of D.E.I. activism. Here’s her plan.
A Virginia judge has blocked the Democratic-led legislature from drawing new congressional maps for this fall’s midterm elections.
Climate
The U.S. officially withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement for the second time. (Joe Biden had rejoined the accord.)
Michigan is suing four of the world’s biggest oil companies, accusing them of acting as a “cartel” to stifle renewable energy.
International
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Trump at the Board of Peace Charter announcement.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times
MORNING READS
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Credit...Lissa Gotwals for The New York Times
A hidden figure: Gladys West, a Navy mathematician, led a team that calculated the precise shape of Earth using early computers. Her work was critical for the development of GPS. She died at 95.
TODAY’S NUMBER
28,000,000,000
— That’show many liters of water Microsoft said it would use for its data centers in 2030, according a report obtained by The Times. The company had promised to cut its water use, but big tech companies are guzzling water during the A.I. frenzy.
SPORTS
**Coaches: **The former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was not voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
**N.F.L.: **The Buffalo Bills promoted the offensive coordinator Joe Brady to be the team’s next head coach.
RECIPE OF THE DAY
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Credit...Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
When the weather is as frigid as it is in so much of the United States right now, there’s little more comforting than a vat of chili. You can make Ali Slagle’s recipe with or without beans (if you’re Texan, absolutely without), but don’t use lean beef — you’ll miss out on a depth of flavor as the aromatics infuse the fat, and you’ll risk a grittiness that’s anathema to the spirit of the dish. Add a dark beer or a spoonful of espresso powder if that’s how you were raised. Let everything cook down, then top with sour cream, chopped white onion, sliced scallions, corn chips and shakes of hot sauce.
HOCKEY EROTICA
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Credit...Capitol Hill Books
There’s nothing new in this world. Forty-six years ago, long before HBO Max’s “Heated Rivalry” propelled hockey erotica to the forefront of American culture, the acclaimed novelist Don DeLillo published a racy hockey novel under a pen name.
The book was “Amazons,” which DeLillo wrote as the fictitious memoir of Cleo Birdwell, the first woman to play in the National Hockey League. “Birdwell is as aggressive and fearless in her pursuit of sex as she is on the ice,” writes Alexandra Alter, who covers the book world. And there is a lot of sex.
After he was discovered to be its author, DeLillo distanced himself from the novel and eventually erased it from his official bibliography. The book soon fell out of print. “Not having his name on the book gave him a freedom that he didn’t experience with the other books,” one retired book editor who worked with DeLillo told Alexandra.
More on culture
CBS News held a contentious town hall yesterday. Bari Weiss, the new editor in chief, outlined her vision and the host Gayle King urged employees not to leak the remarks. “I’m sure someone’s livestreaming it right now, Gayle,” Weiss said, according to a recording of the event obtained by The Times.
The march toward the Oscars continues. Nominations for Britain’s BAFTA awards were released yesterday, with “One Battle After Another” receiving 14, one more than “Sinners.” The two movies will compete for the best film award, along with “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme” and “Sentimental Value.”
Late night hosts joked about the Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino.
THE MORNING RECOMMENDS
Apologize with class. Take advantage of the best online flower delivery service tested by the well-mannered florists at Wirecutter.
**Watch “**Volcano,” the 1997 disaster film with Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Heche that’s so bad it’s good.
Ask questions you’re embarrassed to ask, my dudes. Our Well reporters spoke to urologists to find out five things they wish men knew about sexual health.
GAMES
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Sam Sifton, the host of The Morning, was previously an assistant managing editor responsible for culture and lifestyle coverage and is the founding editor of New York Times Cooking.
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