South Africa has announced a monumental election happening in May. Editor’s note: mentions of discriminatory immigration law.

Happening in the World: South Africa just announced that its pivotal federal elections for this term will be held on May 29. The current majority party, the African National Congress, may lose its prolific reign after 30 years. The party has brought an electricity crisis, a skyrocketing unemployment rate, and voter suppression among other issues to the country, leading to predictions of a less than 40% share of the Parliament after the election. (AP)

Happening in the US: President Joe Biden is said to be considering an executive action that would effectively limit the volume of asylum seekers allowed to cross the United States border. A threshold of 5,000 migrants per day in one week or 8,500 in a single day would be established by this bill. The legality of this action is under review, but it would likely jarring in its effect on immigration in the US. (NYT)

Happening in NYC: A report released on Wednesday has revealed that over half of New York City’s residents are living in poverty or are considered low income. This is the city’s largest single year increase in impoverished citizens since 2012 and is likely due to the cessation of pandemic-related state and federal aid. Charles Lutvak, a spokesperson for City Hall, said that the city of New York is still fundamentally concerned with the well being of its residents. (The Gothamist)

Happening in Our Community: Columbia University’s Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights is hosting a talk titled “Asylum Seekers: A Story of Civil and Human Rights” from 6 to 7 pm in Pulitzer Hall’s World Room. The talk will include speakers Arelis R. Hernández, Elora Mukherjee, Max Siegelbaum, Sarah Stillman, and Robe Imbriano and will be centered around how journalism can better cover issues of immigration, asylum seekers, and related topics. RSVP is required.

South African protest via Bwarchives