While it is true that the U.S. recorded historically high numbers of migrant encounters at the southern border—surpassing two million annually in 2022 and 2023, this framing reflects key statistical distortions. Around 40% of these cases between 2021 and 2023 were immediately expelled under Title 42—a pandemic-era public health order that allowed border agents to remove migrants without formal processing (CBD.gov). Because Title 42 carried no legal penalties for repeat crossings, it also likely...

The year is 1984. The streets are alive with an unusual commotion in Guadeloupe, an island nestled between two folds of the Caribbean Sea. The crowd’s voices blend into one and infuse the air with music. The ground shakes under the rhythm of drums and the weight of dancing bodies. Five thousand people will gather on the town square of Pointe-à-Pitre over the course of three days. The man of honor is Marcel Lollia, but the crowd cries out the one name they knew him by – Vélo! Vélo! Vélo! Vélo lie...