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Uprising’s guest expert Robert Jensen, Professor of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, analyzes today’s news headlines:

President Obama has ordered a review of his administration’s deportation policies. After many months of escalating actions by undocumented immigrants and their advocates involving civil disobedience in DC and at the border, and a hunger strike at a Washington detention center, President Obama has ordered a review of his deportation policies. According to a White House release, the review will explore ways to “conduct enforcement more humanely within the confines of the law.” Close to 2 million immigrants have been deported under Obama—more than under any president in U.S. history. Click here for the Huffington Post article about the story.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee has sharply criticized the US for a raft of issues including NSA surveillance, detainee abuse, drone strikes, the death penalty, gun violence, and racial inequality. The committee is tasked with upholding the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Guardian newspaper called the committee’s grilling of the US delegation, “an act of public shaming.” Committee member Walter Kälin specifically pointed out the huge numbers of wrongful death convictions and ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws and how they disproportionately impact African Americans. Click here for a Guardian newspaper article about the story.

And finally, yet another ugly legacy of the US war in Iraq reared its head this week. A new law under consideration, aimed specifically at Iraq’s Shite population, could legalize marriage for girls as young as 8 or 9 years old. The bill would also make it legal for a husband to rape his wife. Click here for a Huffington Post article about the story.