Migrants

Wheels of industry slow down, await workhorses from Bihar Assembly polls

With 30-60% of Bihar's migrant workforce on leave for Chhath and polls, industries from Tamil Nadu to Punjab face production slowdowns and labour shortages across key sectors

Long distance, insecure jobs keep Bihar migrants from voting in polls

For thousands of migrant workers from Bihar living across Tamil Nadu, the idea of travelling over 2,000 km home to cast their vote in the two-phase elections this November remains a distant dream, as their insecure jobs barely allow them to take a day off. Families that left their home state and settled in Tamil Nadu for low-paying jobs also do not see travel as an option this poll season. "Most of us in the construction sector stay at the site, cook our own food, and eat there. We rarely go out. We work on holidays and sometimes past sunset to earn a little extra for our families," said Ajay Kumar, a construction worker. "In case I decide to go to Patna, I would need six days for the round trip and a few more to spend with my family. So, I may not go home," he added. Many families from Bihar are now spread across Tamil Nadusome as far as Kanyakumari, bordering Keralaand work in sectors such as rubber glove manufacturing, coir production, domestic work, and other industries. "They

At least 68 migrants die, 74 still missing after boat sinks off Yemen coast

The tragedy occurred Saturday night when a smuggling boat carrying 154 Ethiopian migrants capsized around 11 pm due to severe weather conditions and strong winds in the waters off Abyan province

Citizens' group condemns incidents targeting Bengali-speaking migrants

A group of prominent citizens under the banner Bharatiya Bhasha Samooh has expressed concern over the recent incidents related to Bengali-speaking migrant labourers in various parts of the country. The group said it believed that linguistic attack is a "serious threat to the diversity of our country". "In the last one month, there have been reports from various parts of the country that Bengali-speaking migrant labourers are being harassed, beaten, arrested, deported to Bangladesh, and not released despite valid identity documents being shown to the police," the group said in a statement on Sunday. The group feels that the only "crime" of Bengali-speaking people is that they speak in their mother tongue. It claimed that migrant workers from Delhi, Maharashtra and Odisha were directly sent to Bangladesh despite possessing valid Aadhaar and PAN cards. "We strongly condemn the arrest and harassment of these Bengali-speaking citizens. These actions violate the rights of migrant worker

UK, France agree to 'one in, one out' migrant deal to curb sea crossings

With record numbers of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel in small boats this year more than 21,000 have done so through this week Starmer is under pressure to rein in the numbers

Number of migrants reaching UK in small boats hits a single-day high

UK government figures Sunday showed nearly 1,200 migrants arrived in the country Saturday in small boats from France across the English Channel, the highest number recorded on a single day so far this year. The latest Home Office figures show that 1,194 migrants arrived in 18 boats Saturday in what were settled weather conditions, bringing the provisional annual total so far to 14,811. That's 42% higher than the same point last year, an increase that has piled pressure on the Labour government, which returned to power nearly a year ago partly on disillusionment with the previous Conservative administration's efforts to get a grip on the numbers making the crossing. Having ditched the Conservative government's plan to send migrants who arrived in the UK by unauthorised means to Rwanda, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government would get control by smashing the gangs and the business models that sustain their smuggling operations. Since gaining power, Starmer's government has .

Trump admin releases migrants to shelters it once threatened to prosecute

Trump administration releases migrants to border shelters it previously warned might face prosecution for aiding migrants, causing confusion and straining already scarce resources

Britain set to make it harder for migrants to get permanent residency

Under the current system, migrants can apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK after they have lived and worked there for five years

Nearly 9,000 migrant deaths recorded last year by UN migration agency

Nearly 9,000 people have died last year attempting to cross borders, the UN agency for migration said on Friday. The death toll set a new record for the fifth year in a row. The International Organization for Migration recorded at least 8,938 migrant deaths in 2024. However, the real death toll is likely much higher given that many deaths go unreported or undocumented IOM said in a statement. The rise of deaths is terrible in and of itself, but the fact that thousands remained unidentified each year is even more tragic, Julia Black, coordinator of IOM's Missing Migrants Projects said in the statement. Asia was the region with the most reported fatalities with 2,788 migrant deaths, followed by the Mediterranean Sea with 2,452 and Africa with 2,242. IOM said there were also an unprecedented 341 lives lost in the Caribbean", 233 in Europe and 174 in the Darin crossing between Colombia and Panama, a new record. News of the record death toll comes only days after the agency announced i

Trump govt lines up Latin American cooperation for migrant deportations

Venezuelan migrants handed over to Mexico like it's a US immigration detention facility. Families from Central Asia flown to Panama and Costa Rica to await voluntary repatriation to their countries. Venezuelans from Guantanamo Bay handed off on a Honduran tarmac and returned to Caracas. It all sends the unmistakable message that trying to get to the US border is no longer worth it. US President Donald Trump's administration has laid the groundwork to reverse the region's migration flow. And while the numbers remain modest, an outline of how the US hopes to overcome limited detention space as it gears up its deportation machine is emerging. Making deals across Latin America In its first month, the Trump administration has reached deals with Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama to act as stopovers or destinations for migrants expelled from the U.S. It has brokered deals with Venezuela to pick up its people in Texas, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Honduras. But no

4 employees fired over payments reimbursing NY for migrants' hotel costs

Four federal employees were fired Tuesday over payments to reimburse New York City for hotel costs for migrants, Department of Homeland Security officials said. The workers are accused of circumventing leadership to make the transactions, which have been standard for years through a program that helps with costs to care for a surge in migration. However, officials did not give details on how the four had violated any policies. On Monday, President Donald Trump's aide Elon Musk posted on X that his team had discovered payments used to house migrants in luxury hotels with money intended for disaster relief. Musk blasted the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is part of Homeland Security, and called the payments gross insubordination. FEMA's acting administrator, Cameron Hamilton, later said the payments were suspended and the employees who authorized them would be held accountable. The terminated employees were FEMA's chief financial officer, two program analysts and a grant

Deportation flights from US to Colombia resume after diplomatic spat

Colombian migrants returning home Tuesday on Colombian military flights described being shackled during earlier US flights that were blocked by their country's leader in a dispute with President Donald Trump that nearly sparked a trade war. Deportation flights between the US and Colombia resumed Tuesday after the diplomatic drama over the weekend that provided clues as to how the Trump administration would deal with countries blocking large-scale plans to deport migrants who entered illegally. Colombia's President Gustavo Petro initially refused to accept two US military planes with migrants, prompting Trump to threaten 25% tariffs on Colombian exports and other sanctions. Colombia then relented and said it would accept the migrants, but fly them on Colombian military flights that Petro said would guarantee them dignity. Two Colombian air force planes landed Tuesday in Bogota with more than 200 of the migrants, many of them women and children. Petro welcomed them with a post on X ..

US throws out policies limiting arrests of migrants at sensitive locations

Officers enforcing immigration laws will now be able to arrest migrants at sensitive locations such as schools and churches after the Trump administration threw out policies limiting where those arrests could be made. The move reverses guidance that for over a decade has restricted two key federal immigration agencies -- Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection -- from carrying out immigration enforcement in sensitive locations. "This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens -- including murders and rapists -- who have illegally come into our country. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest," the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Tuesday. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement guidance dates back to 2011. The Customs and Border Protection issued similar guidance in 2013.

Mexico tests app allowing migrants to send alert if detained in US

Mexico is developing a cellphone app that will allow migrants to warn relatives and local consulates if they think they are about to be detained by the US immigration department, a senior official said Friday. The move is in response to President-elect Donald Trump's threats to carry out mass deportations after he takes office on January 20. The app has been rolled out for small-scale testing and appears to be working very well, said Juan Ramn de la Fuente, Mexico's secretary of foreign affairs. He said the app would allow users to press a tab that would send an alert notification to previously chosen relatives and the nearest Mexican consulate. De la Fuente described it as a sort of panic button. In case you find yourself in a situation where detention is imminent, you push the alert button, and that sends a signal to the nearest consulate, he said. US authorities are obliged to give notice to home-country consulates when a foreign citizen is detained. Mexico says it has beefed u

Number of domestic migrants drops by 12% to 402 mn since 2011: EAC-PM

The number of domestic migrants is estimated to have lowered by around 12 per cent to 40.20 crore between 2011 and 2023, indicating increased economic opportunities across the country, said a report by prime minister's economic advisory panel EAC-PM. According to a working paper by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), the number of domestic migrants stood at 40,20,90,396 in 2023, which was 11.78 per cent lower compared to the figure registered as per Census 2011. The paper titled '400 Million Dreams! Examining volume and directions of domestic migration in India using novel high frequency data', said as per Census 2011, the total number of migrants stood at 45,57,87,621. "Overall domestic migration in India is slowing. We estimate the overall number of migrants in the country, as of 2023, to be 40,20,90,396. This is about 11.78 per cent lower as compared to the number of migrants enumerated as per Census 2011 (45,57,87,621)," it said. Consequently, the pape

Chitvan Gill's Dreaming a Paradise captures lives of Delhi's migrants

Chitvan Gill explores existential questions that concern and confront each one of us through the stories of residents in an unauthorised colony in Delhi

As Trump threatens mass deportations, Central America braces for migrants

As dozens of deported migrants pack into a sweltering airport facility in San Pedro Sula, Norma sits under fluorescent lights clutching a foam cup of coffee and a small plate of eggs all that was waiting for her in Honduras. The 69-year-old Honduran mother had never imagined leaving her Central American country. But then came the anonymous death threats to her and her children and the armed men who showed up at her doorstep threatening to kill her, just like they had killed one of her relatives days earlier. Norma, who requested anonymity out of concern for her safety, spent her life savings of USD 10,000 on a one-way trip north at the end of October with her daughter and granddaughter. But after her asylum petitions to the US were rejected, they were loaded onto a deportation flight. Now, she's back in Honduras within reach of the same gang, stuck in a cycle of violence and economic precarity that haunts deportees like her. They can find us in every corner of Honduras, she said i

Turkey to work for Syrian migrants to return home safely, says minister

NATO member Turkey hosts some 3 million Syrian migrants and refugees, making it the biggest host of Syrians who have fled the civil war. It also controls swathes of land in northern Syria after

Here's what Trump 2.0 could mean for trade, migrants, and climate change

Trump on Monday pledged to impose tariffs on the United States' top three trading partners including a 25 per cent tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada

A million migrants in US rely on temporary protection that Trump may target

Maribel Hidalgo fled her native Venezuela a year ago with a 1-year-old son, trudging for days through Panama's Darien Gap, then riding the rails across Mexico to the United States. They were living in the US when the Biden administration announced Venezuelans would be offered Temporary Protected Status, which allows people already in the United States to stay and work legally if their homelands are deemed unsafe. People from 17 countries, including Haiti, Afghanistan, Sudan and recently Lebanon, are currently receiving such relief. But President-elect Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, have promised mass deportations and suggested they would scale back the use of TPS that covers more than 1 million immigrants. They have highlighted unfounded claims that Haitians who live and work legally in Springfield, Ohio, as TPS holders were eating their neighbors' pets. Trump also amplified disputed claims made by the mayor of Aurora, Colorado, about Venezuelan gangs taking over an ...