Page 5 - Migrants

US plans for more migrant releases when asylum restrictions end next week

The Department of Homeland Security said more migrants may be released into the United States to pursue immigration cases when Trump-era asylum restrictions end next week in one of its most detailed assessments ahead of the major policy shift. The department reported faster processing for migrants in custody on the border, more temporary detention tents, staffing surges and increased criminal prosecutions of smugglers, noting progress on a plan announced in April. But the seven-page document dated Tuesday included no major structural changes amid unusually large numbers of migrants entering the country. More are expected with the end of Title 42 authority, under which migrants have been denied rights to seek asylum more than 2.5 million times on grounds of preventing spread of COVID-19. A federal judge in Washington ordered Title 42 to end December 21 but Republican-led states asked an appeals court to keep it in place. The Biden administration has also challenged some aspects of

US govt appeals ruling that would lift asylum restrictions for migrants

The US government said Wednesday it is appealing a court ruling that would otherwise lift asylum restrictions that have become the cornerstone of border enforcement in recent years. The enforcement rule first took effect in March 2020, denying migrants' rights to seek asylum under US and international law on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. The Homeland Security Department said it would file an appeal with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, challenging a November ruling by US District Judge Emmet Sullivan that ordered President Joe Biden's administration to lift the asylum restrictions. The restrictions were put in place under former President Donald Trump at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The practice was authorized under Title 42 of a broader 1944 law covering public health, and has been used to expel migrants more than 2.4 million times.

Almost 79% migrants availed PDS at their home locations, says study

This is because 79 per cent of them avail PDS only at their home locations, a new study has found

Dominican Republic expels 1,800 migrant children to Haiti, says Unicef

Dominican authorities have expelled at least 1,800 unaccompanied Haitian migrant children this year, sending them back to their crisis-stricken country, UNICEF said. The Dominican Republic denied the claim, which came Tuesday amid the government's intensifying crackdown on migration in response to a cholera outbreak and ongoing gang violence in Haiti. The two countries share a 390-kilometer border on the island of Hispaniola. The crackdown has provoked harsh criticism by international observers, including the United States, which have accused the country of mass deportations, racist treatment of migrants and detentions of Haitians in facilities with poor conditions. Among those fleeing to the Dominican Republic are girls and boys, many of whom are sent back to Haiti through different border points, where they have been received by UNICEF partners at the border, according to the organisation. The information was first reported by CNN, and confirmed by UNICEF, which declined to comm

Judge orders US govt to lift Trump-era asylum restrictions at border

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Biden administration to lift the Trump-era asylum restrictions that have been a cornerstone of border enforcement since the beginning of COVID-19. US District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled in Washington that enforcement must end immediately for families and single adults, calling the ban "arbitrary and capricious". The administration has not applied it to children travelling alone. Sullivan, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, wrote in a 49-page ruling that authorities failed to consider the impact on migrants and possible alternatives. The ruling appears to conflict with another in May by a federal judge in Louisiana that kept the asylum restrictions. If Sullivan's ruling stands, it would upend border enforcement. Migrants have been expelled from the United States more than 2.4 million times since the rule took effect in March 2020, denying migrants rights to seek asylum under US and international law on grounds of preventing the spread

US mulls Ukrainian-type parole for Venezuelan migrants, says officials

The Biden administration is developing plans for Venezuelans with financial sponsors to be granted parole to enter the United States, similar to how Ukrainians have been admitted after Russia's invasion, U.S. officials said Tuesday. Four officials offered broad outlines of the plan to deal with a large increase in Venezuelans arriving at the U.S. border with Mexico. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly. Venezuelans who cross the border illegally on land would be immediately returned to Mexico, two officials said. Currently, Mexico only accepts migrants expelled under Title 42 authority a pandemic-era rule that denies migrants rights to seek asylum and is designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 if they are from Guatemala, El Salvador or Honduras, in addition to Mexico. Venezuelans who qualify for parole would enter the U.S. at airports, two officials said, mirroring a program introduced in April that allows Ukrainia

UK needs more migrants to boost growth, says CBI business lobby survey

Three-quarters of respondents believe a lack of access to labor is threatening the UK's competitiveness as a place to employ people, the Confederation of British Industry said Tuesday.

At least 15 dead as two boats carrying 40 migrants sink in Greek waters

At least 15 people have died as two boats carrying migrants sank in Greek waters late Wednesday, and rescuers were looking for dozens still missing, authorities said early Thursday. The coast guard said 15 bodies had been recovered near the eastern island of Lesbos after a dinghy carrying about 40 people sank. Five people were rescued and three had been located on a rocky outcrop near the site of the sinking. A second rescue effort was launched several hundred kilometers (miles) to the west, near the island of Kythira, where a sailboat carrying about 100 migrants hit rocks and sank late Wednesday. Officials said 30 people had been rescued after that boat hit rocks off the village port of Diakofti on the east of the island. Winds in the area were up to 70 kph (45 mph). We could see the boat smashing against the rocks and people climbing up those rocks to try and save themselves. It was an unbelievable sight, Martha Stathaki, a local resident told The Associated Press. All the resid

Pope Francis urges Italians to have more children, welcome migrants

Pope Francis traveled to southern Italy on Sunday to close out an Italian church congress that coincided with Italy's national election, and delivered a message that hit on key domestic campaign issues including immigration. Neither Francis nor his hosts referred to the vote during the open-air Mass, though Italy's bishops conference had earlier urged Italians to cast ballots in the eagerly watched election that could bring Italy its first far-right government since World War II. At the end of the outdoor Mass in Matera, Francis spoke off the cuff asking Italians to have more children. I'd like to ask Italy: More births, more children, Francis said. Italy has one of the lowest birth rates in the world and Francis has frequently lamented its demographic winter. Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni, who campaigned on a God, family and homeland mantra, has also called for Italy to reverse its demographic trends by proposing bigger financial incentives for couples to have children. Francis

Boat carrying Haitian migrants sinks off Bahamas, killing 17; 25 rescued

A boat carrying Haitian migrants apparently capsized off the Bahamas early Sunday, and Bahamian security forces recovered the bodies of 17 people and rescued 25 others, authorities said.

Harmful US border policies damaging to Mexico, millions of migrants: IRC

Harmful border policies put in place by the US are damaging to Mexico and undermine the human rights of millions of migrants, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said.

Germany eases path to permanent residency for migrants with new bill

Tens of thousands of migrants, who have been living in Germany for years without permission to remain in the country, will be eligible for residency after the government approved a new migration bill

46 dead, 16 hospitalised after trailer of migrants found in south Texas

Forty-six people were found dead and 16 others were taken to hospitals after a tractor-trailer rig containing suspected migrants was found Monday on a remote back road in southwest San Antonio

Coronavirus rates plunge as decision nears on US asylum limits

One by one, a voice called out the names of 169 people released by US Border Patrol. Migrants rose from folding chairs in a clinic and walked to a table of blue-robed workers, who swabbed their mouths

Govt re-activates 21 monitoring centres to help migrant workers amid Covid

Once the pandemic situation eases, labour minister Bhupender Yadav and his deputy S Rameshwar Teli will travel extensively, interact with working class as well as with labour union members

Global remittances to rebound as economies recover from Covid impact: ADB

Growth in the money repatriated by migrant workers will slow to 4.2% in 2022 as base effects fade

Greece: 13 dead, others missing after a migrant boat capsizes in Aegean Sea

At least 13 people died after a migrant boat capsized in the Aegean Sea late Friday

Democrats dealt setback in bid to grant millions of migrants work permits

Senator Dick Durbin, the no. 2 Senate Democrat, told reporters that he was "disappointed and we're considering what options remain."

Covid concerns and migrants' issues spur EU to toughen border rules

The European Union on Tuesday launched a major revamp of the rules governing the movement of people and goods into and around Europe

UN migration agency records over 4,400 migrant deaths worldwide in 2021

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said that over 4,470 migrants have died in 2021 on their way across borders, exceeding last year's figures by more than 200."Despite repeated calls for concrete action to reduce the tragic loss of life during migration journeys worldwide every year, the death toll in 2021 has surpassed 4,470," the UN-affiliated agency said in a statement on Friday.Since 2014, the overall death toll has reached 45,400 migrants. Globally, the number of deaths in 2021 is already more than the 4,236 total recorded in 2020."COVID-19 has meant an unprecedented decrease in human mobility, but the Missing Migrants Project still documents deaths almost every day,'' said Frank Laczko, Director of IOM's Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC), where the project is based."Dozens of states have committed to the Global Compact for Migration but very few have engaged on Objective 8 to 'save lives and establish coordinated international efforts on missing ..