VOA immigration weekly recap, Feb. 9-15
Editor's note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com.
Trump administration moves quickly with mass deportation plans
Since taking office, U.S. President Donald Trump has declared illegal immigration a national emergency. The Trump administration ramped up its mass deportation efforts, expanding the use of expedited removal and using Guantanamo Bay as a detention site for certain migrants. The moves have raised concerns among immigration advocates, who argue that the policies lack transparency and could violate due process rights. VOA's immigration reporter, Aline Barros, reports.
US fires 20 immigration judges from backlogged courts
The administration of President Donald Trump has fired 20 immigration judges without explanation, a union official said Saturday amid sweeping moves to shrink the size of the federal government. On Friday, 13 judges who had yet to be sworn in and five assistant chief immigration judges were dismissed without notice, said Matthew Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, which represents federal workers. Two other judges were fired under similar circumstances last week. The Associated Press reports.
With doors closed to US, asylum-seekers turn to a new life in Mexico
When Angelica Delgado took a one-way flight to Mexico as she fled Cuba in December, she was set on seeking asylum in the United States. But after President Donald Trump effectively slammed the door on asylum-seekers crossing the U.S. border when he took office last month, the 23-year-old recalibrated her plans. She decided she would seek protection in Mexico. The Associated Press reports.
US deports 119 migrants from several nations to Panama
Panama has received the first U.S. flight carrying deportees from other nations as the administration of President Donald Trump takes Panama up on its offer to act as a stopover for expelled migrants, the Central American nation's president said Thursday. "Yesterday, a flight from the United States Air Force arrived with 119 people from diverse nationalities of the world," President Jose Raul Mulino said Thursday in his weekly news briefing. He said migrants from China, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other countries were on board. The Associated Press reports.
Chicago nonprofit helps undocumented migrants afraid to leave home
Amid nationwide immigration raids, a community organization in Chicago is helping undocumented migrants who say they are afraid to leave their homes for fear of being detained. Veronica Villafane narrates this report by Enrique Garcia Fuentes.
Arrests for illegal border crossings fall in Texas
An idled Border Patrol bus sat empty this past week, on standby for any migrants surrendering near the southern tip of Texas. Agents in two speedboats zipped by pockets of sandy shores, known landing spots for people entering the U.S. illegally from Mexico on inner tubes, but saw nothing suspicious. Once-busy river landings near the Texas border city of Mission were barren of the migrants who previously crossed there, although the riverbank was littered with clothes, plastic bracelets issued by smugglers and a teddy bear on an unusually cold Thursday morning. The Associated Press reports.
New York City mayor to allow ICE agents at Rikers jail
New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he will allow federal immigration officials to operate at the city's Rikers Island jail following a meeting Thursday with President Donald Trump's border czar. Adams said he will issue an executive order reestablishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence at the complex — one of the nation's largest and most notorious lockups — as had been the case under prior administrations. The Associated Press reports.
VOA60 Africa - Nigeria: Thousands of refugees return from Chad
Thousands of Nigerians who fled to Chad to escape jihadi violence in Nigeria's northeast have returned after more than a decade. Around 3,600 refugees arrived in Maiduguri, the regional capital of Borno State, aboard trucks.
Immigration around the world
Guam a doorway to US for Chinese asylum-seekers
President Donald Trump's immigration policy has mainly been focused on migrants trying to cross into the U.S. at its border with Mexico, some having made the perilous trek from as far as South America. Out in the western Pacific Ocean, some Chinese are taking an equally dangerous route to the U.S. VOA's Yu Yao and Jiu Dao have their story, narrated by Elizabeth Lee.
VOA Creole: Congressman asks Trump to renew TPS for Haitians
Republican Congressman Mike Lawler of New York told VOA in an exclusive interview that he will ask President Donald Trump to renew Temporary Protected Status for Haitians. TPS will expire for current holders in February 2026. Lawler told VOA that gang violence, drug and arms trafficking, and an overall lack of security make it untenable to deport the Haitians.
Radio offers connection for longtime Afghan refugee
Arriving as a refugee in Pakistan four decades ago, Besmillah Miakhil's first purchase was a radio. Now 88, Miakhil says broadcasts help keep him connected to his home country, Afghanistan. From Kohat, Pakistan, Muska Safi has the story, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.
News Brief
— Statement by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on indictment of CBP officer for drug and human smuggling.
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