Latest news with #migrants
Reuters
an hour ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Mexico president says 14 Mexicans held in US detention center 'Alligator Alcatraz'
MEXICO CITY, July 22 (Reuters) - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that 14 Mexican nationals were being held at the U.S. "Alligator Alcatraz" detention center and that her government was seeking their repatriation. "All arrangements are being made to ensure they are repatriated immediately to Mexico," Sheinbaum said in her daily news conference. The facility sits some 37 miles (60 km) from Miami in a vast subtropical wetland teeming with alligators, crocodiles and pythons, fearsome imagery the White House has leveraged to show its determination to purge migrants it says were wrongly allowed to stay in the U.S. under former President Joe Biden. Since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, a total of 73,533 people have been returned to Mexico, mostly by air, including 67,008 Mexican nationals, Sheinbaum said in another daily briefing this month. Mexican father Martin Gonzalez told local radio station W that his sons, Carlos and Alejandro, were currently detained in the detention center. "It's really bad. The facility is completely closed, not even sunlight gets in. The lights are on 24-7, so they don't even know if it's day or night," Gonzalez said. He said his two sons were sent to the facility after Carlos, 26, was stopped by a state trooper while driving. He was visiting the U.S. as a tourist and had a valid visa, his father added. The trooper asked for the car's registration, which was missing. When his brother, Alejandro, arrived to provide the document, he was detained too, and both were sent to the facility, their father said. "Obviously my sons are desperate to get out of this situation," he said. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond immediately to a request for comment about the brothers' case. Mexico's consul in Orlando, Juan Sabines, said in a video shared Monday alongside the men's father that the two were in "legal limbo," because a lawyer appointed to their case did not have access to their file, nor had a judge been assigned to the case.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Dem. Congresswoman says she needs MORE migrants in her area for 'redistricting purposes'
A New York City Democrat has said she needed more migrants in her congressional district for 'redistricting purposes'. Rep. Yvette Clarke said on a Zoom call in January 2024, that has recently resurfaced online, that the Big Apple could take in more migrants. She said: 'I'm from Brooklyn, New York, we have a diaspora that can absorb a significant number of these migrants. When I hear colleagues talk about the doors of the inn being closed, no room at the inn. 'I'm saying I need more people in my district just for redistricting purposes, and those members could clearly fit here.' Redistricting is the process of dividing up new electoral district boundaries. Therefore, Clarke's adversaries said her comment showed her desire to move more people who would vote in her favor into her constituency. Clarke's comments were brought up during a Homeland Security Committee in March this year - in which President Joe Biden 's border security policies were discussed. Rep. Reli Crane, an Arizona Republican, played the clip, saying: 'Her words outline Biden's failed plans for illegal immigration to gain political influence.' Her comments came at a time when Democrats in the state were passing a congressional map that redid district lines. Districts in New York City did not change. After recently resurfacing, Clarke's previous comments have sparked fury online amongst conservatives, who blamed her for trying to 'import votes.' One person posted: 'So we're just saying the quiet part out loud now? Import votes. Manipulate districts. Call it equity.' They continued: 'This isn't representation, it's population engineering for political survival. And every American should be outraged.' Another person posted: 'She's openly admitting to bringing in votes to cling to power. Did she think this wouldn't leak, or have Democrats become this brazen? This isn't democracy, it's blatant voter fraud on a massive scale. Shameful.' 'This has always been their game plan. They can't win on policy, so they must rig it', another added. President Donald Trump has been cracking down on illegal immigration after his return to the White House earlier this year. An operation in New York in April saw 133 people arrested across Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, Rouses Point and Massena. Stephen Miller, the president's deputy chief of staff and chief architect of his immigration policies, has set a target of at least 3,000 immigration arrests a day. Clarke's previous comments on redistricting have sparked fury online amongst Conservatives Miller and 'Border Czar' Tom Homan have both suggested that the numbers are not currently where they want them. Homan backed the ambitious new benchmark, insisting: 'We've gotta' increase these arrests and removals.' 'The numbers are good, but I'm not satisfied. I haven't been satisfied all year long.' During Trump's first 100 days back in office, ICE officials arrested 66,463 illegal immigrants.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Migrant hotel fury spreads: Labour accused of 'taking advantage' of communities by moving in scores of asylum seekers - as protesters descend on hotels in London and Norfolk amid fears of a 'summer of riots'
Labour has been accused of 'taking advantage' of small tight-knit communities by bussing dozens of single male migrants into their hotels amid fears Britain could face a second summer of riots. Sir Keir Starmer has been warned that the UK is a 'powder keg' that could explode into a repeat of the street violence that followed the Southport murders 12 months ago - unless Labour urgently gets a grip on migrant hotels. It came as his deputy, Angela Rayner, warned that anger at high levels of illegal immigration is risking social cohesion in Britain's poorest communities and must be addressed. The Park Hotel, in Diss, Norfolk, last night became the centre of another anti-migrant protest following a string of violent demonstrations in Epping, Essex, with more action planned across the country over the weekend. Around 150 people gathered outside the 19-room hotel for a 'peaceful' protest after the Home Office announced plans to change it from housing asylum-seeker families to single men. Footage posted on social media, including by supporters of far right activist Tommy Robinson, showed clashes between pro and anti-migrant groups and there are fears the change could bring tension to the sleepy market town. It follows several nights of clashes outside the Bell Hotel, in Epping, after an asylum seeker was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl eight days after arriving in the UK. And there are reports further protest could descend on London's financial district, Canary Wharf, this evening. Yesterday, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage claimed Britain was getting close to 'civil disobedience on a vast scale' - and protesters are already plotting to take action outside more migrant hotels in the coming days. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, the leader of South Norfolk Council warned the 'anger' in Diss and around the country is 'real' as he echoed fears there could be a second summer of riots. Conservative Councillor Daniel Elmer said: 'The risk of public discontent is real. I think that is unarguable. The fact that we already have protests proves that there is a risk of the public getting very, very upset with this to the point they're prepared to go out on the streets to stop it.' Speaking about the protests at the hotel, he added: 'I think the anger here is completely understandable. I think they probably feel a bit taken advantage of because this was meant to be a family hotel. 'It was largely accepted two years ago on that basis. And now it feels like the Home Office is changing the goalposts again.' Since 2023, the 19-room hotel - in the centre of Diss - has been used to house asylum seeker families, including several women and children, but there are fears the change to single adult men could bring tension to the market town. Migrant hotels usually house two asylum seekers per room, meaning there could be at least 38 men bussed into Diss. But the council say the Home Office has not confirmed the numbers yet and they are 'incredibly disappointed' at the short notice. Mr Elmer said that it is crucial how 'safe people feel' in the 'very small tight-knit community' of Diss, adding: 'It is indisputably true that lots of young adult men make people feel less safe than women and children. 'I understand why people are angry, and I would never want belittle that anger. I think it is obviously concerning if there is a risk of anything becoming violent.' As well as the protests in Diss and Epping, demonstrations have already been planned in other parts of Norfolk and Worcestershire on Saturday, stoking fears more riots are on the way. Mr Elmer said it was 'absolutely true' that there is a risk of more violence on the streets this summer. Amid growing fears of further violence, Angela Rayner today told the Cabinet this morning they had to 'acknowledge the real concerns people have' about immigration and economic insecurity, hours after the anti-migrant clashes in Norfolk. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said today that Ms Rayner warned the Cabinet '17 of the 18 places that saw the worst of the disorder last summer ranked at the top of the most deprived, and while Britain was a successful multi-ethnic, multi-faith country, the Government had to show it had a plan to address people's concerns (and) provide opportunities for everyone to flourish'. 'I think she sees a link between concerns that people have about where the Government is acting on their behalf and acting in their interests, and a range of factors,' he said. 'High levels of immigration over the last 10 years, including illegal immigration, but also, importantly, the cost of living, economic security, the rapid pace of technological change and deindustrialisation and changes in the economy, these are all factors that have had an impact on our social fabric and social cohesion.' The demonstration in Norfolk started with around 60 people shouting 'we want our country back'. They were met by about 30 counter-protesters from Stand Up To Racism holding signs that read 'refugees welcome'. Footage posted on social media shows protesters - some wearing Union Jack bucket hats and holding St George's flags - and counter-protesters standing on both sides of the road outside the hotel. But as tension mounted, they clashed with one another, with protesters crossing the road to confront the counter-protesters. Loud chants of 'stop the boats' and 'send them home' could be heard, while protesters - including children - unfurled a banner which said 'enough is enough'. A counter-protester holding a 'Stop the far right' placard attempted to shout over them. A protester using a megaphone could be heard confronting those opposing the demonstration with questions about why migrants should be housed in the UK. As the group grew to about 150, the refugee supporters then left the hotel and carried on elsewhere. Julian Bareham, 71, who has lived opposite the Park Hotel for 22 years, complained: 'We don't know what these people are capable of.' He said they are 'not going to socially integrate', adding: 'If there were too many of them wandering around Diss then I would feel alien within my own town. 'The hotel used to be a nice friendly community hub, an amenity that was well-respected and useful for those needing an overnight stay who were coming here for business. It is a huge loss.' 'After lockdown, the hotel never really recovered and the owners sold it to new owners who did a deal with the government and this deal, I believe has been a disaster for the town.' A pensioner who lives opposite the hotel said she no longer feels safe in the area. Sheila, 78, who didn't want to give her surname, explained: 'I think it's dreadful that all men will be staying here. 'We are lucky that the protests yesterday were peaceful and didn't develop into riots that they have done previously elsewhere - but perhaps it could.' Maureen Scott, 68, who has lived in the town all her life and had her wedding reception at the hotel 46 years ago, said she had been content with families living there and hoped the single men moving in would 'keep themselves to themselves'. She added: 'I think it could have an effect on jobs here but I have no idea how long these people will be here. It is the great unknown.' A 55-year-old man who lives near the hotel was supportive of the asylum seekers, however, and expressed concern about the tone of the protests. 'Yesterday was absolute chaos, people were shouting far right and ill-informed things about how these people will be molesting and raping the women and children of Diss,' he said. 'I felt absolutely threatened in my own home, they were saying that they are going to be coming every Sunday at 2pm. This is going to disrupt our peaceful family life and I am worried. 'We have had asylum seekers residing next door for the last three years or so, roughly, and there has never been any issues. It is far better and quieter than when the hotel was in operation. 'I hear families laughing and playing in the garden compared to late night music and revelry from weddings and other functions which sees bottles thrown into my property and smashed glass in the road which was always happening, fights with drunk people. It has been pleasant since the asylum seekers have been residing there. 'I am open-minded to men living there but I think I would prefer it to be families as it has been lovely so far.' A police officer was seen with blood running down his cheek outside The Bell Hotel in Epping on July 20 South Norfolk Council has opposed plans to change the use of the hotel to single adult male migrants, saying it only learned about it in a brief email from Whitehall last week. The Home Office is in contact with Adrian Ramsay MP and the council. The local authority argued families at the hotel had become part of the local community and replacing them with single men could see tension boil over as it has in other parts of the country. The council's deputy leader, Councillor Graham Minshull, said the Home Office plans to change the hotel to house single adult men was 'deeply disappointing'. A spokesman for Norfolk Police said: 'Officers maintained a presence in Denmark Street, Diss, on Monday evening to ensure the safety of all involved at a planned protest outside a commercial premises. No arrests were made.' The Diss protest comes after hundreds of furious locals gathered outside the Bell Hotel in Epping on Thursday after Ethiopian resident Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with sex attacks on schoolgirls. The protest started peacefully, but descended into frenzied violence when anti-migrant demonstrators clashed with counter protesters and police. Eight police officers were injured on Thursday, while protests have continued to take place in the days since. Sunday was the fourth in just nine days - with around 500 people gathering outside the hotel. Although it was calmer on Sunday, troublemakers hid their faces in the crowd and there were a few flashpoints when bottles and firecrackers were thrown at police. The Prime Minister is facing pressure to act to prevent a repeat of 2024, when towns and cities were hit by violent, often racist protests triggered by the Southport child murders. At the same time, the leader of Epping Forest District Council warned that far right groups could feed off discontent if migrant hotels are not closed. Chris Whitbread told BBC Newsnight that the council had warned the Home Office the hotel was the wrong site, adding: 'It's a powder keg now and we need to get something done and we need the Home Office to listen.' He went on: 'My concerns are for next week, or this week, if Tommy Robinson turns up, if we see another example of what happened on Thursday evening, we really have got to get this back under control. He told Mr Robinson - whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon he was 'not welcome' and should stay away, but added: 'What we want is the Home Office to act sensibly, recognise that this hotel is in the wrong location for this type of use and close it as quickly as possible.' Mr Farage has also weighed in on the Epping protests, saying: 'I don't think anybody in London can understand just how close we are to civil disobedience on a vast scale in this country.' He accepted there were some 'bad eggs that turned up', including 'the usual far-Right thugs', but added: 'Do I understand how people in Epping feel? You bet your life I do. 'Don't underestimate the simmering anger and disgust there is in this country that we are letting in every week, in fact some days, many hundreds of undocumented young males, many of whom come from cultures in which women and young girls are not even treated as second-class citizens. 'I do understand the genuine upset and anger, and I'll bet you that most of the people outside that hotel in Epping weren't far-Right or far-Left or anything like that, they were genuinely concerned families.' The Reform UK leader warned Britain is on the brink of 'societal collapse' as he vowed to halve crime in five years if her becomes prime minister. Launching a six-week policy blitz on tackling 'lawless Britain', Mr Farage said yesterday: 'We're actually facing, in many parts of our country, nothing short of societal collapse. 'People are scared to go out to the shops, scared to let their kids out. That is a society that is degraded, and it's happening very, very rapidly. Respect for those in uniform has declined massively.' The PM's official spokesperson has said there are now just over 200 migrant hotels, down from 400 under the Conservatives. But they failed to address whether the Epping protests will accelerate the Government's efforts to close these hotels. The cost of policing protests outside the Epping hotel has reached £100,000, police said. On Sunday, more than 100 demonstrators assemble outside the hotel with some chanting 'save our kids'. Thursday's demonstration was one of a series of protests outside the hotel since asylum seeker Kebatu was charged with sexual assault following an incident where he is alleged to have attempted to kiss a 14-year-old girl. Kebatu denied the charge when he appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on Thursday. Essex Police said six people were arrested on Sunday evening and remain in custody, including a 17-year-old male on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a police car. Four were arrested on Sunday for alleged offences during Thursday's protest, police said.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
UK to use facial recognition AI to stop adult migrants posing as children
The government plans to use AI technology to verify the age of migrants that arrive in the UK in an attempt to stop adults pretending to be children.A report carried out by the government's independent immigration inspector found cases where adult migrants had been classified as children - and cases where child migrants had been wrongly classified as the asylum system makes it easier for children to apply to stay and last year 56% of migrants who claimed to be children were either assessed to be adults or later admitted they were 18 or News understands the government plans to use existing technology that was created for online retailers that sell age-restricted products. Border Security and Asylum Minster Angela Eagle said that the AI is trained on millions of images of faces and was "able to produce an age estimate with a known degree of accuracy for an individual whose age is unknown or disputed".Facial Age Estimation offers a "potentially rapid and simple means" for testing judgements when assessing age, Eagle immigration officials and social workers have to produce an assessment of the actual age of migrants claiming to be under 18, but both the Home Office and the independent immigration inspector have said accurately assessing an age is "challenging".David Bolt, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, said the absence of a "foolproof test" of age it was "inevitable that some age assessments will be wrong".In a sample of 100 case files, inspectors found that of 38 people who had been initially assessed as an adult by the Home Office, 22 were later assessed by a local authority to be under Bolt's report was prepared before the government announced its plans for AI facial government said it would trial the technology ahead of an excepted roll out in 2026. A tender for providers of the technology will be launched in technology is already used in the private sector by banks and online retailers to verify the ages of customers buying products such as government is now encouraging the companies who have pioneered that technology to take part in a Home Office procurement process.A senior Home Office source said they hoped to "leverage the power of the private sector" by working with companies who are "investing in this in the billions". The previous Conservative government introduced a plan to examine the bones and teeth of some migrants in order to verify their Labour ministers are thought to be sceptical about the plan because it relied on people being taken to separate facilities and instead wanted a verification system that could be used at the Bolt's report noted the safeguarding risk of a child incorrectly assessed to be an adult having to share a room with an adult stranger – as well as an adult incorrectly assessed as a child being placed with other inspector highlighted the case of a male small boat arrival who claimed they were 17, who the Home Office assessed to be 22 due to physical characteristics such as his "deep voice", "fully developed facial structure" and "thick black stubble".He criticised the Home Office's use of "generic physical characteristics" and "failing to take into account the young person's individual circumstances".The report also said some migrants were signing "Statement of Age" forms without properly understanding what they were signing after their long and often-arduous journeys. This led to ages later being report also criticised the "lack of curiosity" of immigration officers about age assessment decisions that were later overturned and that no lessons were learnt from overturned government has accepted all eight of the recommendations Mr Bolt made in his report, including on increased training for immigration officers and improving chief executive of the Refugee Council, Enver Solomon, said he was "not convinced" that using AI tools was the correct said the inspector's report highlighted concerns about children being put in unsafe situations and said "these technologies continue to raise serious questions about accuracy, ethics and fairness".
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Mexico's Sheinbaum says 14 Mexicans held in "Alligator Alcatraz" detention center
MEXICO CITY, July 22 (Reuters) - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that 14 Mexican nationals were being held at the U.S. "Alligator Alcatraz" detention center and that her government was seeking their repatriation. "All arrangements are being made to ensure they are repatriated immediated to Mexico," Sheinbaum said in her daily news conference. The facility sits some 37 miles (60 km) from Miami in a vast subtropical wetland teeming with alligators, crocodiles and pythons, fearsome imagery the White House has leveraged to show its determination to purge migrants it says were wrongly allowed to stay in the country under former President Joe Biden's administration. Since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, a total of 73,533 people have been returned to Mexico, mostly by air, including 67,008 Mexican nationals, Sheinbaum said in one of her daily briefings earlier this month.
