Immigration, Migration Archives

Nearly 3.7 Million Ukrainians Are Refugees With Millions More Internally Displaced

24Mar

By Jacob DavenportNo Comments

Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Brief

Nearly 3.7 Million Ukrainians Are Refugees With Millions More Internally Displaced

More than 3.5 Ukrainians have fled their country as of March 23, 2022 in the outbreak of war. Photo credit: CBS News. EU Pledges Financial Support For Receiving Countries March 24, 2022--As the Russian incursion continues, more and more Ukrainians escape their battle-beaten, war-torn country. To date, nearly 3.7 million Ukrainians have fled the country. Overall, the United Nations says the war has impacted 12 million. Once inside the European Union, immigrants with visas have access to the entire European Union. The Schengen area SchengenVisaInfo.com is a consortium of 26 European countries that allows unrestricted personal travel between nations for periods up to 90-days. Based on the free movement of people in this visa-free zone, the world's largest visa-free zone, Ukrainia...

Ukraine Could Become ‘Europe’s Largest Refugee Crisis’ In A Century

2Mar

By Jacob DavenportNo Comments

Globalization, Disintegration, Nationalism, Populism, Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Brief

Ukraine Could Become ‘Europe’s Largest Refugee Crisis’ In A Century

Neighbors, Humanitarians Respond To Refugee Crisis In Ukraine Editor's Note: As Russia wages a brutal war on its neighbor Ukraine, people are fleeing the country en masse spurring a call for humanitarian funding and action. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates that up to 4 million Ukrainians may seek refuge in other countries. The agency is seeking $1.7 billion in funds to help it provide humanitarian relief to refugees as well as the millions of people who stay behind in Ukraine. The flood of people seeking refuge could become "Europe's largest refugee crisis this century," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said this week. "Casualty numbers are rising fast. This is the darkest hour for the people of Ukraine," UN Humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said, accor...

The Weird History of the Venezuela-Colombia Relationship Under Chavismo

28Feb

By Ernesto RodriguezNo Comments

Diplomacy and International Law, Domestic Politics, Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Analysis

The Weird History of the Venezuela-Colombia Relationship Under Chavismo

Photo of Colombia-Venezuela border by El Espectador. By Ernesto Rodriguez February 28, 2022—Neighbors can be a complex issue in international politics. While having an economic and political ally next door can be beneficial—after all, that’s the whole conceit of the European Union—it doesn’t always work that way. When you have a neighbor that has significant political differences or is even an open enemy, it can be catastrophic. Just ask Ukraine. In South America, relations between Colombia and Venezuela are quite complicated. They have been difficult and complex since Hugo Chávez-led Chavismo, a radical left-wing ideology, came to power in the late 1990s. A Shared History And Culture The two countries share a 2,219-km (1,379-mile) border, a common language and many si...

Australia Has Ruled, And It’s A Grand-Slam Crackdown On Speech

16Jan

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Democracy, Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Analysis

Australia Has Ruled, And It’s A Grand-Slam Crackdown On Speech

Three-Panel Judge Backs Immigration Official's Right to Make Personal Decision over Visa Status January 16, 2022—A three-judge panel made a decision today in the case of Novak Djokovic versus an immigration minister, and the decision is final. The 20-time-Grand Slam title champion lost his appeal to stay in the country; the government's deportation order stood, and Novak Djokovic left the country. Game over. What Happened? The troubling part of the story is the legal reasoning behind the decision. The court order on January 16 said, "reasons to be published at a later date." Ruling by three-judge panel that gave the final word in the Novak Djokovic visa case. In short, it was not because of Djokovic's vaccination status or visa status. Either one of those issues, if they ...

As Migrants Freeze on EU-Belarus Border, Political Tensions Heat Up

11Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Eastern Europe, Globalization, Disintegration, Nationalism, Populism, Human rights, Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Brief, Types of News: Videos

As Migrants Freeze on EU-Belarus Border, Political Tensions Heat Up

Photo Source: Belarus Government November 11, 2021--Political tensions between the European Union and the dictatorship of Belarus are rising, and the lives of thousands of migrants are caught quite literally in the middle. President Alexander Lukashenko, whom many call the last dictator in Europe, has been systematically encouraging migrants into his country only to push them across the border into Europe. Now, as cold weather sets in, thousands of migrants are camped between the Poland and Belarus border, under siege. Belarus encourages visa-free travel through the Minsk airport from Turkey. Migrants are reportedly coming from war-torn countries of Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Yesterday, the Belarus border officials said they met with delegates from the UN High Commissioner for Refuge...

ESSAYS: History Is Cyclical, And Humans Are Migratory

31Aug

By Ernesto RodriguezNo Comments

Immigration, Migration

ESSAYS: History Is Cyclical, And Humans Are Migratory

Ernesto Rodriguez moved to Madrid, Spain in 2019, escaping the political and economic crises in Venezuela. History doesn’t repeat itself exactly, but it does rhyme. Immigrant. It’s a loaded word. Honestly, it took a few months for me to assume it as mine. Its three syllables need to cover a crisis, a trauma, and a common name for more than 5 million Venezuelans. But it’s not just attributed to us. It’s also the reality of my grandparents, who had to leave Spain due to the economic crisis after the Spanish civil war. It's also true of for millions of displaced refugees from the Middle East, or even of a young person moving to Los Angeles to try his or her hand at showbiz. As the Uruguayan singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler sings, “Somos una especie en viaje.” We are a species of trave...

The Hidden Heroes of the Afghan Refugee Crisis

25Aug

By Spencer HayesNo Comments

Human rights, Immigration, Migration, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, UN Security Council, Types of News: Brief

The Hidden Heroes of the Afghan Refugee Crisis

August 25, 2021--As observers around the world watch in horror the collapse of human rights in a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, humanitarians are stepping up to the plate to assist vulnerable members of Afghan society. Governments Relocating Refugees In a press briefing this week, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price discussed successful relocations from Afghanistan. He credited a number of contributions by countries in the relocation efforts. Specifically, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Italy, Bahrain, and Germany. These governments have assisted in the transit of at-risk Afghans, US citizens, and other Afghan evacuees. Alongside those efforts, Germany, Spain, and Italy have deployed armed troops to Afghanistan to assist in the evacuation. These forces are...

Afghanistan’s Fall Creates The Worst Humanitarian Crisis of the Year

19Aug

By Spencer HayesNo Comments

Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Brief

Afghanistan’s Fall Creates The Worst Humanitarian Crisis of the Year

Scenes of chaos at the Kabul airport. August 19, 2021-- The jaws of Hell opened this week as Kabul, Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, parting the gates for the worst humanitarian crisis of the year. Images from around Afghanistan emulate the disruption and chaos that has come from this growth in Taliban power: Taliban members smiled at the media cameras in their conquered territories. Afghan civilians clung to US Air Force planes departing from Kabul, pleading for a way out of the country. As The New York Times put it, this week's events are "a symbol of America's military might, flying out of the country even as Afghans hung on against all hope." https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1427292291320975360?s=20 'Cannot Abandon The People of Afghanistan' Half of the count...

Senate Panel Focuses on Crime-Related Migration at US-Mexico Border

13Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Human rights, Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Brief

Senate Panel Focuses on Crime-Related Migration at US-Mexico Border

October 13, 2019--A Senate committee examining migration at the U.S.-Mexico border on Wednesday focused largely on crimes, such as child exploitation, drug trafficking and human smuggling. With just under a million cases of immigrants entering the U.S. border in the fiscal year 2019, the U.S. justice system of processing and detaining immigrants is overwhelmed, U.S. officials reported. Child Pawns Of primary concern are children who are used as human pawns for individuals seeking to enter the United States illegally. According to Mark Morgan, the acting commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, human smugglers use children as a "money-making commodity" by selling or renting them to migrants. "We know children are being rented and recycled and presented as fake fa...

Pause in Turkey’s Offensive Gives Syrian Kurds Chance to ‘Get Out’

20Oct

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Immigration, Migration, Middle East, Types of News: Brief

Pause in Turkey’s Offensive Gives Syrian Kurds Chance to ‘Get Out’

October 20, 2019-The United States and Turkey reached an agreement on Syrian operations late last week after Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an demanded that "all the terrorists" lay down their arms and "get out of the safe zone that we have designated." As a result of the agreement, Kurdish fighters, known as the People’s Protection Units (YPG), and their families are to evacuate from a designated zone along the Syrian-Turkish border. If they do not evacuate, Turkey has promised to relaunch its military offensive. While U.S. President Donald Trump called it a "ceasefire," others referred to the pause in fighting as a period of mass evacuation. It is not immediately clear if YPG fighters are leaving the area, but tens of thousands of civilians are fleeing to Iraq for safety. ...