The bodies of 25 migrants have been recovered off the coast of Yemen after their boat, reportedly carrying up to 200 people, capsized, a provincial official told AFP news agency. “The boat overturned two days ago and was carrying between 160 and 200 people,” said Jalil Ahmed Ali from the Lahij provincial authority, citing information given by Yemeni smugglers. The fate of the other people on board was unclear. Fishermen in southern Yemen told AFP they had recovered the 25 bodies of victims who appeared to be of African origin, some of the many who try to reach Yemen before … Continue reading Bodies of 25 migrants recovered off Yemen’s coast

Denmark’s parliament has passed a law enabling the Nordic country to deport asylum seekers to countries outside Europe, defying calls to abandon the legislation from NGOs and the United Nations. The move was headed by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democratic anti-immigration government; 70 legislators voted for the proposal and 24 against on Thursday. The law allows Denmark, which has gained notoriety for its hardline immigration policies over the last decade, to move refugees arriving on Danish soil to asylum centres in a partner country. There, asylum seekers would have their cases reviewed and possibly obtain protection in that country. … Continue reading Danish parliament approves law to deport asylum seekers

Images of dead children and women washed up on a beach in Libya have been shared by a Spanish charity. The NGO Proactiva Open Arms received some of the photos from inside Libya and said they are of people who had tried to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, a dangerous route for migrants. They show the partially clothed bodies of small children and a woman, bloated and half buried in the sand. At least 743 migrants are known to have died in the Mediterranean this year. According to the data published by UN’s International Organization for Migration, there have been 630 … Continue reading So Tragic: Dead children washed up on Libya beach, says charity

In what has become a hotspot for African migrants, local officials in Spain’s Cueta enclave said that at least 2,700 migrants reached the enclave in a single day, setting a new record. The Cueta enclave sits right next to Morocco on a tiny piece of land. Most of the migrants who arrived there are from Morocco. According to Spanish media, the border guards in Morocco did nothing to stop anyone from crossing the border.Spanish Guardia Civil officers try to stop people from Morocco entering into the Spanish territory at the border of Morocco and Spain. According to the BBC, preliminary … Continue reading Record number of migrants make their way to Spain’s Cueta enclave

More than 1,000 migrants landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa in the space of a few hours on Sunday, according to local media reports. One boat alone was carrying almost 400 men, women and children, Italian news agency Ansa said. The island’s Mayor Toto Martello said he believed the rise in arrivals coincided with the good weather. Lampedusa is one of the main arrival ports for people wanting to reach Europe. More boats were spotted off the coast of nearby Malta, with charity Alarm Phone saying they needed assistance. “One rescue operation could put a total of around 231 … Continue reading More than 1,000 migrants arrive on Italian island

The Canadian government is being sued by refugee rights attorneys who say their policy of rejecting asylum-seekers at the U.S. border and ports of entry is unlawful, forcing hundreds of people back into American custody to potentially face deportation. The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers told Reuters Tuesday that they filed the lawsuit in federal court because the current asylum-seeker policy between the U.S. and Canada does not consider if these individuals have any alternative options. Instead, the group says, asylum-seekers are turned back to American authorities who have successfully deported at least one person who tried entering Canada. The … Continue reading Canada sued for rejecting asylum seekers at U.S. border

At least 11 people drowned when a rubber dinghy carrying two dozen Europe-bound migrants capsized off Libya, the UN migration agency said. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the tragedy took place on Sunday near the western town of Zawiya. The Libyan coastguard saved the lives of 12 migrants, it said in a Twitter post. Those migrants were expected to be taken to a detention centre. Sunday’s deadly shipwreck was the latest along the Central Mediterranean migration route. Last month, at least 130 people were presumed dead after their boat capsized off Libya, in one of the deadliest maritime … Continue reading Several Europe-bound migrants drown off Libya coast

The bodies of 24 sub-Saharan migrants, among them two minors, who are believed to have died of thirst and hunger as they tried to cross from the west coast of Africa to the Canary Islands, were brought to land by Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service Wednesday evening. Their wooden boat was first spotted by a Spanish Air Force plane drifting in the Atlantic Ocean some 490 kilometers (304 miles) from the island of El Hierro on Monday. Only three people on board were still alive but barely moving according to rescuers. Two men and one woman were airlifted in serious condition … Continue reading Spain recovers 24 bodies from migrant boat off Canaries

A search in the Mediterranean sea for boats packed with migrants has found ten bodies floating near a capsized rubber boat that was believed to have been carrying 130 people, the French humanitarian organisation SOS Mediterranee said. Another wooden boat was still missing with about 40 migrants aboard, a spokesman for SOS Mediterranee said on Friday. The civil hotline Alarm Phone had reported three boats were in distress on Wednesday, prompting SOS Mediterranee to launch a search “in very rough seas, with up to 6-metre waves”, the non-government organisation said in a news release issued earlier. Three merchant vessels helped … Continue reading Tragic: At least 130 migrants feared drowned in Mediterranean

A Honduran immigrant woman and her two daughters, who spent three years trapped in a Utah church sanctuary while fearing deportation, stepped outside confidently Thursday. Vicky Chavez walked proudly out of First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City under a banner that read celebrate “FREEDOM.”Vicky Chavez celebrates Thursday as she steps outside First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City for the first time in 1,168 days, as church congregants cheered. “We have been waiting for this day for more than 39 months, and I’m here sharing with everybody that I’m free right now and I can’t believe it,” she told … Continue reading Honduran family who spent 3 years in Utah church in fear of deportation steps outside after ICE ruling

Thirty-four migrants drowned on Monday after their boat capsized off the coast of Djibouti, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said, the second such accident in just over a month. Survivors reported that the boat capsized in rough seas at around 4:00 am (0100 GMT) after leaving Yemen with around 60 passengers on board, an IOM official in Djibouti told AFP, asking not to be named. “The migrants were being transported by people smugglers,” Mohammed Abdiker, the IOM’s regional director for East Africa and the Horn of Africa, added on Twitter. “Apprehending and prosecuting people traffickers and smugglers who exploit … Continue reading Another Tragedy: Dozens of migrants dead after boat capsizes off Djibouti

Four people were found dead on a migrant boat off the Canary Island of El Hierro on Sunday, the Spanish Red Cross said. The vessel was spotted by a fishing boat around 120 miles (193 km) to the south of … Continue reading At least four migrants found dead on boat off Canary Islands