DHAKA, Bangladesh — Authorities in Bangladesh on Friday sent the first group of more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. The 1,642 refugees boarded seven Bangladeshi naval vessels in the port of Chittagong for the trip...
Faith Groups Decry Trump’s Plans for Record Low Refugee Cap
SAN DIEGO — Refugee advocates, including faith-based groups that President Donald Trump is courting in his re-election bid, called on Congress Thursday to halt his administration’s plans to slash the limit on refugees allowed into the U.S. to a record low, saying it goes against America’s values. In a notice...
New US Citizen Refugees Excited for First Presidential Vote
PHOENIX — They came fleeing war and persecution in countries like Myanmar, Eritrea and Iraq, handpicked by the United States for resettlement under longstanding humanitarian traditions. Now, tens of thousands of refugees welcomed into the U.S. during the Obama administration are American citizens, voting the first time in what could...
New Fire Breaks Out in Crowded Refugee Camp on Greek Island
ATHENS, Greece — Fire struck again Wednesday night in Greece's notoriously overcrowded refugee camp on the island of Lesbos, a day after a blaze swept through it and left thousands in need of emergency shelter. The fires caused no injuries, but they renewed criticism of Europe’s migration policy. Wednesday night's...
Pandemic Complicates Counting of Refugees in Census
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The care packages, left outside closed apartment doors to curb the coronavirus, offer newly arrived refugee families a few items to ease their transition to life in the United States — canned goods, fresh produce and a short lesson in the importance of the census. Refugee advocates...
Turkey Deploying Special Forces to Border Amid Migrant Surge
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey said Thursday it would deploy special forces along its land border with Greece to prevent Greek authorities pushing back people trying to cross into Europe, after Turkey declared its previously guarded gateways to Europe open. Thousands of refugees and other migrants have tried to cross into...
Turkish Patriotism on Display Amid Syria Operation
AKCAKALE, Turkey — National soccer team players give military salutes during international matches, Turkish flags flutter from balconies and storefronts, songs extolling the glory days of the Ottoman Empire blare from a border town's loudspeakers, punctuated by the occasional boom of outgoing artillery. Since Turkey announced its incursion into neighboring...
Self-Help for Palestinians is Focus for Non-Profit, Despite U.S. Cuts
Charity organizations throughout the U.S. are struggling to provide ongoing assistance to Palestinians living in the Middle East following cuts in funding ordered by the Trump Administration. "We have funding to continue doing Palestinian community infrastructure development work over the next few months, but some of that funding has been cut so...
Syria: West Should Lift Sanctions to Help Refugees Return
MOSCOW — Syria's warring sides and the mediators meeting in Kazakhstan failed to agree on the formation of a committee meant to draft a new constitution for the war-torn country, the U.N. special envoy to Syria said Thursday, calling it a "missed opportunity." Staffan de Mistura was in the Kazakh...
Friedman: High Wall With Big Gate for Immigration
The immigration debate we're having in the United States doesn't begin to acknowledge global realities, writes New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman in his Nov. 27 piece. "There are now more climate refugees, economic migrants searching for work and political refugees just searching for order than at any point...