Editor’s note:
With four people working on (im)migration stories every day, we still struggle to keep up with all of the relevant news. So, we wanted a way to keep you updated with the top immigration stories every week — the ones that will affect you, our international readers, viewers and listeners — most. We want you to know what’s happening, why, and how it could impact your life, family or business.
Travel ban 3.0
We didn’t mean to, but we made a new mother cry outside the Supreme Court when we asked her what it was like to be pregnant, then have her first baby — while her own mother is 10,000 km away in Iran and unable to be by her side. Dela is now 8 months old, plump-cheeked, quick to smile, and teething — and her grandmother dispenses advice over text and Skype to help her growing family. Read and watch our story.
What’s next? The Supreme Court is expected to decide in June whether the Trump administration’s third travel ban is constitutional. Opponents of the policy tell VOA that no matter what the outcome of the lawsuit, the president has already made clear his view on immigrants — and it’s not positive.
Bonus: Meet the two Immigration Team reporters who were at the Supreme Court on Wednesday. One was inside, dry and warm. The other was outside, water-logged.
Trump’s TPS tally
Nepalese nationals living in the United States are the latest to learn that thousands of their citizens will lose legal status next year, after the Trump administration canceled Temporary Protected Status for a fifth country since taking office.
Caravan to El Norte: ‘The ones that killed him now don’t trust me’
Meet some of the Central American travelers headed to the U.S. border to ask for asylum from violence, in Ramon Taylor’s story from Mexicali. The top official for Homeland Security referred to the travelers as a security risk, and insisted that the department “is doing everything within our authorities to secure our borders and enforce the law.”
Now what? U.S. law allows people to seek asylum in the U.S., or at its border, if they have a “well-founded fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.” So, in theory, the caravan members should be able to claim asylum and have their cases reviewed. Expect more border reporting next week from Ramon Taylor and Arturo Martinez.
Tennessee trauma
A town that largely helped Donald Trump get elected to the presidency also raised $60,000 for the families of undocumented workers caught up in a workplace immigration raid. “Relationships change everything.”
Legal limbo: Some of the detainees were released and will have hearings in immigration court. Dozens more remain in custody.
‘Crusades 2.0’
Three men were convicted of plotting violence against Somali-Americans in “Crusades 2.0,” by planning explosions at a housing complex in Kansas. An advocacy group identified a 15 percent increase in hate crimes against Muslims in 2017, according to data they released this week.
From South Sudanese ‘Lost Boy’ to Barista
Sip on this story about Manyang Kher, who named his company after the geographic coordinates of the refugee camp where he sought safety.
A judge has given the federal government 90 days to defend its decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy. If they don’t, the program could begin functioning again.
What we’re keeping an eye on
Following several immigration raids, New York’s governor this week accused the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of “blatant disrespect” for the state’s laws. ICE Director Thomas Homan responded that the governor was “grandstanding” and criticized his support for sanctuary policies. Will their feud escalate as tensions mount between federal law enforcement, and the outspoken leaders of some states like New York and California, over immigration issues?
VOA’s Ramon Taylor and Aline Barros contributed to this report.
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