Editor's note: We want you to know what's happening, and why and how it could impact your life, family or business, so we created a weekly digest of the top original immigration, migration and refugee reporting from across VOA. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com.
Border crisis
Migrants are swamping the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection predicted that the total number of migrants detained after crossing the border in March would be about 100,000. The head of CBP, Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, said Wednesday in El Paso that the "surge numbers are just overwhelming the [U.S.] system."
San Diego County, Calif., is suing the federal government because migrant families are released there with no direction or guidance. The result is chaos.
Shut the border down?
President Donald Trump said he would close the border or parts of it next week if Mexico didn't immediately stop all illegal immigration into the U.S. His latest remarks came via tweets on Friday:
It was the second day in a row that Trump had threatened to close the border, something he had not done since last November.
His tweets were at odds with a new Latin American security accord. The Department of Homeland Security has been finalizing what it calls a regional compact to "stem the flood of irregular migration and develop a regional approach to addressing the ongoing humanitarian and security emergency at our Southern Border."
Liberians
Trump is extending a humanitarian program that allows Liberians to live and work in the U.S. The White House said Thursday that Trump signed a one-year extension of the program for immigrants who came from the African nation to escape environmental disasters and war. The status for thousands of Liberians had been set to expire Sunday.
Tabla for two
A Western woman and an Eastern man make beautiful Afghan music together, both playing the tabla, an Eastern percussion instrument. To Abigail Adams Greenway, the Western half, every note that emerges from the tabla is a "prayer."
"It's mathematically perfect and very meditative," she said.
