Editor's note: Here is a look at immigration related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com.
Education advocates are pushing to decrease high visa denials for African students
Education and immigration advocates say African students face high denial rates when seeking visas to study in the United States, and they are pushing for changes. Visa rejection rates are higher than elsewhere in regions of the Middle East, South America and Africa, with Africa experiencing the highest levels of disproportionate refusals, according to a Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration report released in July 2023. VOA’s immigration reporter Aline Barros has more.
US program seeks to resettle, educate refugee students
Many of the newest and youngest refugees are fleeing armed conflicts around the globe. The world’s refugee crisis has never been worse. The number has doubled in a decade to more than 100 million people, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. To ease the growing crisis, the U.S. State Department launched a program in January 2023 with private partnerships, called Welcome Corps, to help resettle refugees. Six months later, it launched a companion version called Welcome Corps on Campus to resettle and educate refugee students by partnering with colleges and universities. Produced by Robin Guess.
Violence, economic stagnation push more Ecuadorians toward US border
Tens of thousands of people have fled Ecuador in the past several months amid an unprecedented surge in gang violence. Rising crime, along with a lack of economic opportunities, have more Ecuadorians setting their sights on a better life in the United States. For VOA, reporter Austin Landis caught up with a group of Ecuadorian migrants transiting north through Colombia. Videographer: Jorge Calle.
Venezuelans increasingly stuck in Mexico, lowering illegal crossings to US
Venezuelan migrants often have a quick answer when asked to name the most difficult stretch of their eight-country journey to the U.S. border, and it's not the dayslong jungle trek through Colombia and Panama with its venomous vipers, giant spiders and scorpions. It's Mexico. The Associated Press reports.
A Palestinian youth inspects the debris of a building, following Israeli bombardment, in the Maghazi camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip.
US must care for migrant children in camps, judge says
Migrant children who wait in makeshift camps along the U.S.-Mexico border for Customs and Border Protection officers to process them are in the agency's custody and are subject to a long-standing court-supervised agreement that set standards for their treatment, a judge ruled. The Associated Press reports.
Immigration around the world
Vehicle carrying suspected migrants crashes into a river in Albania, killing 8 people
A car crashed into a river on Tuesday in southeastern Albania, killing all eight people inside, including seven suspected migrants and a local driver, police said. The driver of the vehicle lost control and veered into the Vjosa River about 240 kilometers (150 miles) southeast of the capital, Tirana, around 4 a.m., according to a police statement. Seven of the victims were suspected to be "from third countries," it said, a description police often use to refer to migrants. Reported by The Associated Press.
Greek coast guard rescues 74 migrants in boat on Mediterranean Sea
Dozens of migrants found in a wooden boat on the Mediterranean Sea between northern Africa and southern Europe have been transported to the Greek island of Crete, Greece's coast guard said Monday. The boat with 74 people on board was found 46 kilometers (29 miles) south of the small Greek island of Gavdos on Sunday night, the coast guard said, adding that a patrol boat transported the 73 men and one woman to Crete. The Associated Press reports.
News Brief
— The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Secretary announced the automatic extension period for certain employment authorization documents (EADs) from up to 180 days to up to 540 days.