Page 2 - Migrants

At least 15 dead as two boats carrying 40 migrants sink in Greek waters

At least 15 people have died as two boats carrying migrants sank in Greek waters late Wednesday, and rescuers were looking for dozens still missing, authorities said early Thursday. The coast guard said 15 bodies had been recovered near the eastern island of Lesbos after a dinghy carrying about 40 people sank. Five people were rescued and three had been located on a rocky outcrop near the site of the sinking. A second rescue effort was launched several hundred kilometers (miles) to the west, near the island of Kythira, where a sailboat carrying about 100 migrants hit rocks and sank late Wednesday. Officials said 30 people had been rescued after that boat hit rocks off the village port of Diakofti on the east of the island. Winds in the area were up to 70 kph (45 mph). We could see the boat smashing against the rocks and people climbing up those rocks to try and save themselves. It was an unbelievable sight, Martha Stathaki, a local resident told The Associated Press. All the resid

Pope Francis urges Italians to have more children, welcome migrants

Pope Francis traveled to southern Italy on Sunday to close out an Italian church congress that coincided with Italy's national election, and delivered a message that hit on key domestic campaign issues including immigration. Neither Francis nor his hosts referred to the vote during the open-air Mass, though Italy's bishops conference had earlier urged Italians to cast ballots in the eagerly watched election that could bring Italy its first far-right government since World War II. At the end of the outdoor Mass in Matera, Francis spoke off the cuff asking Italians to have more children. I'd like to ask Italy: More births, more children, Francis said. Italy has one of the lowest birth rates in the world and Francis has frequently lamented its demographic winter. Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni, who campaigned on a God, family and homeland mantra, has also called for Italy to reverse its demographic trends by proposing bigger financial incentives for couples to have children. Francis

Boat carrying Haitian migrants sinks off Bahamas, killing 17; 25 rescued

A boat carrying Haitian migrants apparently capsized off the Bahamas early Sunday, and Bahamian security forces recovered the bodies of 17 people and rescued 25 others, authorities said.

Harmful US border policies damaging to Mexico, millions of migrants: IRC

Harmful border policies put in place by the US are damaging to Mexico and undermine the human rights of millions of migrants, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said.

Germany eases path to permanent residency for migrants with new bill

Tens of thousands of migrants, who have been living in Germany for years without permission to remain in the country, will be eligible for residency after the government approved a new migration bill

46 dead, 16 hospitalised after trailer of migrants found in south Texas

Forty-six people were found dead and 16 others were taken to hospitals after a tractor-trailer rig containing suspected migrants was found Monday on a remote back road in southwest San Antonio

Coronavirus rates plunge as decision nears on US asylum limits

One by one, a voice called out the names of 169 people released by US Border Patrol. Migrants rose from folding chairs in a clinic and walked to a table of blue-robed workers, who swabbed their mouths

Govt re-activates 21 monitoring centres to help migrant workers amid Covid

Once the pandemic situation eases, labour minister Bhupender Yadav and his deputy S Rameshwar Teli will travel extensively, interact with working class as well as with labour union members

Global remittances to rebound as economies recover from Covid impact: ADB

Growth in the money repatriated by migrant workers will slow to 4.2% in 2022 as base effects fade

Greece: 13 dead, others missing after a migrant boat capsizes in Aegean Sea

At least 13 people died after a migrant boat capsized in the Aegean Sea late Friday

Democrats dealt setback in bid to grant millions of migrants work permits

Senator Dick Durbin, the no. 2 Senate Democrat, told reporters that he was "disappointed and we're considering what options remain."

Covid concerns and migrants' issues spur EU to toughen border rules

The European Union on Tuesday launched a major revamp of the rules governing the movement of people and goods into and around Europe

UN migration agency records over 4,400 migrant deaths worldwide in 2021

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said that over 4,470 migrants have died in 2021 on their way across borders, exceeding last year's figures by more than 200."Despite repeated calls for concrete action to reduce the tragic loss of life during migration journeys worldwide every year, the death toll in 2021 has surpassed 4,470," the UN-affiliated agency said in a statement on Friday.Since 2014, the overall death toll has reached 45,400 migrants. Globally, the number of deaths in 2021 is already more than the 4,236 total recorded in 2020."COVID-19 has meant an unprecedented decrease in human mobility, but the Missing Migrants Project still documents deaths almost every day,'' said Frank Laczko, Director of IOM's Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC), where the project is based."Dozens of states have committed to the Global Compact for Migration but very few have engaged on Objective 8 to 'save lives and establish coordinated international efforts on missing ..

53 migrants dead, 54 injured after cargo truck crashes in south Mexico

A cargo truck jammed with people rolled over and crashed into a pedestrian bridge over on a highway in southern Mexico on Thursday, killing at least 49

First migrants returned under the reinstated 'Remain in Mexico' policy

US authorities sent the first two migrants back to Mexico on Wednesday under the reinstated Remain in Mexico policy

Mexico overhauls handling of migrants at south border to release pressure

Benjamn Villalta couldn't believe that a Mexican immigration office would open in the middle of the night to give him visaallowing them to move about Mexico and work.

France cancels talks with UK as migrant row tests fragile ties

Macron told Britain on Friday it needed to "get serious"

Johnson, Macron agree to step up efforts to prevent migrants' crossings

UK PM Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron have agreed to prevent deadly crossings of the English Channel by migrants following the Wednesday fatal shipwreck in the Strait of Dover

Migrant boat capsizes in English Channel; at least 31 people dead

The UK-bound migrants died on Wednesday when their boat sank

EU plans sanctions against companies that help smuggle migrants

The European Commission has proposed targeted measures to hit transport companies that are said to have helped smuggle people into the European Union (EU) via Belarus, Commission President said