U.S. Military May House Separated Children As Policy Fallout Worsens
The United States military is being readied to shelter up to 20,000 immigrant children amid the fallout from family separations. Three military bases have been assessed on request from the Department of Health and Human Services. Confusion continues over how many children have been detained and what will happen to them while their parents face criminal charges for crossing illegally into the U.S.
Some criminal cases have proceeded but others have been postponed, legal support groups said. Before one deportation flight left for Honduras from Texas on Thursday, U.S. officials asked who had children in detention in the U.S. and the four who put up their hands were not put on the flight, deportees arriving in Honduras told Reuters.
Shipwreck Survivors Say 220 People Drowned Off Libya
Survivors have told how 220 people have drowned in shipwrecks off Libya this week. A boat carrying 100 people capsized on Tuesday, while another craft with 130 passengers sank, causing 70 people to drown, according to the United Nations refugee agency. On Wednesday survivors of another shipwreck said more than 50 people had drowned. The Libyan coast guard, meanwhile, intercepted nearly 800 migrants at sea during the same period.
The deaths appear to validate warnings from search-and-rescue charities that interference with their operations would lead to mass drownings. Italy barred the Aquarius rescue vessel from its ports earlier this month, forcing it to make a long detour to disembark people in Spain. Other NGOs have faced similar obstacles, effectively removing rescue assets from the Mediterranean at a time of increased crossings.
A Deeper Look
Business Insider: Refugees Can and Should Be Good Business for Everyone
“Refugees have already contributed $63 billion worth of positive financial gain to the U.S. economy. Research from the Fiscal Policy Institute suggests that turnover rates for refugee hires in the U.S. are lower than for other hires, and there is emerging research that managers who hire refugees improve their talent acquisition and management practices.”
E.U. Diplomats Admit They Have No African Partners For Disembarkation Platforms
European diplomats admit they have not found African partners willing to disembark migrants rescued at sea. A European Council document published this week called for “disembarkation platforms” outside the European Union. While talks have taken place with Tunisia and Egypt in the past, no agreement has been forthcoming. Meanwhile Italy and Germany have fallen out ahead of a mini-summit called for June 24 and four central European countries, including Hungary, said they will boycott the gathering.
Recommended #MustReads
- The Conversation: Refugee Crisis: the Immediate and Lasting Impacts of Powerful Images
“Like the other 20 million people, we first saw those gut-wrenching images in our Facebook and Twitter feeds. But we also noticed something else about the images: they seemed to be provoking interaction and engagement among people who would not normally be moved to discuss the refugee crisis.”
“Valera said the little girl and her mother, Sandra Sanchez, have been detained together in the Texas border town of McAllen, where Sanchez has applied for asylum, and they were not separated after being detained near the border.”
- The Independent: Hundreds of Children Separated From Their Parents and Secretly Flown to New York to Tackle Trump’s Immigration Crisis
“They do not belong here – they belong with their mothers and fathers,” George Latimer, executive of Westchester County, said in a statement. “I am calling on the federal government to halt this practice of breaking up families and ripping children away from those who love them, immediately.”