Germany Agrees on Migrant Return Deal With Greece
Germany reached an agreement with Greece to send back asylum seekers who had already traveled through the country, a week after a similar German deal with Spain. In return, Germany agreed to expedite family reunification applications from migrants in Greece.
The German government is seeking to return more arriving migrants after a political fallout over migration earlier this summer. Germany’s interior ministry spokesperson said the country was nearing another deal with Italy.
Court Approves U.S. Plan to Reunite Hundreds of Separated Children
A U.S. federal judge approved a plan negotiated by the government and rights groups to reunite migrant children who are still separated from their parents under a now-revoked border policy. The judge also ordered an indefinite halt to deportation of families who were separated at the border as part of a different case.
Around 540 children aged 5–17 years old and 24 children under 5 years old have not yet been reunited with their parents since separations were halted in late June. The plan lays out the process of reunification, and the government’s agreement not to impair their right to seek asylum.
Venezuelans Forced Out of Brazil Border Town
Brazilian protesters forced hundreds of Venezuelans back over the border and burned their belongings in an outbreak of unrest following a violent robbery of a local restaurant owner attributed to Venezuelans.
Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have crossed into Roraima state in recent years, fleeing their country’s political and economic crisis. The overwhelmed state authorities requested the border be closed, but Brazil said it would remain open for humanitarian reasons.
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“While Libya can contribute to the solution, the country cannot address these issues alone – it is a regional, if not global, responsibility.”
“Are we growing numb to the loss of human life? Or, maybe, numbers are to blame. Perhaps we are inspired to act by a single tragedy, while, paradoxically, larger-scale human suffering registers as abstraction.”
“Unaccompanied children and women are at the greatest risk – they are easy prey to traffickers, criminals, gangs, security forces and others who abuse, exploit or even kill them.”