The Trump administration has carried out nearly 10,000 summary deportations or “expulsions” since March 21, using emergency public health measures during the coronavirus outbreak that have given U.S. Customs and Border Protection broad authority to bypass immigration laws, CBP officials said Thursday. The measures have allowed the agency to quickly turn away most unauthorized migrants — sending them back …
Italy closes ports to rescue ships, targeting migrants
Non-national migrant rescue ships will no longer be able to dock in Italy, after the country declared its ports were not safe due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Given the spread of Covid-19, Italian ports cannot guarantee the necessary prerequisites to be qualified as ‘places of safety,’” the government decree says. While it does not mention …
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Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic broke EU law
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic breached their obligations under EU law by refusing to take in refugees. The ECJ says in its ruling that these countries had failed to accept their share of 120,000 asylum seekers who had arrived in Italy and Greece, under a relocation programme …
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Displaced by war and unrest, the world’s refugees now face threat of coronavirus
Driven from their homes by war and unrest, up to 10 million of the world’s 70 million refugees live in crowded camps and informal settlements. Now comes a new threat: the coronavirus rampaging across the globe. Almost none of those who live in the refugee camps have been tested for the virus. While the relative …
Greek police forcing asylum seekers into Turkey: Report
The Greek police have been bringing in asylum seekers living in the country and expelling them to Turkey by force while using the coronavirus pandemic as a cover for their abuses, according to a report published Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal report, based on evidences from asylum seekers who faced violence as well as lawyers …
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Turkish coast guard rescues 26 asylum seekers in Aegean
Afghan, Syrian, Central African, Palestinian, Iraqi, Iranian, and Cameroonian nationals onboard boat stranded in Aegean Sea Acting on a tip-off, the rescue team reached out to asylum seekers, who were onboard a rubber boat that was forced into Turkish territorial waters by the Greek Coast Guard. The asylum seekers – including Afghan, Syrian, Central African, …
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Turkey rescues 22 migrants forced by Greece into Turkish territorial waters
Turkish coast guard units on Thursday rescued 22 migrants and refugees who were left by the Greek coast guard to die in the Aegean Sea. As Greece continues to violate basic human rights and international law, the Greek coast guard most recently pushed 22 asylum-seekers, on an immobile rubber boat back to Turkish territorial waters …
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Locals set fire to a hotel that was accommodating refugees
Locals prevented buses carrying refugees being relocated from congested Aegean island camps to new accommodation in northern Greece, and set fire to a hotel where they were supposed to be housed, Greek authorities reported on Wednesday. According to reports, 150 protesters prevented buses carrying 57 refugees from reaching a rented hotel in Panagitsa, Pella, North …
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Greek coast guards ignore human rights, force 48 asylum-seekers to Turkey
Greek coast guards, frequently criticized by rights groups for their treatment of migrants, have pushed 48 asylum-seekers back to Turkey, which constitutes a violation of international human rights. According to Interior Ministry officials speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Turkish coast guards rescued the desperate migrants and asylum-seekers who were left to fend for themselves by …
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Turkey rescues 35 asylum seekers after boat sinks
The Turkish Coast Guard rescued 35 asylum seekers as a boat carrying them sank in the Aegean Sea, according to security sources on Monday. They were directed to Turkish territorial waters by the Greek Coast Guard. According to the rescued migrants, the boat was damaged by the Greek forces before being pushed back that led …
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