Author: RACHAEL ADEEGBE

Hundreds of migrants and human rights activists gathered in Rome on Saturday to protest Italy’s migrant deal with Libya, following a tragic boat wreck in the Mediterranean that left around 20 people feared dead. The protest came as criticism grows over the 2017 Italy-Libya migration agreement, renewed under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her right-wing government. Under the deal, Italy provides funding and training to the Libyan Coast Guard in exchange for preventing migrants from crossing the Mediterranean or returning them to Libya. The agreement is due for renewal next month. At the rally, several migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa shared…

The United States has deported 18 migrants who were recently detained at its naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, leaving the temporary holding center empty once again. The group, held for less than a week, was transferred just days before a scheduled court hearing that aimed to challenge the legality of holding migrants at the offshore site. According to officials familiar with the operation, the migrants were deported to Guatemala and El Salvador on Thursday and Friday through chartered aircraft. The officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter, declined to reveal the identities or nationalities of…

A Sudanese man has been sentenced to 27 months in prison after being found guilty of piloting a small, overcrowded boat carrying 50 other migrants across the English Channel from France to the United Kingdom. The sentence was handed down by Carlisle Crown Court, following a trial in which the man, identified as Nader Osman Adam, was convicted of assisting unlawful immigration. According to prosecutors, the 30-year-old Sudanese national was seen operating the throttle and steering the vessel when it was intercepted by UK Border Force officers on November 16, 2024. The inflatable boat, packed with 51 adults, was described…

An Afghan asylum seeker who was wrongly judged as an adult because of his “protruding Adam’s apple” has won a £25,000 payout after a tribunal found that the local council’s age assessment was deeply flawed and unfair. The Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) ruled that the boy, known only as EXJ, was 17 years old when he arrived in the UK, not in his 20s as officials initially claimed. The tribunal, led by Judge Abid Mahmood, overturned St Helens Borough Council’s decision, describing the council’s assessment process as “procedurally unfair and substantively flawed.” The ruling criticized the use of…

A 23-year-old undocumented migrant from Mexico, identified as Eduardo Aguilar, has been arrested in Texas for allegedly posting a TikTok video that offered a $10,000 bounty to kill Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed that Aguilar has been charged with transmitting communications containing threats. According to court records, the video, posted on October 9, included text written in Spanish that said, “I need 10 dudes in Dallas with determination who aren’t afraid to,” followed by skull emojis. The clip then displayed another line that read, “10K for each ICE agent.” Federal authorities say the…

A recent report by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has found that France committed serious and systematic violations against unaccompanied migrant children. The report stated that France failed to meet its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, particularly in protecting minors seeking refuge within its borders. The committee, made up of 18 independent experts responsible for monitoring children’s rights around the world, conducted a detailed investigation in October 2023. The inquiry revealed that France’s system for determining the age of migrant children was unreliable, often relying on physical appearance or…

Barbados’ Home Affairs Minister, Wilfred Abrahams, has dismissed fears that the country will experience a surge of migrants under the new free movement arrangement among four CARICOM states. He explained that such fears are misplaced, as the predicted influx of people has not happened. Speaking at the House of Assembly while presenting the Caribbean Community (Free Movement of Nationals) Bill, Abrahams said the new agreement among Barbados, Belize, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Dominica is meant to improve and formalize what already exists within the region. According to him, the deal only seeks to close legal gaps and create…

A migrant who crossed the English Channel on a small boat and later threatened to kill Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has been found guilty after it emerged he gave British police a false name to hide his criminal record in Sweden. According to the PA News Agency, the man — identified as Fayaz Khan — made the threat between October 12 and 15 last year in a TikTok video that Mr. Farage described as “pretty chilling.” However, Swedish authorities believe his real name is Fayaz Husseini, and that he is 31 years old, not 26 as he initially…

The United Kingdom has gained support from at least 16 European countries in its push to reform the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The move aims to reduce the legal barriers that often prevent the deportation of migrants who have no right to stay in the country. British ministers are reportedly considering new proposals to limit the power of courts to delay deportations through lengthy appeals. The reforms would allow the government to remove people faster, even in cases where deportation could affect their right to family life. According to Nick Thomas-Symonds, the UK’s Minister for European Relations, the…

Reports suggest that armed Libyan officials attacked a migrant boat traveling from Libya to Italy over the weekend. The alleged incident, which took place in the Mediterranean Sea, follows a recent deadly shooting involving Libya’s coast guard in the same area. Despite rising criticism, the European Union continues to fund and cooperate with Libyan authorities in their efforts to stop migrant crossings. According to a statement from the Italian Coast Guard, investigations have begun into claims that Libyan officers opened fire on a fishing vessel carrying migrants. The Italian authorities said they rescued three injured people who required urgent medical…