Author: RACHAEL ADEEGBE
Indonesia is aiming to develop spa therapy as a top sector for placing its migrant workers in international hospitality roles. The Ministry for Migrant Workers Protection shared this new direction during a recent visit to several job training centers in Bali, emphasizing the global demand for skilled spa professionals. Deputy Minister Christina Aryani highlighted the need to take spa therapy seriously, citing input from various Indonesian ambassadors. She noted that countries are increasingly seeking trained spa professionals, and Indonesia should be ready to meet this demand. To prepare for this, Aryani visited leading spa training institutions such as Mandara Spa…
A Minnesota judge has sentenced Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, the leader of a human smuggling ring, to 10 years in prison after a tragic case in which a family of four from India froze to death while trying to cross the US-Canada border in January 2022. The family died in a blizzard just steps from the U.S. border in Manitoba. Federal prosecutors had asked for nearly 20 years for Patel, who was found guilty in 2023 along with U.S. driver Steve Anthony Shand. Shand was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison with two years of supervised release. Prosecutors said Patel, also…
A group of migrant rescuers in Italy will go on trial this October for allegedly helping illegal immigration, following a payment from global shipping company Maersk. The organization, known as Mediterranea Saving Humans (MSH), confirmed the news on Wednesday through a Facebook post. The trial is set to begin on October 21. It involves three senior MSH officials, the captain of their rescue vessel, and three crew members. They are being charged in connection with a rescue operation carried out in 2020, when the group took in 27 migrants from a Maersk ship stranded at sea. Prosecutors claim that Maersk…
The Trump administration has agreed to return a Guatemalan man to the U.S. after a federal judge ruled that his deportation lacked due process. The case, involving a man known only as O.C.G., marks a significant turn in one of the most important legal battles over the administration’s aggressive deportation tactics. O.C.G. had previously informed immigration officials that he had faced violence in Mexico and feared returning there. Despite this, U.S. authorities deported him to Mexico, where he was later sent to Guatemala. Now, under the direction of Judge Brian E. Murphy of the Massachusetts Federal District Court, the government…
A U.S. federal judge has stopped the Trump administration from shutting down several programs that protect migrants who legally entered the country under President Biden. The ruling means that hundreds of thousands of people from countries like Ukraine, Afghanistan, Haiti, Cuba, and Venezuela can keep renewing their legal status in the United States for now. Judge Indira Talwani of the Federal District Court in Massachusetts made this decision on Wednesday. She ruled that the government must continue processing applications for migrants trying to extend their stay through Biden-era humanitarian programs. The judge described the Trump administration’s plan to end these…
President Donald Trump’s second term has brought major changes to U.S. immigration enforcement. Promising the largest mass deportation effort in the country’s history, his administration has increased pressure on undocumented migrants, resulting in stricter border controls and higher arrest rates across the country. According to NBC News, which is tracking immigration enforcement data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), unauthorized border crossings have significantly decreased since Trump returned to office. In contrast, arrests by ICE have doubled, and the number of migrants being held in detention centers is now the highest it has…
Italy has sent a second group of migrants to Albania after making changes to its legal framework that now allows the offshoring of certain migration procedures. The Italian military ship Spica departed from Brindisi on Tuesday and arrived at the Port of Shengjin in Albania on Wednesday morning with 27 migrants on board. These migrants are being transferred to a special detention and repatriation centre in Gjader, about 20 kilometres from the port. This latest transfer marks the second time Italy has sent migrants to Albania. The first such operation took place on April 11, when the naval ship Libra…
A tragic incident has occurred off the coast of Spain’s Canary Islands, where a boat carrying around 150 migrants capsized as it approached the port of La Restinga on El Hierro island. The accident claimed the lives of four women and three young girls, including a 16-year-old and two children believed to be under the age of five. According to Spain’s maritime rescue service, the migrant boat was being escorted by the Salvamar Diphda rescue vessel when it suddenly overturned near the dock. The boat, already filled with exhausted passengers after a difficult ocean journey, capsized due to the shifting…
Dozens of migrant care workers in the UK say they were charged thousands of pounds for free work visas and forced to work in abusive conditions at care homes. The BBC uncovered these findings in an eight-month investigation, which showed a pattern of exploitation and fear among workers at Lotus Care, a company running care homes across northern England. Workers said they were threatened with deportation if they spoke up about poor treatment. Some were forced to work double shifts without proper sick leave. Messages seen by the BBC showed care home managers using the threat of cancelling workers’ Certificates…
Germany’s government has approved new measures to restrict family reunification for migrants and extend the waiting period for citizenship, signaling a significant shift in its migration policy. These changes come under the leadership of Chancellor Friedrich Merz and mark a departure from the more liberal stance of the previous administration. According to Reuters, the cabinet announced that migrants holding subsidiary protection status—mostly Syrians—will now face a two-year suspension on their right to bring spouses and children into the country. Nearly 380,000 migrants currently hold this status. Until now, it allowed for the annual reunification of about 12,000 family members with…