Author: RACHAEL ADEEGBE

Four foreign nationals have been sentenced in Latvia for their involvement in a serious migrant smuggling case, where they illegally transported people across the Belarus border using a fake police van. The court’s decision was reported by Latvia’s national news agency, LETA, on Monday, following months of investigation and legal proceedings. The case has raised major concerns over the growing sophistication of human trafficking operations in the region. According to the court’s ruling, the traffickers used a minibus that had been deliberately modified to resemble an official police vehicle. It had flashing lights, false license plates, and even fake insignias…

Two Afghan men have been sentenced to eight months in prison after piloting a dangerously overcrowded migrant boat that led to the tragic deaths of a woman and an eight-year-old boy. The victims, who were Turkish nationals, died during an attempt to cross the English Channel on May 21 last year. UK authorities said the men ignored clear signs that the boat was overloaded and unsafe, pushing forward with their journey despite the risks. The two men, Shah Salim Sajjadi, 38, and Safiollah Mohammadi, 25, were found guilty of enabling illegal immigration and pleaded guilty at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court. According…

The number of migrant workers in Macau has grown sharply since the end of Covid-19 restrictions in early 2023. By the end of April 2025, Macau had 183,568 non-resident workers. This marks an increase of almost 31,700 people, according to new data from the Labour Affairs Bureau using records from the Public Security Police Force. This rise represents a 20.9% increase compared to January 2023, when strict pandemic rules were lifted after being in place for more than three years. At that time, the number of migrant workers, mostly from mainland China, was under 152,000. The April 2025 figure is…

The UK government is being criticized after blaming sunny weather for the highest number of migrant crossings ever recorded during the first five months of 2025. The Home Office said smuggling gangs are using good weather to send more migrants across the Channel in small boats. A new report from the Home Office released on Tuesday shows that 60 “red” days were recorded by the Met Office between January and April. These red days, when the weather makes crossings more likely, were more than double the number from the same time in 2024. That year had just 27 red days,…

Yvette Cooper, the UK Home Secretary, is facing growing pressure from MPs after a record number of migrants crossed the English Channel over the weekend. On Saturday alone, nearly 1,200 people arrived in small boats from France — the highest daily figure so far this year. This increase has raised serious questions about the government’s ability to manage its borders. Defence Secretary John Healey admitted that Britain had “lost control of its borders” and said the number of people-smugglers launching boats from French beaches was deeply concerning. Cooper appeared before the Home Affairs Committee on Tuesday afternoon to answer urgent…

In recent years, much attention has been paid to migrants fleeing conflict or poverty, but one growing phenomenon remains largely in the shadows: climate returnees. These are migrants who, after fleeing their home countries in search of safety and opportunity, find themselves forced to return, not because of deportation, but because the host countries are becoming just as dangerous, if not more so, due to climate-related disasters. Across parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, rising heatwaves, droughts, and floods are eroding jobs and living conditions for migrants working in agriculture, construction, and informal sectors. In southern Europe, for example,…

The Migrant Trail walk ended on Sunday morning after a 75-mile journey from Sasabe, Sonora, Mexico, to Tucson, Arizona. This powerful event, held every year for over 20 years, honors the lives of migrants who died or went missing while trying to cross the US–Mexico border. More than 40 people, both young and old, took part in the week-long walk this year. The goal was to raise awareness about the dangers faced by migrants in the desert and to highlight the policies that have forced many to take deadly routes. Jamie Wilson, a long-time organizer with Migrant Trail, said the…

The number of migrants crossing the English Channel reached its highest point so far this year, with nearly 1,200 people arriving in small boats from France on Saturday. According to the UK Home Office, 1,194 people made the journey in 18 boats during calm weather conditions. This surge has brought the total number of crossings in 2025 to 14,811, marking a 42% rise compared to the same period in 2024. The increase has added more pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government, which has now been in office for nearly a year. The Labour Party came to power after…

A senior French politician has blamed the UK’s decision to leave the European Union for the sharp increase in migrants crossing the English Channel. Éléonore Caroit, a member of French President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, said that Brexit ended the UK’s return agreement with the EU and weakened its asylum system. According to Caroit, the number of migrants crossing the Channel has grown since Brexit, when the UK was removed from the Dublin Regulation. That EU rule allowed the UK to return asylum seekers who had passed through safe European countries without applying for asylum there. After Brexit, no similar…

Spain is preparing to relocate hundreds of migrant children from overcrowded reception centres across the country. The decision follows concerns over the poor living conditions in some areas, especially where migrant arrivals are high. When the relocation plan was first introduced, many regions said their migrant centres were already full. But under the new law, only three areas will be allowed to declare a “state of emergency” to avoid accepting more children. All other areas must prepare to receive foreign children and teenagers by improving their existing facilities. According to the law, each autonomous community in Spain should have 32…