U.S. officials say an ex-Islamic State fighter entered America as a refugee
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An Iraqi man accused of killing for the Islamic State terrorist group entered the U.S. as a refugee after claiming to be a victim of terrorism, in a case drawing attention amid the Trump administration’s criticism of the resettlement program’s vetting process. Omar Abdulsattar Ameen, 45, was arrested in California on Wednesday […]
US: Refugees From 11 Countries Will Face Extra Screening
The Trump administration is hardening refugee admissions to the United States by looking deeper into the background of applicants from 11 “high-risk” countries. Officials declined to name the “high-risk” countries during a call with reporters Monday to announce the changes, but they have been widely reported as: Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Somalia, […]
US Taking Fewer Muslim Refugees
The first four months of a U.S. refugee program wholly determined by the Trump administration have led to a dramatic decline in Muslim refugees coming to the United States, and a significant shift in where refugees are coming from, according to a VOA review of official data. From Oct. 1, 2017 to Jan. 25, 2018, […]
Christian Refugees Are Welcome in Trump’s America
Over half of all refugees admitted into the United States under President Donald Trump have been Christian, according to recent data. Trump has taken a hard line on immigration and even paused refugee admission for 120 days last year. But in late October, the administration once again began accepting refugees from all countries, with the […]
US Withdraws from UN Global Compact on Migration
The United States has informed the United Nations that it will no longer participate in the Global Compact on Migration. In 2016, the 193 members of the U.N. General Assembly unanimously adopted a non-binding political declaration, the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, pledging to uphold the rights of refugees, help them resettle and […]
African refugees bought, sold and murdered in Libya
Hundreds of African refugees are being bought and sold in “slave markets” across Libya every week, a human trafficker has told Al Jazeera, with many of them held for ransom or forced into prostitution and sexual exploitation to pay their captors and smugglers. Many of them ended up being murdered by their smugglers in the […]
Fears Growing Islamic State Successfully Weaponizing Refugees
Western security officials are increasingly worried that the Islamic State terror group may be a step ahead of their renewed efforts to stop terrorist infiltration of their countries. Fears once centered on IS using migrant and refugee flows to sneak in highly trained operatives bent on carrying out attacks. Now they have expanded to include […]
Italy lashes out at EU states for not taking in refugees
Italy has slammed fellow European Union members for not doing enough to take their share of refugees. Since the start of October more than 10,000 people from North Africa have added to the 460,000 refugees Italy is housing as one of the frontline states in the migrant crisis. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi now wants […]
Six richest nations ‘host just 9 percent of refugees’
The six richest countries – which make up more than half the global economy – host less than nine percent of the world’s refugees, an aid group has said. The United States, China, Japan, Germany, France and the United Kingdom hosted 2.1 million refugees and asylum seekers last year – just 8.88 percent of the […]
Iraqi refugees arrested on terrorism charges
Authorities arrested two Iraqi refugees on terrorism-related charges Thursday, in a move that undercuts President Obama’s plans to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees to the U.S. this year. Prosecutors said Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, a Palestinian born in Iraq who came to the U.S. as a refugee in October 2012, traveled to Syria to train with […]