migrants - The African Mirror

Jun

2023

Second flight arrives in Sacramento carrying migrants with Florida documents

A flight carrying about 20 migrants landed in Sacramento, California, as state authorities investigated the role Florida had played in transporting them from Texas via New Mexico, according to the California attorney general's office and news reports. The migrants carried documents that indicated their transportation involved the state of Florida, the California attorney general's office said. More than a dozen migrants who arrived on Friday carried similar documentation, the office said. The administration of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican seeking his party's presidential nomination in 2024, last year orchestrated a flight carrying dozens of migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, a…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Boat with 400 migrants adrift between Libya and Malta

NEWS

A vessel with around 400 people on board is adrift between Malta and Libya and is taking on water, support service Alarm Phone said on Sunday, amid a sharp rise of migrant boats crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa. Alarm Phone said on Twitter they had received a call from the boat, which departed from Tobruk, in Libya, last night and that they had informed authorities. But no rescue operation has been launched so far, they added. Alarm Phone said people on board were panicking, with several of them requiring medical attention. The vessel was out of fuel and its…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

British interior minister Braverman says Rwanda is safe for migrants

NEWS

BRITAIN'S interior minister Suella Braverman said she was convinced Rwanda was a safe country to resettle migrants who had arrived in Britain illegally but she declined to set any deadline for the first deportations to the country. The British government is hoping to send thousands of migrants more than 4,000 miles away to the East African country as part of a 120 million pound ($148 million) deal to deter asylum seekers crossing the English Channel from France in small boats. The plan was announced in April 2022, but the first deportation flight was blocked by an injunction from the European…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Britain to announce plan to house migrants on military bases within weeks, Sky News reports

WORLD

PLANS by the British government to move migrants out of hotels and into military bases or even disused ferries are expected to be announced within weeks, Sky News reported. Previous suggestions involving the use of holiday camps and student halls were less likely to be brought into action, the report said. The government has signalled it wants to end the use of hotels as asylum seeker accommodation. “We have always been upfront about the unprecedented pressure being placed on our asylum system, brought about by a significant increase in dangerous and illegal journeys into the country," a Home Office (interior…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

UK interior minister visits Rwanda to expand deportation plan

NEWS

PHILBERT GIRINEMA BRITISH interior minister Suella Braverman visited Rwanda to expand a deal under which the east African country will accept migrants who arrive in Britain without permission if British courts confirm that the proposals are legal. Britain's government wants to send thousands of migrants more than 4,000 miles away (6,400 km) to Rwanda as part of a 120 million pound ($146 million) deal agreed upon with Rwanda last year. No deportations have occurred while campaigners challenge the policy's legality in the courts. Many charities say the proposal is costly and impractical and will criminalise thousands of genuine refugees with few routes…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Tunisia’s president is targeting migrants to divert attention from serious domestic problems – a classic tactic

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

TUNISIA’S president Kais Saied recently called for urgent measures against illegal immigration of sub-Saharan African nationals. He said they were a source of “violence, crime and unacceptable acts”. His comments were condemned by the international community and the World Bank paused talks over its future engagement with Tunisia. They also led to widespread protests in Tunisia while hundreds of migrants fled the country. Author JEAN-PIERRE CASSARINO, Visiting professor, College of Europe Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa, asked Jean-Pierre Cassarino, an expert on international migration in the Maghreb and Africa region, to shed light on migration to Tunisia and what…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Italy shipwreck death toll at 62, including children

WORLD

REMO CASILLI and ANGELO AMANTE RESCUERS recovered three more bodies, a day after a wooden sailboat carrying migrants to Europe smashed onto rocks in stormy weather off southern Italy, bringing the death toll to 62, including at least 14 children. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said more than two dozen Pakistanis were believed to have been among the vessel's passengers. Rescuers said many Afghanis and some Iranians had also been aboard the boat. "We met a survivor who fled Afghanistan with his sister to escape the Taliban. She did not survive," said Sergio Di Dato, a project coordinator with the charity Doctors…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

African Union criticises Tunisia over ‘racialised hate speech’ against migrants

NEWS

THE African Union (AU) has criticised Tunisia and urged it to avoid "racialised hate speech" after President Kais Saied ordered the expulsion of undocumented migrants and said immigration was a plot aimed at changing his country's demographic makeup. Tunisia's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday it was surprised by the AU statement issued late on Friday, and rejected what it called "baseless accusations" that it said misunderstood the government's position. The AU voiced what it said was "deep shock and concern at the form and substance of the statement" issued by Tunisian authorities and reminded Tunisia of its obligation within the…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

73 presumed dead after shipwreck off Libyan coast

NEWS

AT least 73 migrants were reported missing and presumed dead following a shipwreck off the Libyan coast on Tuesday, the official Twitter account of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Libya said. Seven survivors made it to shore from the boat, which was carrying around 80 people, who had reportedly departed from Qasr Alkayar, east of Tripoli, to head to Europe, the IOM added. So far, 11 bodies have been retrieved by the Libyan Red Crescent and the local police, while the seven survivors are in hospital, the IOM said. Libya has become a major launching point for migrants…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

EU wants to send more migrants away as irregular arrivals grow

WORLD

GABRIELA BACZYNSKA EUROPEAN Union ministers sought ways to curb irregular immigration and send more people away as arrivals rose from pandemic lows, reviving controversial ideas for border fences and asylum centres outside of Europe. EU border agency Frontex reported some 330,000 unauthorised arrivals last year, the highest since 2016, with a sharp increase on the Western Balkans route. "We have a huge increase of irregular arrivals of migrants," Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told talks among the 27 EU migration ministers. "We have a very low return rate and I can see we can make significant progress here."Advertisement · Scroll…