South African government, Afrikaners reject Trump administration claim of a humanitarian emergency | PBS News

President Donald Trump announced he was increasing the refugee cap for white South Africans because of "an unforeseen emergency refugee situation." He blamed the South African government for "recent increases in the incitement of racially motivated violence," but gave no specific information. .

South African Foreign Ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said accusations of systemic persecution of Afrikaners were unfounded and that some beneficiaries of the refugee program have chosen to return to South Africa… 

Spokesman Jaco Kleynhans said the organization didn't know about any "unforeseen emergency refugee situation" for Afrikaners but respected the autonomy of U.S. refugee policy...

 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/south-african-government-afrikaners-reject-trump-administration-claim-of-a-humanitarian-emergency

 

Judge blocks Trump administration from deporting 3,000 Yemeni refugees

Emergency order allows extension of temporary protected status that has been repeatedly granted…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/01/yemeni-refugees-temporary-protected-status

 

Trump officials consider sending 1,100 Afghans who aided US forces to Congo

Discussions reportedly come after Trump’s decision to stop initiative that allowed group to apply to resettle in the US…

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/21/afghan-refugees-us-congo

 

These refugees were already admitted to the U.S. The Trump administration is detaining and questioning them anyway | PBS News

In January, a federal judge ordered a temporary halt to the arrest and detention of refugees in Minnesota while a lawsuit challenging the "revetting" continues. The judge ordered the immediate release of all refugees detained in Minnesota, and those taken to Texas. 

Three refugees told The Associated Press that whatever happens, the rounds of inconclusive interviews with immigration authorities well after they thought their status was safe has them questioning their futures in the U.S. and living in constant fear...

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/these-refugees-were-already-admitted-to-the-u-s-the-trump-administration-is-detaining-and-questioning-them-anyway 

 

The people fleeing climate breakdown

Photographers Mathias Braschler and Monika Fischer capture the families, farmers and fishers who have been forced to leave their homes by extreme weather – and the landscapes they left behind. Introduction by Dina Nayeri…

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/29/people-fleeing-climate-breakdown-in-pictures

Trump administration calls for radical reform of world’s asylum system - The Washington Post

The administration's attempts to reform the global asylum and refugee system alarmed some experts, who said that an emphasis on sovereignty would lead to chaos as each country sought to create their own rules. 

"Each state will try to divert and push and shirk responsibilities onto the next state, who will do the same, and ultimately there'll be no space for protection for people whose own governments are persecuting them," said Bill Frelick, refugee and migrant rights director at Human Rights Watch...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/09/25/trump-asylum-reforms-christopher-landau/

Citing “drastic” funding cuts, U.S. Catholic Church ends resettlement work - The Washington Post

In January, Vice President JD Vance criticized the U.S. Catholic Church's efforts to help immigrants and refugees, suggesting the church is motivated by money, and alleged without evidence that it works with millions of "illegal immigrants." 

The bishops sued the Trump administration in January for back pay for resettlement work it already completed. They are owed $24 million as of Monday, the USCCB said...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/04/07/catholic-bishop-refugee-resettlement-trump/

Circuit panel says Trump can enforce ban on some refugee admissions - The Washington Post

But the federal appeals court also stipulated that the administration must honor resettlements of all refugees whose status was conditionally approved before Jan. 20…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/03/25/trump-refugees-court-migrants/

Judge blocks Trump refugee ban for now - The Washington Post

U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead in Seattle called the presidential executive order an improper nullification of congressional authority...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/02/25/trump-refugee-ban-blocked/

Exclusive: Trump administration canceling flights for nearly 1,660 Afghan refugees, say U.S official, advocate | Reuters

Nearly 1,660 Afghans cleared by the U.S. government to resettle in the U.S., including family members of active duty U.S. military personnel, are having their flights canceled under President Donald Trump's order suspending U.S. refugee programs, a U.S. official and a leading refugee resettlement advocate said on Monday...

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-canceling-flights-nearly-1660-afghan-refugees-say-us-2025-01-20/ 

 

 

How much illegal immigration costs to local cities

Reality check: A new first-of-its-kind federal study found that refugees and asylum seekers have historically had a net positive fiscal impact in the U.S. 

The Department of Health and Human Services found that refugees and asylum seekers who entered the country between 2005 and 2019 generated nearly $124 billion in net federal, state and local government revenues — after taking into account the costs of caring for them...

https://www.axios.com/2024/02/25/migrant-immigration-cost-city-budgets

Is Jesus Too ”Weak” for MAGA Christians? (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #492)

— The guy who said evangelicals today see Jesus as "weak" is part of the problem. (1:10)

— Why is Baylor University getting a federal exemption from protecting LGBTQ students from faith-based harassment? (22:40)

— A pastor surrounded by jumbotrons is mad that people treat church like a "big production." (50:52)

— GOP lawmakers cited Noah's Ark to justify harming refugees with circular saw blades. (1:03:36)

— Tennessee’s Office of Faith-Based Initiatives will get $1.2 million. To do what? Who knows. (1:10:45)
Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-qjms5-1a55b50c

U.S. is rejecting over 90% of Afghans seeking to enter the country on humanitarian grounds - CBS News

…Alexander Wu, a former U.S. Marine Corps captain who served with Hussain during his 2012 deployment in Afghanistan's Helmand province, said his former translator should not have to worry whether his family members will be harmed or even killed.

 "Awful stuff happens everywhere but this is something that is uniquely a direct result of a U.S. policy choice," Wu said. "These are people that we served with."…

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghan-refugees-rejected-us-entry-humanitarian-grounds/

Ali Noorani on Immigration (Al Franken podcast)

Former director of the National Immigration Forum on The Border, DACA, Great Replacement Theory, Ukraine and Afghan Refugees. 

Interview: 

https://alfranken.com/listen/ali-noorani-on-immigration

Lesbian sues federal government after being rejected by foster agency

…Easter is suing the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Administration for Children and Families and its Office of Refugee Resettlement. She and her legal counsel allege that HHS, "by sanctioning and enabling discrimination and favoring certain religious beliefs," is violating the First and Fifth Amendments. 

"By preventing children under their care and custody from being placed in homes of LGBTQ people based on USCCB's religious beliefs, the Defendants — through USCCB and its subgrantees — not only discriminate against LGBTQ people, but also effectively disregard the non-Catholic identities and beliefs of many of the unaccompanied refugee children for whom they are responsible," the lawsuit states. "This conduct potentially increases those children's alienation and vulnerability, while denying them access to loving homes that could serve them best — all at federal taxpayers' expense."…

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/lesbian-sues-federal-government-rejected-foster-agency-rcna3084

Why Trump's sudden shift on Afghan refugees matters

…But after learning that his allies and supporters took the opposite position, Trump conveniently decided that he no longer agrees with himself, either.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/why-trump-s-sudden-shift-afghan-refugees-matters-n1277103

UNHCR, IOM, aid partners call for urgent support to refugees and migrants from Venezuela and their hosts | Mirage News

… Prolonged lockdowns, loss of livelihoods and increased poverty are forcing many Venezuelan refugees and migrants to depend on emergency humanitarian assistance to survive. The needs are dire in the areas of health, food security, water and basic sanitation, as well as access to education and opportunities to earn an income. The pandemic has also resulted in rising rates of evictions and homelessness, as well as a dramatic increase in reported cases of gender-based violence and mental health needs…

https://www.miragenews.com/unhcr-iom-aid-partners-call-for-urgent-support-578042/

The border, explained by someone who knows it intimately (Vox Conversations podcast)

Aarti Shahani, NPR journalist and host of WBEZ podcast Art of Power, talks with investigative journalist and author Alfredo Corchado about the US-Mexico border. Trump's actions created a new urgency for the political establishment to better understand the border, and Biden's challenges there continue to grow. Corchado, a former child farmworker and a Mexican-American with identities on both sides of the border wall, discusses the reality, politics, history, and future of the border.

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-yiaqi-d95371b

Our Southern Border - National Immigration Forum Executive Director Ali Noorani (The Al Franken podcast, April 4, 2021)

Al and Ali discuss what brought us here, where we are, and what we need to do going forward.

A list of organizations that humanely helps immigrants at the Southern Border:

El Paso:
The Annunciation House
Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center

McAllen:
Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley

Arizona
Kino Border Initiative

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-vtx3a-db18bc6

A Surge In Migrants At The Border (Diane Rehm, On My Mind)

Diane talks with Molly O'Toole, immigration and security reporter for The Los Angeles Times, about the situation at the border and the political test President Biden faces.

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-ycmf4-d7ccc4c