EU border agency in spotlight, Syrians stuck in Greece, migrant protests in Tunsia, and more
News
Mexican president calls for US-Venezuela migration agreement
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico called for the United States to raise quotas for Venezuelan migrants to enter the latter country. Obrador’s statement comes after a US plan to airdrop humanitarian aid for up to 24,000 Venezuelans, in a bid to stem the rising tide of Venezuelan migrants fleeing economic collapse in their homeland.
Germany sets foundation for migration policy reforms
According to sources in the German government, the country is putting in place a series of measures to attract more talented workers to address Germany’s labour shortage. The government plans to implement a points system to offer migrants the right to search for jobs in Germany, which is intended to fill hundreds of thousands of vacancies in the country.
Turkish security forces blocking us from Greece, say Syrian migrants
A representative of a migrant rights group said that Turkish security personnel are blocking hundreds of Syrian migrants from crossing Turkey's northwest border into Greece. This echoes claims similar to those in a recent video that purportedly shows Turkish security personnel forcibly taking away migrants who had congregated in a rural region.
Protests over migrant deaths bring Tunisia to a standstill
Unrest sparked by the death of migrants at sea, sparked nationwide strikes and protests in Tunisia, with protestors demanding that the government take steps to find missing migrants and to improve the living conditions for migrants. Stores and government buildings closed as demonstrators filled the streets of Zarzis and chanted anti-authority slogans.
Watchdog report puts EU border agency in the spotlight
EU’s anti-fraud watchdog released a highly awaited report on the EU border agency, Frontex, revealing that Frontex staff covered up the illegal pushbacks of migrants from Greece to Turkey in violation of their "basic rights." The German freedom of information portal FragDenStaat, along with the news outlets Der Spiegel and Lighthouse Reports, released the 120-page report, which states that Frontex engaged in "severe misconduct and other irregularities" by covering up pushback and failing to investigate it.
Opinion and analysis
Data reveals changes in migrant trends at US southwestern borders
The latest data released by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show that CBP encountered 2 million migrants between October 2021 and the end of August 2022, setting a new record for the number of migrants in a fiscal year.
A story in numbers: IDPs in Chad
Ever since unrest from neighbouring Nigeria spilt over in 2014, residents of Chad's Lac province have been engulfed in a humanitarian crisis, with thousands uprooted by attacks from armed organisations like Boko Haram and the Islamic State. This analysis examines the ground realities in Chad in the context of a new administration there has vowed to support internally displaced people (IDPs) in Chad.
A close-up look at migration in Yemen
Migrants continue to be among the most vulnerable people in Yemen, as millions continue to struggle with one of the worst humanitarian crises in history. Newly released data in the IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix show that over 15,700 migrants arrived in Yemen from July to September 2022, raising the year's total arrivals to well over 42,000.
