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Angry protests aren't something you'd associate with the pretty North Yorkshire village of Linton-on-Ouse - until now.

Residents are frustrated and furious with the Home Office's announcement that the former RAF base there will soon become an asylum reception centre for up to 1,500 people.

Representatives from the Home Office came to the village this week to attend a parish council meeting, and face questions from the residents.

They were greeted with boos, and chants of "wrong plan, wrong place", the phrase that has become the campaign slogan for those opposed to the scheme.

The village has a population of between six and seven hundred, with just four buses a day passing through it.

The RAF base has been here since 1937.

Originally home to part of Bomber Command, it became a training centre for all the RAF's fast-jet pilots, including Prince William.

But in 2014 the base began to be wound down, as training was moved to RAF Valley in Anglesey.

Then in 2020 it closed altogether, with the MoD originally planning to sell the site in 2023.

But Home Secretary Priti Patel had other plans and last month it was announced that it was to become the temporary home of hundreds of asylum seekers.

They will be processed there before being moved on, potentially to Rwanda under controversial plans.

During the, at times, rowdy meeting in the village hall the Home Office representatives told villagers they wanted to "hear their concerns" and "work with them for the best outcome".

The villagers were less than impressed, having suffered what they described as the "bombshell" of finding out about the plans via the media.

"Don't treat us like idiots," said one.

"We don't want to work with you, we want this stopped," said another.

The local district council, Hambleton, says it is exploring the possibility of a legal challenge to the Home Office decision, and so are several individuals.

Local Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake, is also bitterly opposed to the plan.

He raised the issue in prime minister's questions earlier in the week.

"What I was trying to do is keep the matter in the parliamentary eyeline," he explained.

"To make sure the people who are responsible for this decision - which does include the prime minister - think about what they're doing because this is catastrophic."

'Lots of us are working class people who happen to live in a rural area'

Dr Olga Matthias, the daughter of an immigrant father who fled the former Yugoslavia after the war, is one of those leading the protest campaign.

"It's not about nimbyism," she said.

"It's about a totally inappropriate plan being forced on a tiny village.

"A plan that Priti Patel has now made sure isn't going to happen in her own constituency."

"We're not privileged middle class people moaning about property prices," said another protestor.

"Lots of us here are working class people who happen to live in a rural area."

Another tells me they are concerned about the impact on the local community, and that the government should look to protect its own citizens before worrying about others.

Centre will help end taxpayer funded 'reliance on expensive hotels'

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The asylum reception centre at Linton-on-Ouse will help end our reliance on expensive hotels which are costing the taxpayer almost 5m a day.

"We are engaging with local stakeholders about the use of the site.

"The New Plan for Immigration will fix this broken asylum system, allowing us to support those in genuine need while preventing abuse of the system and deterring illegal entry to the UK."

A number of charities that work with refugees and asylum seekers also oppose the plans.

Mary Brandon, from the group Asylum Matters, says: "We know accommodation centres like these are extremely harmful for the people who are placed in them.

"They are destructive to people's mental health, they end up very isolated and feeling like they are stuck in limbo and separated from the rest of society."

Another charity, Ripon City of Sanctuary, also works to support refugees.

Now they are also providing advice to the Linton Action campaign group, which may result in further legal challenges.

Critics of the scheme maintain that nobody seems to want it, other than the Home Office.

Unless the government can be convinced, or made to backtrack, the first tranche of asylum seekers will arrive in Linton-on-Ouse by the end of this month.

Read this article:
Migrant crisis: Linton-on-Ouse residents' fury at Home Office asylum centre branding it the 'wrong plan, wrong place' - Sky News

Vernica Martnez| La Verdad

Federal judge blocks lifting of expulsion policy Title 42

A federal judge in Louisiana blocked the lifting of expulsion policy Title 42. Thousands of people will continue to wait to seek asylum in the U.S.

Anthony Jackson, El Paso Times

Lea la versin en espaolaqu.

The decision of a federal judge that forced the United States to continue the immediate expulsion of migrants under Title 42placed Ciudad Jurez on the cusp of a new humanitarian crisis, due to the daily increase in the migrant population on this border.

The flow of more than 100 expelled per day from U.S. territoryunder Title 42 and the growing arrival of migrants waiting to cross the border has the shelters close to being saturated. Hundreds of other migrants are in spaces that they rent on their own in hotels or homes, while others live in houses in abandoned conditions.

I think that now it is going to be necessary for the government and government agencies to give an answer (soon) because for the moment we are somewhat overwhelmed, said Rosa Mani, coordinator of the Somos Uno por Jurez shelter network, made up of 15 of the 23 humanitarian shelter spaces that operate in the city, mainly by civil and religious organizations.

Immigration: Jurez again becomes a waiting room for migrants who hope to seek asylum in the United States

Mexican authorities addressed the migration issue Friday morning during the meeting of the Coordination Table for the Construction of Peace, which is made up of representatives of the federal, state and local governments. They discussed strategies for a new spike in migration due to the possible suspension of Title 42, which the U.S. government had planned for Monday. That plan was blocked hours later by a U.S. federal judge from Louisiana.

Even with the continuation of Title 42, officials are concerned the massive concentration of migrants in this community will continue to increase due to the expulsion of people from the north and those who continue to arrive from the south.

Migrants stranded in the city are beginning to despair and seek to cross the border. This motivated nearly 300 people from Haiti to gather Friday in front of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the downtown area, to go to the Office of Human Mobility of the Diocese of Ciudad Jurez in search of information on Title 42.

They are afraid that many people are staying here without being heard. The cathedral has been their home in many ways and they come to ask for help to see if we can register them (to cross), but we thats not in our capacity, said Cristina Coronado, the coordinator of the diocese office that provides humanitarian assistance as distribution of pantries, clothing and orientation for people who have just arrived.

We came here because we know there is an organization that can help us cross into the United States. We dont want to cross into the United States illegally, said Flix, a migrant from Haiti who was waiting to be seen by the human mobility office.

Gerta, a Haitian woman, said it was the first time she went to the migrant assistance office despite having been in Ciudad Jurez for several weeks.

I came looking for help to see if there are people to help enter (the United States) because I dont want deportation. I have too much time doing this for them to push us back, she said.

Many of the people who showed up at the cathedral have been in Ciudad Jurez for several weeks, and some even months, Coronado said. They came to the office driven by rumors of possible exceptions to Title 42 that have been granted and through which some migrants have been able to cross into the United States.

Title 42 is a public health law that the Trump administration invoked in March 2020, arguing that it was necessary to expel migrants at the border to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Biden administration continued the policy, but announced last month that it would end Title 42 on May 23. The Louisiana judge on Friday ordered the government to continue enforcing Title 42.

This order prevents migrants from submitting humanitarian asylum applications because when they cross the border they are immediately expelled by immigration authorities.

In the busy and noisy kitchen of the Solus Christus shelter, Pastor Rodolfo Barraza receives a phone call while chatting with the newly arrived migrants. The person on the other end of the line asks if the shelter can take in his three daughters.

Look, you speak to me at the right time. I would have told you that there is no more space but today they just confirmed that tomorrow just three people will leave, Barraza told the caller. I would only need to know when they would arrive and I would ask you to come soon to reserve the place for them.

The shelter has been at capacity for almost two weeks with a flow that goes in and out, Barraza said, explaining that new people arrive daily looking for accommodation. At the same time, the reception space has been relieved with the departure of people who manage to cross through with exceptions to Title 42.

Borderland: El Paso officials trying to avert humanitarian crisis after migrants dropped Downtown

The Solus Christus shelter hasnt been this full since 2019, Barraza said. With 50 bunks, Barraza says they always try to keep the shelter at 90 percent capacity in case they have to accommodate a group of people who arrive unexpectedly.

I dont know if this repeal of Title 42 prompted people to come, Barraza said. But here at the door of the shelter, I get tired of telling people that the border is not open.

The migratory flow comes both from the south, with people from Central American countries and from the Mexican states of Guerrero and Michoacn, as well as from the north with people who have been returned to Mexico from the United States under various immigration policies.

More: Non-profit shelter network reaching capacity, director urges local and federal government to open hospitality sites

This arrival of migrants comes up against limited spaces in shelters and with organizations overwhelmed by the current demand for humanitarian attention.

Giving attention to different populations and with different capacities, most of the shelters report that they are already close to being saturated, said Rosa Mani, from the Somos Uno por Jurez shelter network.

Mani explained that accepting people in shelters goes beyond having space and bunks to sleep, but also includes food and health resources to provide decent accommodation and care.

The Office of Human Mobility of the Catholic Diocese of Ciudad Jurez has also seen a significant increase in the demand for services for people who have just arrived at the border. On average, they are receiving about 10 families a day in addition to the attention they give to between 40 and 50 families who have already been in Ciudad Jurez for months.

The new arrivals seek accommodation and food, including the delivery of breast milk, diapers and clothing.

Despite the fact that much is up in the air regarding immigration policy, Coronado said the diocese will continue to provide humanitarian assistance, orientation, and clothing and food to the population on the move, especially to the Haitian population, which continues to arrive in large numbers.

Before (May) 23 we were all trying to prepare because if (Title 42) is lifted, we didnt know exactly what the answer would be, Coronado said. What I know is that there is a very high flow. There are a lot of people arriving, there are a lot of people.

Even though U.S. Customs and Border Protection has emphasized that the public health order is still in force, humanitarian groups in Ciudad Jurez have reported the departure of migrants who managed to enter the United States with exceptions to the public health order.

In accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, (the Department of Homeland Security continues to approve exceptions to Title 42 on a case-by-case basis for particularly vulnerable individuals of all nationalities for humanitarian reasons, CBP officials said in a statement.

Enrique Valenzuea, the coordinator of the State Population Council (COESPO), said CBP has granted Title 42 exceptions to about 30 people per day over the past week, saying the priority has been given to exceptional cases.

Neither U.S. or Mexican authorities elaborated on the criteria for exceptions to Title 42.

Title 42 has been widely criticized by human rights advocates for violating international refugee law. Since its implementation in March 2020, CBP has reported nearly 1.8 million encounters with migrants that have resulted in removals under Title 42.

It is difficult to determine the total number of people expelled to Mexico under this order since many of the expulsions involve people who attempted multiple crossings. CBP estimates that 28 percent of their encounters with migrants have involved people who had already attempted to cross at least once.

More: Judge rules Title 42, allowing COVID asylum restrictions, can continue at border

More: El Paso COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations rising; fluctuations expected in summer 2022

In the El Paso sector, a total of 14,875 encounters were reported in the month of April that resulted in expulsions under the Title 42 public health law, and 14,963 under Title 8, the U.S. immigration enforcement law.

The immigration policy continues to return hundreds of people daily, leaving thousands of people stranded in Ciudad Jurez. This brought challenges for civil society and humanitarian groups in Ciudad Jurez, said Blanca Navarrete, director of Integral Human Rights in Action.

The future of Title 42 has caused uncertainty among migrants who continue to arrive at the northern border, and among the network of shelters, local and international civil organizations, and government agencies that provide care to people in mobility.

I think many people are going to be desperately looking everywhere hoping to be given a chance to enter, Coronado said of the consequences that could occur in the city in the coming days in terms of immigration.

Valenzuela mentioned that even with the expected termination of Title 42, this did not imply that the United States would allow entry to all kinds of people who wanted to apply for asylum. With the suspension of the order being blocked, immediate expulsions will continue to take place at this border.

It is necessary for anyone who is yet to make the trip or is already on the move to wait for official information. Dont be fooled by traffickers and wait for the best time to make the trip or approach the border, Valenzuela said.

This story was produced as part of the Puente News Collaborative, a binational partnership of news organizations in Ciudad Jurez and El Paso.

More here:
With extension of Title 42, Jurez faces a new immigration crisis - El Paso Times

May 20, 2022 | Austin, Texas | Press Release

Governor Greg Abbott today activatedthe Joint Border Security Operations Center (JBSOC) and directed the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), Texas Military Department (TMD), and Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to coordinate Texas response to secure the borderin preparation for President Biden's reckless decision to end Title 42 expulsions on Monday, May 23.

The JBSOC is activated to its highest alert level as the Biden Administration has estimated that the end of Title 42 expulsions will lead to up to 18,000 illegal crossings per day from Mexico into the United States.

"Texas will not stand by as President Biden puts our state and our nation in danger by ending Title 42 expulsions and allowing dangerous criminals, illegal weapons, and deadly drugs like fentanyl to flow unabated into the United States, and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis at our southern border," said Governor Abbott. "We continue taking unprecedented action to secure the border, ramping up every available strategy and resource in response to President Biden's ongoing border crisis. The Joint Border Security Operations Center will play an integral rolein our state's robust response toprovide the border security strategy Texans and Americans deserve."

The JBSOC, located at DPS headquarters in Austin, will serve as the state's multi-agency command and coordination center for statewide border security intelligence and operations to include tactical, marine, air, and ground. It will also coordinate the deployment of strategic barriers along the Texas-Mexico border, including razor wire.

Live feeds from Texas National Guard and DPS aircraft, UAVs, and detection cameras will provide around-the-clock situational awareness.The JBSOC will have direct contact with law enforcement and local leaders along the Texas-Mexico border.

Pursuant to thedisaster declarationissued last year and his authority to respond to disasters under state law, Governor Abbott directed the following state agencies to report to the JBSOC:

Texas Department of Public Safety

Texas Military Department

Texas Division of Emergency Management

Texas Department of Transportation

Texas Facilities Commission (TFC)

Texas Commission on Law Enforcement

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD)

Texas Commission on Jail Standards

Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ)

Texas Health and Human Services Commission

Texas Fire Marshals Office

Texas Attorney Generals Office

Texas Indigent Defense Commission

Border Prosecution Unit

Office of Court Administration

Governor Abbott has taken significant action to secure the border in the wake of the federal governments inaction. Those actions include:

Read more on additional actions taken by the Governor to secure the border through Operation Lone Star.

See the rest here:
Governor Abbott Activates Joint Border Security Operations Center In Preparation For Mass Migrant Influx As Biden Ends Title 42 Expulsions - Office of...

Dozens of children and adolescents melt into long hugs with their parents at a shelter in Quetzaltenango. Their perilous journey alone to the United States as migrants has just ended in failure after their deportation from Mexico to Guatemala.

From the white bus with Mexican license plates that parked Thursday in front of the state-run Nuestras Races shelter in Quetzaltenango (southwest), a four-hour drive from Guatemalas capital, 59 repatriated minors disembarked.

These 14 days that we were without seeing her, without knowing anything, it was terrible, says Jos Mauricio, 33, who is waiting for his 16-year-old daughter.

Their identities are being withheld. Joss daughter left her hometown of Coatepeque a month ago and they found out that she had been detained in Mexico for 14 days. She made the trip with a cousin, and both were deported.

The authorities identified the minors, located their parents by telephone and summoned them for an interview to confirm the relationship.

When Jos sees his daughter, he holds her tightly to his chest. Despite the pain of having to separate, Jos believes that there is no choice but to migrate from this country where 60% of its 17 million inhabitants live in poverty.

In Guatemala there is no way she can survive with her studies. It was the decision that was made for her to be someone important in life. It was difficult, it is the only option because here it is not possible, laments the father.

Minors are the most vulnerable migrants, according to Save The Children: The migration crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean is impacting tens of thousands of children and adolescents who, leaving their countries unaccompanied by a responsible adult, become one of the most vulnerable groups exposed to threats and violations of their rights.

A U.S. federal judge decided Friday to maintain the validity of Title 42, a decree of former President Donald Trumps administration that allows the immediate expulsion of migrants seeking asylum at its southern border.

Title 42 does not apply to unaccompanied minors (unless they are Mexican), which is why many Central Americans choose to send their children alone to the United States in search of a better life.

Although they do not admit it in public, parents comment that they pay up to 150,000 quetzales (almost $20,000) for their children to migrate. To do so, they get into debt or a family member from the United States finances the operation.

The rates depend on the type of amenities. They offer with hotel, without hotel, there is a variety, says Maripaz Lopez, the person in charge of the shelter, according to what she hears from the migrants. Some travel packages include three arrival attempts.

But along the way there are endless hardships. They suffer many situations, they are left without food, they walk at night () They suffer a lot, they suffer from robbery, assault, aggression and sometimes sexual violence, says Lopez, who each week receives about 150 deported minors at the shelter.

This group of deported minors was found in safe houses, homes where human traffickers hide undocumented migrants until they can get them across the U.S. border.

Lopez says that when things go wrong, the smugglers call family members living in the United States to extort money and, when they get the money, turn the child over to Mexican immigration for deportation.

One of the rescued groups went so far as to tell how the traffickers placed tigers on the door of a safe house.

We had some very difficult cases, admits Lopez.

Norma Prez, 32, lives in the United States and managed to send her seven-year-old daughter from Guatemala. When the operation failed, she had to travel to her native country to receive her at the shelter.

It didnt happen, I was waiting for her there, I dont think I would try again. A great sorrow was removed from my heart, I saw her and she is fine. For her I left and for her I am here, he says.

The goal of traveling is to pursue those dreams, he says. But on the road we dont know what is going to happen, many risk their lives, Perez says.

You feel worried when you dont hear from him, but the moment you know he is coming back you feel happy because they are healthy and well, says farmer Lorenzo Rodrguez (49), who is waiting for his 15-year-old son.

Rodrguez is from the town of Canill, in the Quich region, one of the poorest areas of the country.

One lives through a very critical calamity and that is why one decides to go somewhere else. Not everyone is lucky. For those who are lucky, they manage to get through, others find death, he says.

Do not be fooled by the American dream, because the American dream is currently separating families, says the shelter manager.

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Deported to Guatemala, migrant minors reunited with their parents : - The Tico Times

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On a frigid foggy fall evening, Dad was only 15 when he walked across the Hungarian border. Mom, then 13, would cross later. Hungarian refugees, they were fleeing the blitz of Russian tanks crushing freedom-loving people during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956.

Gone now, my parents were heavy on my mind as I worked with Ukrainian refugees in Hungary last month mainly women and children living a parallel nightmare as Russian military ravage their homeland.

More than 11 million have now fled Ukraine including almost 6 million into neighboring countries, including over 600,000 into Hungary. On track for being the largest refugee crisis in modern history, more Ukrainians will have left their country than those who fled the Syrian Civil War and the Soviet Afghan War.

UKRAINE REFUGEE CRISIS: SCENES OF SUFFERING, LESSONS IN BEAUTY

A son of refugees, I needed to feel the real-life experience of the Eastern European migrant. "I want to sit next to a stranger and learn about his life," Thomas Csorba (my own son) wrote it in a folk song -- because when we learn about another soul, we surely get a glimpse into ours.

What did my mother and father may feel as teenagers running from tyranny and towards freedom?

People who fled the war in Ukraine rest inside an indoor sports stadium being used as a refugee center, in the village of Medyka, a border crossing between Poland and Ukraine, on March 15. (AP/Petros Giannakouris)

These Ukrainian refugees are like a pleasing family puzzle -- weary from their complex journey; yet so full of life and persistence.

I wanted to see how all the pieces fit and what the picture reveals. Despite the horrific stories of rape and murder, I saw resiliency and even a sharp sense of humor, though sardonic -- perhaps inspired by their comedian-turned president now standing in as the de facto leader of the free world.

UKRAINE'S LVIV REGION STRUCK BY MISSILE, MILITARY INFRASTRUCTURE HIT

One family prepared a Ukrainian Easter dinner for us in their tiny provisional apartment in Budapest. They made us feel welcome and at home; perhaps so they could also return home, even for a few hours.

Refugees walk after fleeing the war from neighboring Ukraine at the border crossing in Medyka, southeastern Poland, on April 8, 2022. (AP/Sergei Grits)

Their son, who suffers from cerebral palsy, laughed mockingly as he pointed to a bombed-out restaurant on his iPhone a favorite family spot in the Black Sea town of Odessa. The shelling as part of the so-called Russian "Special Military Operation" wasnt lost on the young man his anguish masked in the irony of the barbaric act.

We all came from somewhere, and we all have a story of struggle and some alienation.

Most Ukrainian refugees we spoke with remain relatively close to Ukraine hoping to soon return.

On the day we crossed the border into Ukraine to deliver medical supplies to Lviv, the line going back in was longer than the one coming out.

Many would rather return home under the threat of constant shelling than live in their current uncertainty. Such is the soul of the Ukrainian refugee.

UKRAINIAN REFUGEE IN US: I DON'T BELIEVE THAT WE'RE HERE' AFTER CROSSING THE SOUTHERN BORDER

But another danger waits for the new refugees, namely men stalking young women at the border. They offer them what appears like a friendly ride, but then force them into the underworld of human trafficking. Risking everything to flee war and then finally crossing the border - a moment of hopefulness -- and then falling into the evil of exploitation is too much to fathom.

God-fearing, these Ukrainians are surely leaning on the promise of the psalmist, "the Lord watches over strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, and He thwarts the way of the wicked."

Tough-minded and faithful, they have their fears one of which is that we will grow weary and become faint, and the humanitarianism will wane. But how can we forget Bucha? Irpin? And Kharkiv and Mariupol?

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They also fear that resentment will fester as the costs of caring for them become too much housing, education, medicine and jobs. Grateful for our benevolence, they worry about our stamina. Some appealed to the golden rule in the Gospel, namely, "in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you."

Of course, they are right. There is our common humanity, our own compassion to suffer with one another. We all came from somewhere, and we all have a story of struggle and some alienation.

When one of us becomes the last, the least, and the lost, we become a refuge to them as if we are serving ourselves. Surely not the same Ukrainian hell, but when we see our stories as refugees alike, how can we stop caring for the millions of Ukrainians without a home and a country?

We all want a safe place to live. We all hunger for freedom and human dignity. We all want to come home.

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As Dina Niyeri, the Iranian refugee raised in America, asked about our universal refugee condition, "Is it not the obligation of every person born in a safer room to open the door when someone in danger knocks?"

My mother and father have been gone for years, but now they are even greatly remembered and loved. And so, too, the Ukrainians, whose suffering, and ours with them, makes us all refugees.

Read the rest here:
Ukraine war has taught us that we are all refugees now - Fox News