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Jul. 1, 2015

United Nations refugee agency reports that record 137,000 people have crossed Mediterranean Sea in search of better life in Europe so far in 2015; figure represents an 83 percent increase from 2014, and highlights growing refugee crisis. MORE

Op-Ed article by policy expert Nils Muiznieks argues that Europe's ambivalent and even cruel response to refugee crisis represents unacceptable backsliding on shared values of human rights that have marked Continent's progress since World War II; calls for more humane laws concerning migrants, stronger search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean and several other measures. MORE

European leaders end two-day summit meeting in Brussels about Continent's migration crisis with pledge to spread 40,000 refugees across nations, though plan lacks any details; meeting exposed angry passions and deep divisions among countries, made more fraught by failure of Greek debt negotiations. MORE

Violent anti-immigration protests in Slovakia and gains by right-wing Danish People's Party in Denmark's elections contribute to sense of fragmentation across European Union as it struggles to keep Greece from default and hold its currency together. MORE

Indonesian smuggler says Australian authorities stopped his boat at sea and paid him over $30,000 to return 65 migrants he was carrying to Indonesia; story, if confirmed, points to tightening of Australia's immigration policy under Prime Min Tony Abbott and potential violation of Austrailan, Indonesian and international laws governing smuggling, bribery and treatment of asylum seekers. MORE

Supreme Court votes, 5-4, to uphold denial of visa for American Fauzia Din's Afghan husband Kanishka Berashk, who was barred from entry into United States because of his past connections to Taliban. MORE

Editorial examines incidents at Walt Disney World and elsewhere that highlight deep problems with the H-1B visa program, saying it allows companies to recruit skilled foreign workers, through outsourcing programs, for pittance at expense of their American counterparts; observes that loopholes allow companies to subvert program created to help companies fill skill gaps when domestic candidates are unavailable; calls on lawmakers to amend program as part of larger immigration reform bill. MORE

United Nations officials say some of 65 Asian migrants who arrived in Indonesia after being intercepted by Australian authorities tell refugee workers that Australians paid smugglers to take them to Indonesia; report has raised questions about hard-line immigration policies that helped Australian Prime Min Tony Abbot win election in 2013. MORE

Politicians in Italy's north say they will not shelter any more migrants rescued in Mediterranean Sea; announcement comes as rescuers pluck 6,000 more migrants from waters. MORE

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Immigration - Times Topics - The New York Times