(2020-04-02). EU's top court says eastern states broke law by refusing to host refugees. rt.com 
The European Union's top court has ruled that Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic had broken the law by refusing to host refugees to help ease the burden on Greece and Italy after a surge in migrant arrivals from 2015. | "By refusing to comply with the temporary mechanism for the relocation of applicants for international protection, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic have failed to fulfill their obligations under EU law," the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the EU said on Thursday. | The decision underscores Europe's divisions over migration. However, the three ex-communist nations face no immedia…
(2020-04-02). Greece quarantines first migrant camp after 20 asylum seekers test positive for coronavirus. rt.com 
Athens has quarantined a migrant camp after 20 asylum seekers tested positive for coronavirus, the first such facility in Greece to be hit since the outbreak of the disease. Any movement in or out of the Ritsona camp, which is 75km (45 miles) northeast of Athens and hosts hundreds of people, will be restricted for 14 days. | Tests on 63 people were conducted after a 19-year-old female migrant who gave birth in an Athens hospital was found to be infected. This was the first recorded case among thousands of asylum seekers living in overcrowded camps across Greece. | None of the confirmed cases showed any symptom…
(2020-04-02). Modi government represses desperate migrant workers amid calamitous coronavirus lockdown. wsws.org People across India and around the world have been shocked and outraged by the pictures of poor migrant workers caught up in the Indian government's ill-conceived and socially reckless 21-day nationwide coronavirus lockdown.
(2020-04-02). $29 Million Worth Haul of Drugs Unearthed in Narco Tunnel Under US-Mexico Border. sputniknews.com The underground passageway between Tijuana and San Diego – 2,000 feet long and 31 feet deep — was discovered by agents on the San Diego Tunnel Task Force on 19 March before they reached out to Mexican authorities for support.
(2020-04-01). Farmworkers are "essential" but excluded, awaiting the virus. peoplesworld.org 
In fields and rural communities across the United States the nation's 2.5 million agricultural laborers are waiting for the shoe to drop — for the first cases of coronavirus among farmworkers. As they wait they are already feeling sharply the effects of the measures taken to contain the virus' spread. Francisco Lozano, a farmworker in …
(2020-04-01). SPLC, partners seek temporary restraining order to prevent immigration courts from becoming public health hazard. splcenter.org …
(2020-04-01). Headlines for April 1, 2020. democracynow.org No Longer Downplaying Virus, Trump Says Up to 240,000 Will Die in U.S. from COVID-19, FEMA Sends 85 Refrigerated Trucks to NYC as Makeshift Morgues as COVID-19 Deaths Grow, As Confirmed U.S. Cases Top 188,000, Unhoused People Forced to Sleep in Las Vegas Parking Lot, Chicago COVID-19 Nurse Quits over Critical Lack of Personal Protective Equipment, Fed Economists: U.S. Unemployment Could Reach Record 32% in June, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Demands Release of All Jailed Immigrants Amid Pandemic, Captain Calls for Evacuation of Infected U.S. Aircraft Carrier: "Sailors Do Not Need to Die", Governor Won't Allow Sic…
(2020-04-01). Mexico: Migrant Population Vulnerable to the COVID-19. telesurenglish.net Social organizations and human rights defenders in Mexico denounced the lack of hygiene and optimal sanitary conditions in migrant shelters in the country during Coronavirus' outbreak. | RELATED: | Alejandra Macías Delgadillo, director of the organization Asylum Access Mexico, asked state institutions for a report on the preventive measures in these facilities to avoid the spread of COVID-19 among migrants. She…
(2020-04-01). 'Working round the clock' to aid Venezuelan refugees and migrants during COVID-19 pandemic: UN agencies. news.un.org Two United Nations agencies came together Tuesday to urge the international community not to overlook the on-going plight of millions of refugees and migrants from Venezuela, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread around the world.
(2020-04-01). COVID-19: International community must step up to prevent pandemic from devastating vulnerable on the run. news.un.org Given how quickly the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading, an outbreak is "looking imminent" in the world's refugee camps, crowded reception centres or detention facilities where migrant families are sheltering, the Executive Director of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday.
(2020-04-01). India's Top Court Holds Govt Accountable Over Migrant Crisis. telesurenglish.net India's top court on Monday sought a report from the government over the steps taken for tens of thousands of migrant laborers as they try to return home after losing jobs following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationwide lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak. | RELATED: | The Supreme Court was hearing two petitions through a video-conferencing as the situation turned grim amid reports of more than 20 migrant laborer…
(2020-04-01). First Case of COVID-19 in a Refugee Camp in Greece. telesurenglish.net A woman who recently gave birth in Greece has become the first refugee to have contracted the coronavirus in the country, Greece's Migration Ministry said Tuesday. | RELATED: | The unidentified woman lives at Ritsona, a refugee camp some 80 km (50 miles) north of Athens and, according to local media, she could be of African origin. | She had given birth last week in a hospital near the camp, which has a population of abo…
(2020-04-01). Brazil Confirms First COVID-19 Case in Isolated Tribe. telesurenglish.net An indigenous woman in a village deep in the Amazon rainforest has contracted the novel coronavirus, the first case reported among Brazil's more than 300 tribes, the Health Ministry's Indigenous health service (SESAI) said Wednesday. | RELATED: | The 20-year-old woman from the Kokama tribe tested positive for the virus in the district of Santo Antonio do Iàßá, near the border with Colombia some 880 km (550 mi…
(2020-04-01). COVID-19 in Haiti: the Current Response and Challenges. counterpunch.org On March 19, Haitian president Jovenel MoàØse confirmed the first two cases of the novel coronavirus in Haiti. The number has since increased to eight. In response, the president has declared a state of emergency and ordered schools, factories, and religious entities to close; established a curfew; and closed the country's borders. The government announced
(2020-04-01). Advancing Change in a Time of Disruption: Forging a New Pathway for Nature. commondreams.org A doctor checks the body temperature of a man returning from Iran at a quarantine zone to test for the COVID-19 coronavirus in the Pakistan-Iran border town of Taftan on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Banaras Khan/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/gettyimages-1203058618.png …
(2020-03-31). Many immigrants left out of pandemic aid acts. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – Many immigrants won't be able to get help from the bipartisan COVID-19 pandemic aid bills passed by Congress and signed by President Trump. More than 4 million undocumented immigrants who are paying taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN, will not qualify for the $1200 per person benefit because they have no Social Security number. Another 5 million American citizen children with undocumented parents also will not get the $500 per child benefit. | Legal immigrants and naturalized citizens tend to have lower incomes than native-born Americans. People whose income is low en…
(2020-03-31). Visas extended for overseas doctors, nurses and paramedics fighting virus in UK. thecanary.co Doctors, nurses and paramedics from abroad are to have their visas extended so they can "focus on fighting coronavirus". | The extension will apply to around 2,800 migrant health professionals who are working for the NHS and have UK work visas which are due to expire before 1 October. | They will be renewed automatically for a year free of charge so they can remain working in the country, the Home Office said. | The changes will also apply to their family members. | Restrictions have also been lifted on how many hours international student doctors and nurses can work for the NHS per week, according to an announce…
(2020-03-31). On the Need for Dissent and Debate in These Urgent Times. thenation.com On the Need for Dissent and Debate in These Urgent Times…
(2020-03-31). Blast Halts Iran's Gas Exports to Turkey. iranian.com Iran's natural gas exports to Turkey have stopped following an explosion on a pipeline near their joint border, an official at the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) said on Tuesday. "The explosion occurred near the Iranian border, causing gas to be halted from 6: 50 (0320 GMT) this morning," Mehdi Jamshidi-Dana said, Press TV reported. The …
(2020-03-31). Government inaction puts staff and inmates in immigration detention at risk. greenleft.org.au 
(2020-03-30). Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative: COVID-19 Parole Informational Guide for Sponsors. splcenter.org …
(2020-03-28). [World Report] Venezuelan migrants "struggling to survive" amid COVID-19. thelancet.com Humanitarian organisations are concerned that border closures and health-care shortages are amplifying the challenges posed by COVID-19. Joe Parkin Daniels reports from Bogotá.
(2020-03-28). [Obituary] Aron Goldhirsch. thelancet.com Medical oncologist specialising in breast cancer. Born on April 25, 1946, in Landsberg am Lech, Germany, he died on Feb 26, 2020, in Lugano, Switzerland, aged 73 years.
(2020-03-27). Weekend Read: SPLC demands ICE act amid pandemic to save the lives of countless immigrants trapped in its crowded detention centers. splcenter.org …
(2020-03-27). Headlines for March 27, 2020. democracynow.org U.S. Leads World in Reported COVID-19 Cases as Hospitalizations Surge, Trump Doubts New York City's Need for 30,000 Life-Saving Ventilators, Politico: President Trump Failed to Follow Pandemic Playbook, Squandering Precious Time, Detroit and Chicago Join New Orleans as U.S. Coronavirus Hot Spots, House to Vote on Record-Shattering $2.2 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Package, Three Unaccompanied Migrant Children Test Positive for COVID-19, Jailed Asylum Seekers Stage Hunger Strike, Demanding Release During Pandemic, Activists Demand Release of Aging Prisoners as Coronavirus Spreads, Hospitals in Spain and Italy on th…
(2020-03-26). Asylum Seekers Stranded in Mexico Face a New Danger: COVID-19. aclu.org 
Since the Trump administration first unrolled its policy of
(2020-03-25). Headlines for March 25, 2020. democracynow.org Senate and White House Reach Agreement on $2 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Bill, NY Governor Blasts Trump's Coronavirus Response, Asking "Where Are the Ventilators?", Two Georgia Medical Workers Die of COVID-19 Amid Critical Shortage of Protective Gear, California Seeks to Add 50,000 Hospital Beds Ahead of COVID-19 Peak, Washington to Inspect Nursing Homes After 37 Die of Coronavirus at Life Care Center, Minnesota Lt. Gov.'s Brother Dies of COVID-19; Sen. Klobuchar's Husband Hospitalized, Defying Medical Advice, Trump Calls for Return to Normal and "Packed Churches" on Easter Sunday, U.S. Immigration Agencies Quara…
(2020-03-25). SPLC and allies seek federal court injunction in system-wide suit to protect people detained by ICE from contracting COVID-19. splcenter.org The SPLC and its allies asked a federal court today to issue a preliminary injunction requiring that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) take immediate steps to protect people in its custody, particularly those who have medical conditions making them more susceptible to serious illness and death from COVID-19.
(2020-03-20). How the ACLU Organized to end Racial Profiling on Greyhound Buses. aclu.org Two years ago, the ACLU set a clear goal: push Greyhound to refuse Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers access to their buses to conduct warrantless searches. As part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, CBP officers were targeting bus passengers around the country, boarding their buses to racially profile, harass, and too often, detain people who they suspected of being undocumented. Of course, you can't tell someone's immigration status by how they look or sound — this practice is unconstitutional and blatantly racist. By pushing aggressively with the help of our membership and…
(2020-03-20). COVID-19 Updates: SPLC continues fight against injustice. splcenter.org We are only beginning to feel the impacts of the coronavirus, but we know that the communities we serve — including low-income people, immigrants and people of color — are already among the most affected.
(2020-03-20). As White House Contemplates Coronavirus Asylum Ban, Hate Groups Urge Trump to Seize the Moment. splcenter.org The Trump administration took steps to block asylum seekers from entering the U.S.-Mexico border amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This nativist policy course has been pushed by anti-immigrant pundits and hate groups from the time the crisis started to unfold.
(2020-03-19). California Anti-Immigrant Activist Robin Hvidston Seeking State Assembly Seat. splcenter.org Robin Hvidston, a longtime anti-immigrant activist, is running as a Republican for a California Assembly seat in District 41.
(2020-03-18). The Military Should not be Searching Cars or Checking Documents at the Border. aclu.org There's an old saying that goes, "When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." This adage is especially applicable to the Trump administration's approach toward border policy, which is ever more militarized. On March 6th, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials