Editor’s note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com.
Biden Officials Planning New ID for Migrants.
The Biden administration is working on a new identification card to be issued to immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border that would allow U.S. immigration officials and migrants to more quickly access their files. The card would someday be accepted by the Transportation Security Administration for travel inside the United States.
Bodies of 5 Migrants Recovered in Waters Near Puerto Rico.
The bodies of five migrants have been recovered in waters off Mona Island near Puerto Rico, U.S. officials said. The U.S. Coast Guard responded Thursday morning to a report of a makeshift wooden vessel, suspected of taking part in human smuggling, that dropped off a group of non-U.S. citizens in waters near uninhabited Mona Island.
“The smugglers basically forced the migrants to disembark. It appears that five of the migrants drowned in the process,” said Jeffrey Quinones, U.S. Customs and Border Protection public affairs officer.
District of Columbia Requests Troops to Aid With Migrant Arrivals From Texas, Arizona.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser has requested the deployment of military troops to assist with migrants arriving in Washington on buses sent by Texas and Arizona state governments, according to letters sent by her office to U.S. military and White House officials.
Special report
“Terror in Tigray: The Ethiopian refugee crisis” is a finalist for the Association for Women in Communications Clarion Award. The VOA Special Project looks at the civil war in Ethiopia and the humanitarian crisis it created.
News Brief
— The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in a statement Friday, extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syrians living in the United States for an additional 18 months because of “ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Syria that prevent individuals from safely returning.”
— U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to move ahead with the Yuma Morelos Dam Project that will close four gaps located within an incomplete border barrier project near the Morelos Dam in Arizona.
— U.S. Border Patrol Apprehends Two Groups of Over 100 Migrants within 72 hours.