US immigration weekly recap, September 1-7

Republican bill to avoid government shutdown requires proof of citizenship to vote
House Republicans unveiled on Friday their legislation to avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of the month and fund the government into late March, when a new president and Congress would make the final decision on agency spending and priorities for fiscal 2025. Republicans also added a hot-button immigration issue to the measure by requiring states to obtain proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, when someone registers to vote. Inclusion of the citizenship requirement is a nonstarter in the Senate, complicating prospects for the spending bill’s passage. Reported by The Associated Press.
US border policy spurred migrant camps hundreds of miles away in Mexico’s capital
“That’s it, dude! Done!” exclaimed Eliezer López as he jumped up and down, throwing his arms to the sky and drawing a sign of the cross across his chest. His joy was so contagious, his friends started to emerge from nearby tents to celebrate with him.
López, a 20-year-old Venezuelan migrant in Mexico City, had reason to rejoice: After several frustrating attempts, he was able to secure an appointment to seek asylum in the U.S. Reported by The Associated Press.
New York mayor calls for changes in city’s migrant sanctuary status
Migrant-related crime in New York has many residents on edge, with some blaming the influx of undocumented migrants into the city over the past two years. Aron Ranen and Igor Tsikhanenka spoke to law enforcement officials, politicians, activists and migrants about the controversy in this story narrated by Aron Ranen.
Migrants attempting to cross the English Channel to reach Britain get on an inflatable dinghy as the French police and gendarmes officers patrol on the beach of the Slack dunes in Wimereux, France.
Immigration around the world
U.N. says both Sudan sides committed rights abuses, possibly war crimes.
Over the past 17 months, the war in Susan has uprooted millions of people from their homes. U.N. officials estimate 10.7 million people are displaced inside Sudan with some 2 million others having fled to neighboring countries as refugees, making Sudan the world’s largest displacement crisis. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.
7 rescued, 21 missing after migrant shipwreck off Italy’s Lampedusa
Seven people were rescued and 21 people were missing at sea after a migrant shipwreck off the island of Lampedusa, the Italian coast guard said Wednesday.
The survivors, all male Syrian nationals, were picked up from a semi-sunken boat about 18.5 kilometers southwest of Lampedusa, a statement said. Reported by Reuters.
New Polish law makes school attendance mandatory for Ukrainian refugees
Sava Trypolsky couldn’t wait for school to start. Days before the Ukrainian boy entered first grade Monday, his backpack was packed. Sitting on his bed in his home near Warsaw last week, he pulled out coloring pens, glue sticks and all manner of supplies emblazoned with Spider-Man, Minions and his favorite soccer player, Lionel Messi. Sava was almost 5 when he fled his home in Cherkasy, Ukraine, with his mother and older sister soon after Russia’s full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. But the war has dragged on for more than 2½ years, and he is now a 7-year-old starting his educational journey. Reuters reports.
Refugee Paralympian Al Hussein brings ‘message of hope’
Refugee Paralympic Team triathlete Ibrahim Al Hussein said Monday he had come to “give a message of hope” after taking part in his third Paralympic Games. Born in Syria, Al Hussein fled the civil war in his homeland, first seeking refuge in Turkey before settling in Greece in 2014. But before he managed to flee Syria, the future Paralympian was injured during the war and lost his right foot as well as the joint of his left foot in 2012. Reported by AFP.
Russia weaponized migration to help bolster populists, say Latvian experts
European Union governments have accused Russia of “weaponizing” migration by helping illegal migrants cross into the EU, stoking political tensions in countries such as Finland, Poland and Latvia. Latvian political observers say this tactic, in part, led to the gains of far-right parties in European elections this year. Henry Wilkins reports from Riga, Latvia.
12 dead after migrant boat sinks in waters off northern France
A boat carrying migrants ripped apart in the English Channel as they attempted to reach Britain from northern France on Tuesday, plunging dozens into the treacherous waterway and leaving 12 dead, authorities said. Many didn’t have life preservers in what one official called the deadliest migrant accident in the channel this year. Reported by The Associated Press.
News Brief
— The Department of Homeland Security reports that a “40-year-old Mexican national who oversaw an international money laundering network for the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel was convicted Sept. 4 of drug trafficking and money laundering offenses following an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration and IRS Criminal Investigation.”