VOA immigration weekly recap, Oct 7-12

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: [email protected].
Judges in DACA case hear arguments over Texas’ legal standing to sue
A major focus of the arguments before the appeals panel is whether Texas, the lead plaintiff, has the legal standing to bring the lawsuit and whether a Texas district judge had the authority to issue a nationwide ruling. VOA’s immigration reporter Aline Barros reports.
In Arizona, immigration often not top issue for voters
With just weeks to go before election day, Arizona is one of the crucial battlegrounds in the 2024 U.S. presidential race. Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump know that winning the southwestern state is key to their path to the White House. VOA’s immigration reporter, Aline Barros, traveled to the state to ask voters how immigration is influencing their decision in this election.
Trump points to new numbers on migrants with criminal pasts. Here’s what they show
Republicans are pointing to newly released immigration enforcement data to bolster their argument that the Biden administration is letting migrants who have committed serious crimes go free in the U.S. But the numbers have been misconstrued without key context. The Associated Press reports.
Hurricane disinformation leads to danger, experts say
Hurricane Helene left more than 200 people dead and many more injured or without power, and Hurricane Milton has left at least 14 dead after ravaging Florida, according to The Associated Press. Falsehoods have been spreading, including accusations that FEMA prevented Florida evacuations and claims that funding for storm victims was instead given to undocumented migrants. Produced by Jocelyn Mintz.
Immigration around the world
UN warns widening Middle East conflict threatens health of millions
United Nations human rights officials said the widening conflict and military escalation across the Middle East are putting “the lives and well-being of potentially millions of people across the region at risk” and diminishing prospects for peace. AFP reports.
Syrian refugees flee Lebanon, head back to Syria
The United Nations says a quarter-million people have fled Israeli attacks in Lebanon over the past two weeks for the relative safety of Syria. Most of them are Syrians who went to Lebanon to escape their country’s civil war but are now back home with no place to stay. VOA’s Heather Murdock has more from Istanbul with Yan Boechat and Diego Baravelli in Hasakah, Syria.
Brazilian nun awarded UN refugee prize for work with migrants
A Brazilian nun who has helped refugees and migrants for 40 years won the Nansen prize Wednesday, awarded every year by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for outstanding work to protect internally displaced and stateless people. Sister Rosita Milesi, 79, is a member of the Catholic order of the Scalabrini nuns, who are renowned for their service to refugees worldwide. Her parents were poor farmers from an Italian background in southern Brazil, and she became a nun at 19. Reuters reports.
UN calls for safer migration from Horn of Africa to Gulf countries
The head of the United Nations International Organization for Migration is calling for safe migration to and from the Gulf countries as the dangerous eastern Horn of Africa route claims more lives. The so-called eastern route runs from the Horn of Africa to Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf by way of Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia and Yemen. Migrant workers, mainly from Ethiopia but also from other East African countries, travel over the route in search of jobs and economic opportunities. Produced by Jalene Gemeda and Eskinder Firew.
973 migrants cross Channel into UK on same day 4 die
A record 973 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats on the same day during which four died while attempting the journey from France to England, U.K. Home Office figures showed Sunday. The figure for Saturday is the highest single-day number of migrants making the cross-Channel journey this year, surpassing the previous high of 882 set on June 18. AFP reports.
Migrants waiting in Mexico cultivate vegetable gardens
On Mexico’s northern border, migrants awaiting entry to the United States have found an unexpected source of solace: cultivating their own food. In this report, narrated by Veronica Villafane, Cesar Contreras shows how a community garden in Ciudad Juarez is sowing seeds of hope.
News Brief
— An investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations in Washington and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Washington Division led to the sentencing of two Chinese nationals on October 3. Both individuals were sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for their involvement in a scheme to defraud Apple Inc. of millions of dollars’ worth of iPhones. Haotian Sun, 34, a Chinese citizen living in Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $1,072,200 in restitution to Apple and forfeit $53,610. Pengfei Xue, 34, a Chinese citizen residing in Germantown, Maryland, received a 54-month prison sentence, three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $397,800 in restitution, along with a forfeiture of $19,890.