VOA Immigration Weekly Recap, Oct. 20–26, 2024

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].
Border arrests fall in September, last monthly gauge before US elections
Arrests for illegally crossing the U.S. border from Mexico fell 7% in September to a more than four-year low, authorities said Tuesday. It was likely the last monthly gauge during a presidential campaign in which Republican nominee Donald Trump has made immigration a signature issue. The Associated Press reports.
New Americans expected to make impact in 2024 election
Nearly 3.5 million voting-age adults have become U.S. citizens since the 2020 election, according to the National Partnership for New Americans. Some experts say this growing group could prove pivotal in shaping the election results. VOA immigration reporter Aline Barros reports. Camera and contributor: Jeff Swicord.
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Migrant families separated under Trump still feel fallout, fear his return
With the United States on the verge of an election that could put Trump back in office, Billy wants people to know that what happened to him and several thousand other children reverberates still. Some families have not been reunited, and many of those together in the U.S. have temporary status and fear a victorious Trump carrying out promised mass deportations. The Associated Press reports.
Immigration around the world
VOA60 World – At least 16 killed, including children, in Israeli airstrike on school in Nuseirat camp
At least 16 Palestinians were killed, including children, and 32 others wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp on Thursday, officials at Nuseirat’s Al-Awda Hospital said. Israel said Hamas militants inside the school were the targets, but did not provide evidence.
Bilingual school in Hungary helps Ukrainian refugee children preserve identity
The United Nations says the war in Ukraine has displaced more than 6 million people and forced many of them to register as refugees across Europe. More than 60,000 of them — mostly women and children — are living in Hungary. VOA Eastern Europe bureau chief Myroslava Gongadze reports from Budapest on a new bilingual school for refugee children from Ukraine. VOA footage and video editing by Daniil Batushchak.
Murders of Sikhs spotlight sect’s long history in Canada
There was an early surge of immigration starting in 1903 and then a much larger wave in the 1970s. An expert said these migrants, unlike many other immigrant groups, often came with money and their families still owned land back in India. Many of these newcomers continued the family tradition of farming and being agriculturalists by buying land in Canada. Produced by Craig McCulloch.
Canada slashes immigration as public concern rises
Canada said Thursday it was significantly curbing immigration targets in an effort to “pause population growth,” a shift that comes as public support for immigration declines. The announcement comes after the Canadian population surged to 41 million, a rise largely fueled by an unprecedented wave of new arrivals. The immigration ministry had previously planned to let 500,000 new permanent residents settle in the country in 2025 and 2026. Produced by Agence France-Presse.
Son of founder of modern Singapore says he is now a political refugee
Lee Hsien Yang, the youngest son of the founder of modern Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, said on Tuesday he is now a political refugee from Singapore under the U.N. Refugee Convention. In a Facebook post, Lee, the estranged brother of former premier Lee Hsien Loong, said Britain has determined he faces “a well-founded risk of persecution, and cannot safely return to Singapore.”
“I sought asylum protection as a last resort. I remain a Singapore citizen and hope that some day it will become safe to return home,” he said. The Reuters news agency reports.
News Brief
— The U.S. Department of Homeland Security conducted a large-frame charter removal flight on Oct. 22 to the Republic of India of “Indian nationals who did not establish legal basis to remain in the United States. This week’s flight demonstrates the Department’s continued commitment to pursuing sustained cooperation with the Indian government and other international partners to reduce and deter irregular migration and jointly work to counter human smuggling,” a statement said.