Editor's note: We want you to know what's happening, and why and how it could impact your life, family or business, so we created a weekly digest of the top original immigration, migration and refugee reporting from across VOA. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com.
Refugees on pause in U.S.
The stalled U.S. refugee program is tentatively expected to resume next week, according to the U.S. State Department. Three weeks into the new fiscal year, no refugees have arrived, as the White House consults with Congress to figure out how many will be admitted to the country in the coming year.
Syrian exodus
Thousands of Syrians are crossing into Iraq to escape Turkey's military offensive into Kurdish-run areas of northern Syria. Aid groups say people are paying smugglers to get them to safety.
Dance-visa scam disintegrated
A second person pleaded guilty this week to participating in an elaborate visa scheme that involved staged photos, fake dancers, and made-up concerts to get Armenians to the U.S. on special artist visas.
Few CAR refugees choosing to return
Hundreds of refugees living in Cameroon went home to Central African Republic this week. Yet hundreds of thousands more are not yet willing to voluntarily repatriate, fearing outbreaks of violence.
Tragedy, trauma after failure
African migrants forced to turn back during their trek to Europe say the time they spent detained in Libya was brutal, enduring beatings and rape — trauma so severe that recalling it brought one woman to her knees, crying. They are being held in Rwanda pending their return to their home countries.
From the Feds
-Two men died in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection this week — one as he fled from agents across a Texas highway and was hit by a car, another shortly after he was detained on Sunday in Arizona and needed immediate medical attention. In a third incident, a border agent shot a 22-year-old Guatemalan, who authorities say attacked the agent. Both had non-life-threatening injuries from the altercation.
-The U.S. deported a Bosnian man who admitted to being a member of a Bosnian Serb Army brigade involved in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. Milan Trisic, 56, said during legal proceedings in 2017 that he participated in the beating, detention and transportation of Muslim prisoners. He was removed from the U.S. after serving a prison sentence for lying on his immigration paperwork.
