Despite warnings from FEMA that offering aid to migrants might violate smuggling laws, shelters along the U.S.-Mexico border continue to receive individuals released by ICE, creating confusion and concern among nonprofits.
Nonprofit shelters operating near the U.S.-Mexico border say they are continuing to house migrants released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), even after being warned by another federal agency that doing so could potentially be considered a criminal offense.
A letter sent by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in March raised alarm bells for organizations offering humanitarian support, including food, temporary shelter, and transportation. The letter warned of “significant concerns” that such assistance could fall under legal definitions used to prosecute human smugglers, prompting fears among shelter workers that their aid work could expose them to felony charges.
“It was pretty scary. I’m not going to lie,” said Rebecca Solloa, executive director of Catholic Charities Diocese of Laredo. Despite the warning, ICE continued to direct migrants to the Laredo shelter until it was forced to close on April 25 due to financial strain.
Other shelters remain active. The Holding Institute Community in Laredo reports receiving around 20 families weekly from ICE’s family detention facilities in Dilley and Karnes City, Texas. Many of these individuals are arriving from countries far beyond Latin America, including Russia, Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Papua New Guinea, and China, according to Executive Director Michael Smith.
In El Paso, the Annunciation House is hosting five to ten migrants daily, many from Honduras and Venezuela, said Executive Director Ruben Garcia.
Meanwhile, in Phoenix, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) continues to accept migrants released by ICE, despite not receiving FEMA’s letter. A person with direct knowledge of the situation, who requested anonymity, said the released individuals included some from ICE’s Krome Detention Center in Miami, known for overcrowding.
Both FEMA and ICE fall under the Department of Homeland Security, but their conflicting messages have left NGOs unsure how to proceed without risking legal consequences or abandoning their humanitarian mission.
The agencies have yet to clarify how shelters should navigate the conflicting directives, leaving frontline workers facing a difficult choice between compliance and compassion.
Pope Leo continued his visit to Türkiye in Istanbul on Thursday (27 November), following a round of meetings in Ankara. This marks his first trip out...
Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinians in the West Bank during a raid, despite the men appearing to surrender and being unarmed....
Acting U.S. Ambassador Alan Purcell met with Georgia’s Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili to discuss economic ties, sanctions, and Georgia’s pote...
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Palestinian mother Hanan al-Joujou, aged 31, is forced to feed her three children in the dark, using a flashlight, as there is no electricity in Gaza, even after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas last month.
Nineteen bodies have been recovered after a rubber boat carrying migrants sank off the eastern Libyan coast, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
Spanish rescuers saved 248 migrants, including women and children, from dangerous waters off the Canary Islands, on Sunday, 24 August.
Three young sisters drowned when the rubber boat carrying them and dozens of other migrants got into difficulties on the perilous central Mediterranean crossing from Libya to Italy, a German sea rescue charity RESQSHIP said on Sunday.
Venezuela says it has deployed a range of weapons, including decades-old Russian-made equipment, and plans to mount guerrilla-style resistance in the event of an air or ground assault particularly from the U.S.
A passenger aircraft from Polish carrier LOT veered off a taxiway at Lithuania's Vilnius airport after arriving from Warsaw on Wednesday, halting all traffic, the airport operator said.
The Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia’s Afar region erupted on Sunday morning (23 November), covering nearby villages in ash.
At least 36 people have died in a fire that ravaged a residential apartment complex on Wednesday according to John Lee the chief executive of Hong Kong.
Netflix crashed on Wednesday for about an hour in the U.S. as it launched season five of "Stranger Things", with the service becoming inaccessible to many subscribers within minutes of the episodes going live at 8 p.m. local time.
On 27 November, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with Luca Beccari, San Marino’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Political Affairs, International Economic Cooperation and Digital Transition, during an official visit to Italy.
Turkish construction giants Kalyon Insaat and Cengiz Insaat will take part in the modernisation and expansion of Damascus International Airport, a project also involving Qatari firm UCC, US-based Assets Investments, the Syrian Finance Ministry, and the Syrian Civil Aviation General Authority.
Pope Leo continued his visit to Türkiye in Istanbul on Thursday (27 November), following a round of meetings in Ankara. This marks his first trip outside Italy since being elected in May as the leader of the 1.4-billion-strong Catholic Church.
Acting U.S. Ambassador Alan Purcell met with Georgia’s Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili to discuss economic ties, sanctions, and Georgia’s potential role in the U.S. TRIPP regional initiative.According to the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, the discussion touched on Georgia’s economic development, U.S.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Paris on Wednesday in a rare visit by an Iranian top diplomat in recent years.
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