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.
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Russia's health watchdog said on Tuesday that no cases of plague had been detected among anyone who had come into contact with a Siberian plague institute laboratory worker who died last week, and locals said their lives had barely been disrupted.
An Azerbaijani citizen died and another is missing after a cargo ship was attacked by a drone in the Black Sea, near the coast of Romania on Monday, 5 October, Baku's Foreign Ministry has said.
A large Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow and the surrounding region has killed two people, damaged homes and sparked a major fire at a key fuel facility, according to Russian officials and military bloggers.
Russia struck Ukraine overnight in one of the biggest attacks of the conflict, killing at least 19 people, Kyiv's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Around 70 missiles were fired at Ukraine during the attack, as well as drones, the Ministry said.
The German-Azerbaijani Connectivity Conference 2026 commenced on 6 October in Baku under the title “Mobilising Finance for Infrastructure, Transport, Logistics, Green Energy, and Digitalisation along the Middle Corridor.”
United Nations Development Programme Administrator Alexander De Croo has warned the international community against turning its back on Afghanistan, pointing to a sharp fall in opium production while raising serious concerns about restrictions on women and girls.
Azerbaijan has prepared a new draft law on the agricultural sector aimed at strengthening state support, ensuring food security, promoting sustainable development and improving the sector’s adaptation to climate change.
A conference focusing on the issue of missing persons has been held in Baku on Wednesday. The 4th International Conference in the Baku Dialogue format was titled “Strengthening Trust and Developing Effective Mechanisms in Addressing the Issue of Missing Persons”.
Azerbaijan is among a relatively small group of countries represented on both of the Universal Postal Union’s main governing councils, UPU Director General Masahiko Metoki has said.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is in Pakistan for a three-day official visit, using his engagements in Islamabad to call for an end to the United States Iran conflict and underline Pakistan’s role in international diplomacy.
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