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Wearing England badges during the World Cup could intimidate detained migrants and must be avoided, immigration officers have been told.
The post Wearing England Badges During World Cup Could Intimidate Detained Migrants, Immigration Officers Told appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
As 2026 got underway and much of the country was mortified by the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota, the public backlash was swift and quantifiable. An Economist/YouGov poll found that a 47% plurality of Americans said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was making Americans less safe, while a 46% plurality said ICE should be abolished altogether.
A Quinnipiac poll released at about the same time found that 57% of Americans disapproved of the way ICE was enforcing immigration laws.
The need for reform seemed obvious. In fact, an NBC News poll released in February found that almost 3 in 4 U.S. adults supported either “reforming” or “abolishing” the agency.
Democratic officials seized on those public attitudes and demanded that Congress impose new restrictions and safeguards on federal immigration agencies as part of pending spending bills that fund ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Four months later, the Republican majority ignored the polls, circumvented Democratic lawmakers and narrowly approved a spending package that will fund ICE and CBP for the remainder of Donald Trump’s second term, throwing an additional $70 billion at immigration enforcement. (The party used the budget reconciliation process, which prevented Senate Democrats from imposing a 60-vote threshold in the upper chamber.)
GOP leaders beat back efforts to include a provision formally killing off the idea of a White House compensation fund, but that wasn’t the only thing missing from the package: The legislation includes literally nothing in the way of new safeguards or restrictions on federal immigration agencies or their enforcement tactics.
In other words, polls showed strong public support for changes to the status quo. Republicans decided they did not care.
In a written statement, Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said, “House Republicans are choosing to hand over $70 billion more in taxpayer dollars to fund ICE and Border Patrol’s chaos in our communities. This is on top of the $140 billion they already gave ICE in their ‘Big, Ugly Bill.’ MAGA Republicans refused to negotiate on popular and essential reforms to responsibly enforce our immigration laws while respecting the civil liberties of our people. I voted hell no.”
The Maryland congressman added, “ICE and Border Patrol aren’t targeting ‘the worst of the worst.’ College students, nurses, babies and children, pregnant women, cancer patients, and even American citizens have been rounded up in their lawless, brutal raids. This corrupt agency is making all of us less safe. We need affordable health care, not an open money spigot for ICE corruption and masked federal agents killing American citizens and disappearing our neighbors from the streets.”
The president is expected to sign the package into law, probably as early as Wednesday.
The post Republicans ignore public calls for reforms, throw another $70 billion at ICE and CPB appeared first on MS NOW.
The European Pact on Migrations and Asylum comes into full force on Friday, and Portugal’s government is delighted, saying the ‘harmonisation of entry rules will allow for better management of
The post European pact is “brake on illegal immigration”; incentive for “regular channels” appeared first on Portugal Resident.
© Peter Morrison/Associated Press
A Guardian analysis reveals how most of 39 countries facing US entry restrictions are most vulnerable environmentally
Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is largely targeting people from the countries most vulnerable to displacement from climate-driven disasters, a Guardian analysis shows.
As the Trump administration pushes policies to boost planet-heating fossil fuels, millions of people are being forced to flee their homelands due to storms, floods and droughts worsened by the climate crisis.
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© Composite: The Guardian, AFP via Getty Images
© Composite: The Guardian, AFP via Getty Images
© Composite: The Guardian, AFP via Getty Images
© Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times
© Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
This blog is now closed. Read our main report here: Police use water cannon against rioters in Northern Ireland
Hadi Alodid refused legal representation and made no reply to charges which were put put to him through an Arabic interpreter as he appeared in court charged with attempted murder following the Belfast knife attack, the Press Association reports.
The 30-year-old, with an address at Duncairn Avenue in Belfast, appeared before the city’s magistrates’ court on Wednesday morning.
He is charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie on Monday, with threatening to kill an NHS radiographer on the same day and with the possession of a knife.
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© Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images
Greece’s Parliament has passed a major migration bill that officially integrates the European Union’s new Pact on Asylum and Migration into domestic law. The legislation introduces stringent measures to overhaul border controls, expedite asylum applications, and fast-track the deportation of individuals whose asylum claims have been rejected.
A central element of this new framework is the establishment of offshore “return hubs.” These are transit centers located in non-EU countries where rejected asylum seekers will be transferred if their countries of origin refuse or delay their repatriation.
Migration Minister Thanos Plevris clarified that these hubs will not operate outside the law, emphasizing: “These centers will operate within the framework of European Union agreements with third countries and under the guarantees of European and international law.”
Greece is spearheading this initiative alongside Germany, Denmark, Austria, and the Netherlands. The coalition aims to sign their first bilateral agreements later this year so the hubs can become fully operational in 2027. Minister Plevris revealed that advanced talks are already underway. “The Greek government has already been in consultations with two African countries,” he stated.
The Minister also noted that these hubs are a vital tool for Greece, as partner nations frequently experience secondary migration flows—meaning migrants who initially crossed into Europe via Greek territory. He added:
“The creation of a more effective European return mechanism can act synthetically with the existing system and offer an additional innovative tool both to Greece and the remaining member states for managing returns.”
The new law expands administrative detention, increases surveillance on individuals awaiting deportation, and speeds up removals in coordination with Frontex. Minister Plevris stated that the strict new framework “is already starting to produce tangible results.”
According to Plevris, voluntary returns handled via the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have already increased by 25% since the new measures were introduced, with hundreds of undocumented individuals coming forward to express their intent to return home.
Minister Plevris linked the accelerated asylum processes and rigid enforcement directly to a steep decline in illegal border crossings, noting that proper returns and secure borders are inherently connected: “These figures confirm that the effective management of returns, the acceleration of asylum procedures, and border protection are interconnected pillars of a cohesive migration policy.”
To demonstrate the shifting impact, Plevris provided specific data comparing past crises to current trends. Under the previous administration between 2015 and 2019, Greece saw a massive wave of 1,215,280 irregular arrivals. Since 2019, that number has dropped significantly to 197,651 total arrivals.
Furthermore, during the first five months of 2026, nationwide arrivals saw a further 31% decrease, with arrivals in the Aegean Sea plunging by 65%. However, localized pressure remains. Over the past two years, for instance, the southern islands of Crete and Gavdos have experienced a sharp rise in migrant boats arriving from Libya.
The efficiency of processing has also changed. Pending asylum applications in Greece have plummeted by roughly 80%, dropping from 142,000 in 2019 to just 28,000 today. At the same time, stricter evaluation standards have caused the international protection approval rate to fall from 71.5% to 40.7%.
Mandatory Border Screening: Before a migrant is legally considered to have entered EU territory, they must undergo a mandatory pre-entry screening at the border. This process includes identity verification, biometric data capture, security and health checks, and cross-referencing information via the upgraded Eurodac database to track migrant movements across the EU.
Fast-Track Asylum Evaluation: The law establishes much tighter deadlines to eliminate years of bureaucratic delays. Applications flagged as “manifestly unfounded,” particularly those submitted by nationals of countries with historically low asylum approval rates, will face rapid, border-adjacent evaluations and immediate rejection.
Widespread anti-immigration riots broke out across the UK on Tuesday following a particularly violent knife attack in Northern Ireland. The unrest was triggered by news that a thirty-year-old Sudanese national had been charged with attempted murder. Prime Minister Keir Starmer strongly condemned the initial attack, labeling it both “horrific” and “sickening,” while stating he has zero tolerance for such violence.
BREAKING: A bus has been set on fire in Belfast amid protests over the attempted beheading of a man pic.twitter.com/FX8maCMalK
— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) June 9, 2026
The unrest was most intense in Northern Ireland, where masked mobs caused extensive property damage on Tuesday evening:
A large group rioters is attacking migrant HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation, a form of taxpayer-funded housing for asylum seekers) in Belfast. pic.twitter.com/o9yjynArd4
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) June 9, 2026
The catalyst for the riots was a viral video filmed by a witness during Monday night’s attack in North Belfast. The footage depicts a man pinning a bloodied victim to the ground and repeatedly stabbing him before bystanders and police intervened. Far-right and anti-immigration accounts widely circulated the footage online to mobilize public protests.
Further update from police sources, a property has been set alight in the Lendrick Street area of Belfast.
Emergency services are heading that way.
An earlier bus fire on the Newtownards Road has been extinguished. @BelTel pic.twitter.com/YuNYtTWIXf
— Kevin Scott (@Kscott_94) June 9, 2026
First Minister O’Neill warned that extremist groups are dangerously exploiting a heinous crime to target and intimidate innocent people who are just trying to live their lives.
The incident occurred around 10:30 p.m. on Monday, June 8 on Canard Avenue in North Belfast. A man in his forties suffered severe wounds to his face, back, and eyes. He remains hospitalized in serious condition. Police recovered a kitchen knife at the scene.
A thirty-year-old man was arrested for attempted murder. Authorities confirmed he had traveled from Paris to Dublin before entering Northern Ireland in February 2023. He claimed asylum upon arrival and was granted legal residency in the UK until 2028.
Related: Far-Right Activist Robinson Spotted in Greece as Riots Spread in the UK
Human rights lawyers and refugee advocacy groups are lauding the decision as a ‘significant outcome’
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Millions of dollars in compensation could be paid out to more than 350 unlawful non-citizens held in indefinite detention after the high court ruled against the Australian government.
The ruling marks another blow for the Albanese government after its requirement that released members of the NZYQ cohort must wear ankle monitoring bracelets and abide by curfews was struck down as unconstitutional earlier this year.
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© Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
© Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
© Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
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