Immigration news

US President Joe Biden is targeting a US immigration deal that would see immigrants at the US-Mexico border relocated to Spain. It’s understood that Washington and Madrid are close to agreeing a deal as the refugee crisis at the US southern border worsens. 

 

The proposals, which officials have stressed are still under discussion, could be announced at this week’s Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, where Biden is looking to secure greater global co-operation on the migrant crisis in Central America, which has escalated during his presidency.

UK transport secretary, Grant Shapps, has been blasted by airlines for ignoring calls for an emergency UK visa for aviation workers. Amid travel chaos at UK airports, which marred the recent school half-term holidays for thousands of Brits, airline bosses accused Shapps of failing to tackle shortages by refusing to adjust the UK’s Shortage Occupation List. 

 

As leaders gathered for Biden’s recent Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, over 2,500 miles away the largest US-bound migrant caravan ever seen gathered in Chiapas, Mexico. According to reports, up to 15,000 people could join the caravan, and while it is not the first migrant caravan to emerge from Central America, it is expected to be the biggest ever seen.

 

A UK immigration scheme targeting top scientists has flopped after only one person was granted a UK visa in its first year, according to a report published by New Scientist. The scheme, which is intended to encourage Nobel Prize winners and other scientific award winners, was launched in May 2021.

 

Two American congressman have urged the US House of Representatives to revoke US Visa Waiver Program (VWP) eligibility for countries who sell passports through citizenship by investment. Congressmen Burgess Owens (Democrat) and Steve Cohen (Republican) recently issued a bipartisan bill – the No Travel for Traffickers Act - to the House.

 

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCPG) has warned that the UK visa system is likely to deter overseas GPs, who have completed British GP training via working for the NHS, from wanting to work in Britain. The RCPG’s sharp rebuke toward the Home Office comes amid the UK government’s struggle to add 6,000 more GPs by 2024.