U.S. State Department — U.S. government agency handling visa processing, immigration status adjustments, and diplomatic relations, central to Trump administration immigration policy changes.
… And external anchors — the IMF programme, the U.S. State Department Investment Climate Statement, the World Bank B-READY assessment — provide accountability mechanisms that domestic politics alone cannot supply. …
The United States deported an Iranian pro-democracy activist to the Central African Republic, according to her lawyer, who described the transfer as "super dangerous" because the activist has no connection to the country. The Iranian American Legal Defence Fund had warned that three Iranian women fleeing persecution faced deportation risk.
The United States deported an Iranian pro-democracy activist to the Central African Republic, according to her lawyer, who described the transfer as "super dangerous" because the activist has no connection to the country. The Iranian American Legal Defence Fund had warned that three Iranian women fleeing persecution faced deportation risk.
An Iran-linked hacker group called Handala claims to have had access for months to FBI first-person view drones used for counterterrorism monitoring, and threatened to target the World Cup. The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist activity, said Handala published photos and footage claimed to be from the breach, though SITE disputed the authenticity of at least one video.
A federal judge in Boston struck down President Trump's $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, ruling that it constitutes an unlawful tax that Congress did not authorise, despite the administration's argument that it was a lawful penalty under federal immigration law.
The Central African Republic has agreed to take in migrants from other countries deported by the United States, according to sources, as part of the Trump administration's deals with African states to accelerate removals. Washington has previously sent such deportees to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Equatorial Guinea under agreements that rights groups say allow the U.S. to circumvent legal protections secured by deportees in U.S. immigration courts.
A provincial council member for South Africa's Freedom Front Plus party is seeking refuge in the United States under a Trump-era programme for white South Africans. Though he claims to fear future racial persecution despite not having experienced tangible mistreatment, Trump's individual claims of abuses against the country's white minority have been disproven by the government.
The Trump administration plans to reduce U.S. embassies and consulates in Africa that process visas from nearly 50 to 20, expected in June, as part of efforts to limit immigration and clamp down on visa overstays.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that foreigners seeking to adjust their immigration status and secure green cards must do so from outside the country via the State Department. The policy change, which aid groups have criticised for potentially forcing trafficking survivors and abused children to return to dangerous countries, is part of the Trump administration's broader immigration restrictions.
The Trump administration has directed that foreign nationals on temporary visas should return to their home countries to apply for permanent residency, arguing the policy reinforces the legal immigration system by eliminating what it describes as "loopholes." US Citizenship and Immigration Services issued guidance stating that adjustment of status is a discretionary benefit, not an automatic right, and instructed officers to evaluate applications on a case-by-case basis considering factors including visa violations and fraud.
The Trump administration will exempt football fans from 50 countries, including five African nations that qualified for the tournament, from a $15,000 visa deposit requirement if they hold valid World Cup match tickets. The bond, introduced as a pilot programme to reduce visa overstays, was previously required for ordinary fans but had already been waived for players and coaches.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to travel to Italy this week to meet with Pope Leo on Thursday, the first known in-person encounter between the pontiff and a U.S. cabinet official in nearly a year. The meeting comes as President Trump has publicly criticized the pope in recent weeks over his stances on immigration and the U.S.-Israeli-led conflict with Iran.
Ghana requires between $200 billion and $400 billion in new capital formation over 20 years (roughly $5 billion annually) to generate 10 million formal jobs needed as approximately 500,000 young Ghanaians enter the labour market yearly. The authors argue Ghana's jobs crisis is fundamentally a governance problem, not a financing problem, as the capital to close the gap already exists.