Editor's note: With four people working on (im)migration stories every day, we still struggle to keep up with all of the relevant news. So, we wanted a way to keep you updated with the top immigration, migration and refugee stories every week — the ones that will most affect you, our international readers, viewers and listeners. We want you to know what's happening, why and how it could affect your life, family or business.
Questions? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com
Republicans try again
Watch as Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives tried again this week to push forward a deal affecting border security and young undocumented immigrants. Lawmakers from the party aren't on the same page, though, about the best way to move forward.
Congressional elections are coming up in a few months, so VOA reporter Ramon Taylor tried to answer one big question: Will immigration get Trump voters to the midterm polls?
Refugee representative?
Ilhan Omar, the first Somali-American elected to a U.S. state legislature, wants more this election cycle: She's running for Congress. "I have proven myself to be someone who shows up, takes on the hard fight and delivers," said Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota.
South Philadelphia shows up for Rohingya
A Muslim community teamed up with Christian volunteers to educate Burmese refugees in the City of Brotherly Love.
Festival at the cathedral
One of the organizers of an inaugural festival to support refugees, in the shadow of Washington's towering National Cathedral, insisted the event wasn't political. She wanted to showcase creative arts as a bridge across political waters.
But the head of the cathedral was more outspoken in front of the crowd: "When I hear people in this town say that refugees are some sort of danger, or threat to national security, or are unwelcome in our streets, I have one very clear message: That kind of thinking is as un-American as it is un-Christian."