Editor's note: We want you to know what's happening, and why and how it could impact your life, family or business, so we created a weekly digest of the top original immigration, migration and refugee reporting from across VOA. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com.
American citizenship for Liberians
The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act approved by the U.S. Congress includes a provision to put thousands of Liberian immigrants on the path to American citizenship.
Trump administration taken to court again
A lawsuit filed by civil rights groups is decrying the Trump administration's "weaponization" of the U.S. immigration court system and accusing the Justice Department of creating a "deportation machine" and subverting long-standing laws governing the treatment of immigrants in America.
Facebook
Facebook vowed to prevent efforts to use its services to interfere with the 2020 U.S. Census, guarding against the posting of misleading information and prohibiting advertisements that portray taking part in the census as "useless or meaningless."
Asylum guidelines
The Trump administration proposed a regulation to bar immigrants convicted of a new list of crimes from claiming asylum. The proposal must go through a public comment period before it is finalized.
U.S. deports convicted German killer
This week the U.S. government deported a German man convicted in the high-profile killings of his girlfriend's parents in the U.S. 35 years ago. The crime stunned the Virginia community where it happened and prompted decades of media obsession.
Flu vaccines for migrants
Members of Congress urged U.S. Customs and Border Protection to change its decision not to vaccinate migrants against the flu. A letter sent Monday by 65 Democratic legislators to Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan expressed "disappointment and alarm about the failure of CBP to provide recommended flu vaccinations to migrants in its custody."
From the Feds
Repatriation initiative: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Mexican Ministry of the Interior announced the continuation of a joint agreement between both governments to return Mexican migrants to the interior of Mexico.
Letter of intent to increase security: The U.S. and Panamanian governments signed a letter promising greater security cooperation.
