A Guatemalan smuggler involved in a human smuggling operation that killed 53 migrants trapped in a truck in the dangerous heat in 2022 has been sentenced to 30 years in a US prison. The incident has been described as one of the deadliest ones along the US–Mexico border in recent history, involving a total of 64 migrants. 39-year-old Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco was the first to be arrested in August 2024 in Guatemala as part of a cross-border effort to dismantle the smuggling network. Source: Al Jazeera

Dutch Asylum Shelter Houses Mentally Unstable The Dutch Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers is increasingly using the strictest asylum shelter in the Netherlands, meant to house people who cause problems in other shelters, to house asylum seekers with psychiatric problems. The facility in question is located in Hoogeveen and opened in 2020. It has a strictly controlled regime with fewer freedoms. Allowances are paid out in goods, not cash. Residents must check in daily. They can't leave the premises freely or follow a daily schedule. There are also two disciplinary rooms for asylum seekers who use violence. Source: NL Times

17 EU states support a plan that would allow countries to close EU borders and temporarily and selectively suspend asylum applications, according to a diplomat speaking to EUObserver on condition of anonymity. The source added that there is broad support for a European emergency response framework proposed by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during her State of the Union address last month. The source said the European Commission may present an anti-asylum proposal to tackle large arrivals before the end of the year. Source: EUObeserver

A court in China sentenced three syndicate members to death last week for their involvement in the Wei family criminal gang's operation of scam centers in Myanmar. Three other syndicate members were sentenced to life in prison, while 55 others received sentences ranging from three to 24 years in prison. The Wei Family Gang operated 14 large-scale compounds, luring thousands of Chinese nationals with promises of higher wages only to be forced into captivity and online frauds. The ruling marks one of the most high-profile legal actions the Chinese authorities have taken in their crackdown on the transnational scam industry. Last year, over 7,600 Chinese citizens were suspected of involvement in online gambling and telecom scams and returned from southeastern Myanmar, according to China’s Ministry of Public Security. Source: The Independent

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UK to Block Eritrean Visas Eritrea could be hit with a complete visa ban unless it agrees to the return of more small boat migrants and convicted criminals, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told the Telegraph. "Eritrea has had every chance to accept the return of criminals and those with no right to be in the UK. Unlike other countries, it has refused,” she added. This follows similar visa sanctions threats last year against the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia and Angola. Nearly 6,000 Eritreans have reached the UK across the Channel in the year to June, the highest number of any nationality. Source: The Telegraph