Quick takesU.S. guards at U.K. airports; growing number of refugees; unaccompanied minors at the border

Published 22 December 2015

U.S. border guards with the power to search holiday travelers will be stationed at British airports for the first time, as part of a plan being discussed by the two countries; The UN refugee agency released a report Friday that showed rocketing numbers of people having been displaced within their countries or living as refugees or asylum seekers during the first half of the year; in October and November, more than 10,000 unaccompanied minors crossed the border through Mexico, twice as many as the same months last year.

Middle Eastern refugees arrivals skyrockets // Source: commons.wikimedia.org

U.K.: U.S. security personnel deployed to British airports
U.S. border guards with the power to search holiday travelers will be stationed at British airports for the first time, as part of a plan being discussed by the two countries. DHS wants to place department security personnel at major airports around the world, including Heathrow and Manchester, to reduce the risk of ISIS terrorists flying to America. CBP guards would carry out immigration and customs checks before passengers board. The guards would be given diplomatic immunity so they could not be prosecuted for any crime committed on British soil.

Refugees: Number of refugees, internally displaced people skyrockets
The UN refugee agency released a report Friday that showed rocketing numbers of people having been displaced within their countries or living as refugees or asylum seekers during the first half of the year. The UN agency said that the full-year figures would be even more dire. During the first six months of 2015, at least 5 million people were newly displaced, with 4.2 million of them remaining inside their country and 839,000 crossing national frontiers — the equivalent of 4,600 people becoming refugees every single day, the report said. By the end of June, 20.2 million people were living as refugees worldwide, marking a 45 percent jump since 2011. The main contributor is the conflict in Syria, which by June this year had created 4.2 million refugees, the UNHCR said.

U.S.-Mexico border: New wave of unaccompanied minros
As the number of Central American children crossing the U.S. border alone, fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries, increases, the U.S. government is scrambling to open new facilities to house them. In October and November, more than 10,000 unaccompanied minors crossed the border through Mexico, twice as many as the same months last year. U.S. detention centers are full, so the government is building temporary shelters. Immigration experts say the children are largely driven by violence in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, and have more in common with refugees fleeing war than with immigrants seeking work.