CNN reports the story of Nikolle Contreras as she attempts to cross into the United States for the third time, but her first since she came out as a woman. 

Contreras first tried to cross the border in 2016 and then again again in 2017 by swimming across the river from Mexico. But she almost drowned and ended up in a coma for two days. She was then detained and deported back to her home country of Honduras where she decided to live as a transgender woman openly. She soon realized she needed to depart Honduras as it is "one of the most dangerous countries in the world for transgender people."

"Discrimination because of my sexuality, lack of work, discrimination within my own family for being gay and worse, for being a trans person," she said. "It's very, very difficult." 

Contreras is one of the 25 transgender and gender nonconforming people who have joined a caravan of Central American migrants attempting to cross through Mexico to the United States border. 

The new UNHCR Report, Desperate Journeys, offers a brief overview of trends of movements by refugees and migrants to and through Europe in 2017. It also calls attention to various important protection challenges related with these desperate journeys and concludes with recommendations.

The report notes that sea arrivals to Italy, majority from Libya, have decreased greatly since July of 2017. “Journeys to and through Europe for refugees and migrants remain fraught with danger,” said Pascale Moreau, Director of UNHCR's Europe Bureau.

The documentary "My First 150 Days" follows the Banico family, newly arrived from the Philippines, in their first 150 days in Toronto. Melona Banico left her rural village and family behind nearly a decade ago when she departed for Canada. The documentary highlights the family's emotional journey as newcomers on a foreign land. 

The Challenging Migrant Detention Conference is happening on June 19 -21, 2018 in Montreal, Canada.

The conference will draw on experiences of detention and resistance in multiple countries, and discuss strategies to challenge migrant detention, including research, litigation and community mobilization.  
 
Speakers include:
François Crépeau, McGill University, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants; Jacqueline Bhabha, Harvard University; Mary Bosworth, University of Oxford; Jean-Nicolas Beuze, UNHCR; Guglielmo Schinina, IOM; representatives of the International Detention Coalition, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, End Immigration Detention Network, and many others 
 
Topics include:
·         Detention of children 
·         Migrant voices: former detainees speak out
·         Mental health impact of immigration detention
·         Migrants’ experiences at the US/Mexico border
·         Resistance to deportation and detention in Israel, Italy and Greece
·         Fortress Europe: From the Balkans route to Mediterranean hotspots
·         Detention of migrants in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Australia
·         Racialization and Othering in the detention process
·         Innovative judicial remedies, from habeas corpus to Charter damages
·         Strategies for minimizing immigration detention in Canada

Register at:
http://www.sherpa-recherche.com/en/partage-des-savoirs/colloques-2/
 

A new report released by the World Bank, titled "Groundswell-Preparing for Internal Climate Migration", highlights how without immediate global and national climate action, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America will have over 140 million people move within their countries’ borders by 2050.

The report shifts the focus from cross-border migration to internal migration. It focuses on three case studies: Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and Mexico.

The largest majority of black asylum seekers in 2017 were Haitians, mainly crossing from the U.S.-Canada border. The Caribbean Solidarity Network and Hart House Social Justice Committee at the University of Toronto are hosting an event "to explore the historical context of black asylum seekers at the Canadian border, more specifically the unique experience of Haitian migrants and the current political climate in the Trump-Trudeau era. The panel will discuss current efforts to provide legal support for Haitians at the Lacolle, Quebec border and the challenges facing in-land border crossings and the refugee claim process for claimants that do not match the ‘traditional asylum seeker’ narrative."
​
Panelists include: Dr. Melanie Newton, Saron Gebresellassi and Fedora Mathieu. The event will take place from on March 29, 2018 from 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM at the University of Toronto's Hart House.

An article published by the Toronto Star discusses how people in Canada are protesting against a 40-year-old section of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that states "foreign nationals are inadmissible if their medical condition might reasonably be expected to cause excessive demand on health or social services.”

Anna Malla, a spokesperson at Caregivers’ Action Centre said, “the fact that caregivers have to leave their families right from the beginning is the main problem. People who come here as caregivers to care for other people’s family members who are sick and disabled are then not allowed to bring their family members? That’s ironic and discriminatory.”

An article published on Telangana Today by Mazher Hussain highlights how refugees become vulnerable to criminality and are often portrayed as villains rather than victims. Hussain states "refugees could become assets to the economy of the world and the host country if they could be integrated, provided employment and opportunities to rebuild their lives."