Newsletter Archive

A period of high anxiety along the Rio Grande Valley could be easing now that President Trump has signed an executive order ending family separation. Taking kids from their parents was part of Trump’s Zero Tolerance policy towards people who enter the United States illegally. VOA is on the Texas border to see what life has been like for some of those illegal immigrants as well as the charity workers trying to assist families who faced possible separation.

2,342 children separated from their parents — President Trump’s new executive order comes at a time when US officials are separating undocumented children who cross the southern border with their parents at a faster rate than the government had previously acknowledged. Data provided by immigration officials shows that between May 5 and June 9, an average of 67 children a day were separated from their parents or custodians.

WORLD REFUGEE DAY: Every two seconds, someone is forcibly displaced somewhere in the world. War, conflict and persecution are driving the worldwide exodus, the extent of which can be seen on VOA’s refugee report and interactive map. Nobody wants to become a refugee, especially at a time when governments often see the new arrivals as a national security risk rather than taking a humanitarian view.

Is it morally acceptable for teenagers to have sex? An increasing number of Americans thinks so. While a majority, 54 percent, thinks sexual relations between teens is morally wrong, 42 percent say it’s morally acceptable, according to a new survey. Different age groups are divided on the issue, while liberals and conservatives also view it differently.

VIDEO: The US embassy in Uganda is trying to give schoolchildren there a head start. With unemployment running high in Uganda, embassy workers want to equip students with the skills to be job creators in the future. VOA is in the town of Mukono as the embassy rolls out its first library on wheels.