India, a Big Source of Illegal Migration, Hopes to Navigate the Trump Storm
The New York Times
Fear and uncertainty are rippling through India, which sends more undocumented migrants to the United States than any other country outside Latin America.
The family arrived at the ornately carved temple in western India bearing a special sweet of dried milk and clarified butter. It was a desperate offering for their son’s safety: He had just crossed into the United States, only days before President Trump took office promising a fierce crackdown on illegal immigration.
In their village in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the markers of migration are everywhere. Plaques on buildings trumpet donations from Indians in America. Houses sit locked and empty, their owners now in the United States — many legally, many not.
Mr. Trump’s threats of mass deportations of illegal immigrants have raised the loudest alarms in countries closer to the United States, like in Mexico and Central America. But the fear and uncertainty — and the potential for political repercussions — are also rippling through India.
India is one of the top sources of illegal immigration to the United States, according to the Pew Research Center. As of 2022, more than 700,000 undocumented Indians were living in the United States, the center estimates, making them the third-largest group, behind Mexicans and Salvadorans.
Some Indians arrive legally and overstay their visas. Others cross the borders without authorization: In 2023 alone, about 90,000 Indians were arrested as they tried to enter the United States illegally, according to U.S. government data.
Israel says it has killed thousands of the armed group’s members and destroyed much of its infrastructure, but since the cease-fire started Hamas has shown it still holds power in the enclave.
“It took us a few minutes to accept that this pile of rubble was our home,” said Islam Dahliz, whose family was ordered by Israeli forces to evacuate Rafah in May.
The announcement came shortly after President Trump rescinded Biden-era sanctions on Israeli settlers and Jewish extremists raided Palestinian villages in protest against the cease-fire in Gaza.
More than 30 hostages are set to be released during the cease-fire in Gaza. But many Israelis have mixed feelings about the deal because they feel it came at a high price.
Gazans were surveying the vast damage to their neighborhoods on Monday as anxious Israelis awaited news about the condition of the hostages.
Israel said it was still attacking in the enclave because Hamas had not yet handed over names of hostages to be released on Sunday. Hamas said the delay was technical.
Qatar, which mediated the agreement, said the cease-fire deal was set to begin at 8:30 a.m. local time on Sunday.
The truce will begin at 8:30 a.m., according to the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, a mediator in the talks. U.S. and other diplomats see the deal as the best chance to end the 15-month war that has devastated Gaza.
The full Israeli cabinet passed the agreement during a meeting that continued into the Jewish Sabbath, setting up the first reprieve in Gaza in over a year.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had urged the security cabinet to approve the agreement after a day of delays. His office said the deal, which is expected to be greenlit by the full cabinet later Friday, could go into effect as early as Sunday.
The agreement, which would include the release of hostages, was met with cautious optimism. But Israel’s cabinet needs to ratify the deal, and the prime minister’s office said Hamas was reneging on parts of it, an accusation that the group rejected.
Senior officials said a deal had been reached, but negotiators had yet to confirm a start date or other technical details.
The new interim Syrian government says it will hunt down and punish senior security officials and others, but concern is growing about attacks on former low-level members of the Assad regime’s forces.
The negotiations, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, appear to be making progress after months of failed attempts to achieve a breakthrough.
While major ruptures are not expected, Gulf states are urging a tougher stance on Israel and a softening toward Iran, positions that differ greatly from the president-elect’s first term.
Islamic State militants have rampaged across the northern Cabo Delgado Province for more than seven years. The government says the situation has stabilized. Residents tell a different story.
A dispute over a project to cure hams in a bell tower underscored the difficulties that churches in France face trying to pay for restorations.
An image depicting a famous 19th-century painting of Cossacks, with current Ukrainian soldiers standing in for the warriors, has struck a chord as Kyiv battles to assert its identity.