VOA Immigration Weekly Recap, September 4–10, 2022
International student applications rise, public charge rules to fall 
Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com. As a new school year begins in the United States, institutions of higher education are voicing optimism that international student numbers are bouncing back, given an increase in applications for the 2022-23 school year. But an increase in applications does not necessarily mean growth in foreign student enrollment in U.S. higher education institutions. The Biden administration finalized a rule Friday to remove hurdles to immigration to anyone deemed “likely” to become dependent on public benefits while trying to obtain a visa or become a U.S. permanent resident. The rule is scheduled to take effect December 23. "Dreamers,” long a symbol of immigrant youth, are increasingly easing into middle age as eligibility requirements have been frozen since 2012, when the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was introduced. The oldest recipients were in their early 30s when DACA began and are in their early 40s today. At the same time, fewer people turning 16 can meet a requirement to have been in the United States continuously since June 2007. Three U.S. green card holders rescued from Afghanistan by a Tampa, Florida-based nonprofit landed at JFK International Airport in New York earlier this week. The organization, Project Dynamo, said that the three Afghans had been hiding in Kabul for a year before being rescued “during a dangerous operation codenamed: SLINGSHOT 8,” the organization said via press release on Tuesday. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday declared a public emergency over buses of migrants sent by Republican governors from the U.S.-Mexico border states of Texas and Arizona. The U.N. refugee agency rushed in more desperately needed aid Monday to flood-stricken Pakistan as the nation's prime minister traveled to the south where rising waters of Lake Manchar pose a new threat. The United Nations is rapidly scaling up its relief operation in Pakistan amid fears the situation could further deteriorate as more rains are predicted in the coming month. Torrential monsoon rains and floods in Pakistan have killed more than 1,200 people and affected upward of 33 million, rendering millions homeless and causing widespread destruction and damage to homes and infrastructure. The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, is warning that the displacement crisis in the Horn of Africa and Sahel is getting worse as the impacts of climate change and conflict are forcing more people to flee in search of safety and humanitarian assistance. At a time when many developed countries are facing backlashes against immigration, Canada is experiencing a broad consensus in support of throwing open its doors to more new residents from abroad. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser boasted at a press conference last month that Canada “is on track to exceed its immigration goal of granting permanent residency to more than 430,000 people in 2022.” That will easily exceed the admission of 401,000 immigrants in 2021, more than in any previous year. — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services posted “an overview of some of the temporary and permanent .”