The Supreme Court on July 19 weighed in again on President Trump’s travel ban, “saying the government for now may enforce tight restrictions on refugees but also must make it easier for people from six mostly Muslim countries to enter the United States” (Washington Post, July 19, 2017).

The court’s ruling allows grandparents and other relatives of American residents to come while legal challenges to the Trump administration’s travel ban move forward.

The White House had appealed a recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson “that required the government to allow in refugees formally working with a resettlement agency in the United States. Watson also vastly expanded the family relations that refugees and visitors can use to get into the country” (Los Angeles Times, July 19, 2017). The Supreme court blocked Watson’s order as it applies to refugees, but not the expanded list of relatives, the Los Angeles Times noted.

An Amnesty International report released July 5 argues that the soaring death toll in the central Mediterranean “and the horrific abuses faced by thousands of refugees and migrants in Libyan detention centers are clearly linked to failing EU policies.”

The report goes on to say that by ceding the lion’s share of responsibility for search and rescue to non-governmental organizations “and by increasing cooperation with the Libyan coastguard, European governments are failing to prevent drownings and turning a blind eye to abuse, including torture and rape.”

Meanwhile, the Guardian reported on July 5 that the EU on July 6 “will urge European countries to give shelter to more refugees from Africa to ease the pressure on Italy, as record numbers of people attempt the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean” (The Guardian, July 5, 2017).

Italy recently threatened to close its ports to refugee rescue ships.

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants posted this news on its Facebook page July 5.

A free ringtone has been developed with “know your rights” information for immigrants in Spanish.

The New York Times editorial board calls on European countries to take action to help migrants (New York Times, July 3, 2017).

My hometown of St. Louis welcomed a record number of refugees in 2016 (St. Louis Public Radio, June 20, 2017).

Indeed, St. Louis has welcome previous waves of immigrants and refugees. Refugees fleeing the Balkan wars of the 1990s settled in the city (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 31, 2017).

OpenInvest recently launched an investment screen (#WithRefugees) that has identified 21 public American companies “making significant contributions to refugee survival and welfare.”

Included among the companies are Starbucks, Facebook, UPS, IBM and Chipotle.

OpenInvest notes that Starbucks has committed to hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years, while Chipotle proactively recruits refugees through the International Rescue Committee.

On World Refugee Day (June 20), Starbucks said it plans to hire 2,500 refugees to work at its coffee shops in Europe (Seattle Times, June 20, 2017).

Starbucks has pledged to hire 10,000 refugees by 2022.

Italy may close its ports to boats carrying refugees:

“Italy threatens to close ports to humanitarian refugee rescue ships as it reaches ‘saturation point'” (Independent, UK,June 29, 2017)

“Italy considers closing its ports to boats carrying migrants” (The Guardian, UK, June 28, 2017)

“Overwhelmed by immigrants, Italy threatens to bar the door to rescue ships” (Washington Post, June 30, 2017)

If you are looking a for a great overview of the current debate over immigration in the U.S., I highly recommend Ali Noorani’s book, “There Goes the Neighborhood.” Washington Post review of book can be found here.

A sampling of recent news coverage related to the U.S. travel ban coming into effect:

Washington Post’s story on the Trump travel ban, which took effect Thursday night.

“Travel ban finally takes effect. What to expect on the first day” (San Diego Union-Tribune, July 1, 2017).

“Trump travel ban comes into effect for six countries” (BBC News, June 30, 2017)

“As Trump travel ban goes into effect, lawsuits begin” (USA Today, June 30, 2017)

“Trump’s Travel Ban Is Set To Take Effect On Thursday” (NPR, June 29, 2017)

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