REFUGEES

A massive fire has raced through a crammed refugee camp for Rohingya Muslims in southern Bangladesh, leaving thousands homeless.

A fire at the Sierra Ranch Apartments left 15 families displaced, including refugees from the Center for Refugee Services. Center officials shared their reactions to the news and how this will affect its refugees.

Refugee resettlement agencies in San Antonio will have an added partner next month -- the Refugee Services of Texas.

A former shelter employee and Army veteran writes a book for unaccompanied minors to instill hope.

Amnesty International says Syrian security forces have subjected Syrians who return home to detention, disappearance and torture.

Donations are needed to help offset the cost for host families of Afghan refugees.

SAN ANTONIO – Known for its belief of “loving thy neighbor and welcoming a stranger,” the Interfaith Welcome Coalition was alerted to future plans for family detention centers in Dilley and Karnes City to become “Ellis Island-type” facilities. As it has in the past with other migrants arriving in San Antonio, Klein said IWC is staffed with volunteers “at all hours of day and night to welcome people.”Ad“We assist them with their travel plans. “This was a direct result of the new attitude and philosophy that was coming down from Washington,” Klein said. He said information about how the public can help IWC fulfill its on-going mission can be found on its website. Related Stories:Texas family detention centers expected to transform into rapid-processing hubsAsylum seekers navigate new future in the U.S. after months in MexicoDozens of asylum seekers from tent camp in Matamoros, Mexico enter the USAdSan Antonio sees releases from detention centers, at border

Rohingya refugees board a ship as they are ferried to Bhashan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, from Chittagong, Bangladesh, Friday, Dec. 4, 2020. Authorities in Bangladesh on Friday started sending a first group of nearly more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. (AP Photo/Saleh Noman)DHAKA – Authorities in Bangladesh on Friday sent the first group of more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. On Thursday, 11 passenger buses carrying the refugees left Cox’s Bazar on the way to the island. Bangladesh attempted to start sending refugees back to Myanmar under a bilateral framework last November, but no one was willing to go.

Greg Abbott announced Texas would be the first state to reject the resettlement of refugees, a federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order allowing state and local governments to do exactly that. Greg Abbott, a Catholic, draws criticism over new refugee ban from Texas’ Catholic BishopsGavin Rogers, associate pastor of Travis Park Church, said he’s hopeful, but it’s important the courts understand refugees are not asylum seekers. Then, Rogers said, the refugees are matched with nonprofits, many of them faith-based, that help them make the transition once they arrive. “The resettlement program is the best way you can possibly seek migration,” Rogers said. As a result, Rogers said many migrants who converged on the border last year had to apply for asylum because they couldn’t enter as refugees.