Migrants stay home as people live in fear of Trump’s mass deportation threats
“You see on the news all the time undocumented, illegal, and you realise that’s you.
“There’s fear. It’s in your head, it’s stuck with you. Even when you get out there and you find someone staring at you, you’re concerned. Who are they? Did someone tell on me?”
Franklin is not his real name and he’s asked us to keep his identity secret. He is an African migrant fleeing political persecution in a country he doesn’t want us to name.
The abundance of caution shows how terrified he is that he might jeopardise his asylum application in this new Trump era by speaking with the media, but he wants his words to count.
“Maybe it will help, maybe it will help others”, he says. “They’ll know they’re not alone.”
President Trump has promised the biggest deportation in US history, with his new border czar, Tom Homan, saying he’ll target “the worst, first”.
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Franklin has not committed a crime, violent or otherwise. He should not have to worry. But he does.
“If you’re going door to door home by home, restaurant by restaurant, how are you discerning who is a hardened criminal and who’s not?”, asks Anuj Gupta, who runs The Welcoming Centre in Philadelphia, an NGO focused on economic growth through immigrant integration.
The Welcoming Center has created notes which clients can use to refuse co-operation with ICE amid fears of mass raids
“So there is the fear of getting swept up in that, irrespective of what your status is. That chilling effect is more impactful than whatever their potential policy or operationalisation of it may be. It also dampens everyone’s willingness to participate in day to day life.”
Africatown in South West Philadelphia is a hub for the African diaspora, some of whom have lived here for decades, many of whom are more recent arrivals.
Artwork in Africantown, Philadelphia
A mural in Philadelphia’s Africatown
It wears its heritage proudly, via colourful street murals and African flags along the main Woodland avenue which houses a cluster of shops and small businesses.
A new $23m (£18.56m) community centre, the Africa Centre is due to be completed next April. It is a case study in thriving immigrant entrepreneurship.
“A lot of people are scared right now to come out because of Trump’s threats, a lot of people who don’t have documents,” says Sullay, to explain the relatively empty streets.
ACANA (African Cultural Alliance of North America) in Philadelphia
It could be the chilling effect of potential ICE raids, the widely known acronym for federal immigration and customs enforcement. It could be the bitter cold, minus 12 in Philly on Thursday.
Amadou – not his real name – from Guinea is confident his asylum claim is in the works. He believes in the system. He proudly shows off his application on the Biden-era app which was supposed to provide a legal pathway to asylum, and the hearing he has scheduled for later in the year.
“I like Donald Trump,” Amadou says. “I think he is a good president. If he says America First, maybe that’s good.
“If my president said Guinea First, that would be good too. Maybe I would stay there.”
Former US president Joe Biden has prostate cancer, his office has said.
The statement said Mr Biden, who left the White House in January, is reviewing options for treatment with his physicians.
It read: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.
“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.
“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
File pic: Reuters
According to Cancer Research UK, a Gleason score of 9 means the cancerous cells “look very abnormal” and the disease is “likely to grow quickly”.
A source familiar with Mr Biden and his family’s thinking has told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that the former president is considering “multiple treatment options” – including hormone treatment for the cancer.
They added he is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and that as of now, it is unclear where the former president will be treated.
Mr Biden, 82, was the oldest person to ever serve as president, with concerns about his health raised regularly during his campaign for re-election last year.
After a poor debate against Donald Trump in June, he withdrew from the 2024 election and endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris.
In February 2023, he had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.
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A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.
The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.
The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.
Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.
Pic: AP
The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.
The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.
Pic: AP
Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.
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One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.
The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.
The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.
Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.
The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”
It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.
“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.
The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.
“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.
Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).
A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.
The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.
Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.
Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”
Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.
California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.
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