ELL News Headlines

In response to questions about policies of separating immigrant families at the border, as well as to reports about immigrant children who are unaccounted for by the Department of Health and Human Services, The New York Times has put together a Q&A. Read more in NPR and The Washington Post.

Democratic members of Congress are pushing back against a proposal from U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' that would scrap the federal office that guides education policy and practice for millions of English-language-learner and immigrant students. The lawmakers want DeVos to rethink a proposal that would consolidate her department's office English-language acquisition into the broader office for elementary and secondary education.

Esteban Pastor hoped U.S. Border Patrol agents would free him and his 18-month-old son after they were arrested for crossing the southern border illegally last summer. He had mortgaged his land in Guatemala to fund his sick toddler's hospital stay, and needed to work in the United States to pay off the loan. Instead agents imprisoned the 28-year-old in July for coming back into the country after having been deported, a felony. They placed the toddler in a federal shelter, though where, Pastor didn't know. Three months later, in October, the father was deported — alone. His child, he said agents told him, was "somewhere in Texas."

Gov. John Carney (D) recently signed an executive order creating the Advisory Council on English Learners.  The group will track the state's progress on the English Learner Strategic Plan released by the Carney Administration in December.

The Springfield-Greene County Library just received a grant to make videos in five different languages. The videos will help people understand the services available to them at their local library. Through these next few summer months, the Springfield-Greene County Library will be busy making the videos for families and they will be able to be watched anywhere at any time through the library's YouTube channel.

Joshua Villanueva arrived in Seattle from the Philippines three years ago. He was 16, an age when most youth in the United States are fully immersed in high school. In Seattle, Joshua tried a summer program at a traditional school, but was uncomfortable with the environment. He admits that in the search for familiarity, he could have gotten involved with gangs here. But when Joshua was referred to Seattle World School, a secondary school that serves the growing population of newly-arrived immigrant and refugee youth in the city, his path took a dramatic turn.

Every year, tens of thousands of people descend on San Juan to attend Puerto Rico Comic Con, an annual comic book and pop culture convention. For the last 16 years, comic book artists, entrepreneurs and content creators from the island, the mainland US and other places in the Caribbean showcase and sell their work, while attendees meet their favorite artists and entertainers from the industry. Now, nearly eight months after Hurricane María made landfall across Puerto Rico, regular attendees of the event like George Camacho are excited to finally be able to enjoy and showcase their hobby.

During his visits to several courts as a translator-for-hire, Victor Abundis grew increasingly frustrated at the amount of people who didn’t know they could be eligible for interpreter. "It'll state that in the package they get, but the package is always in English," he says. What usually happens next, he says, is that the lawyers and agents scramble in the waiting room to find any random person who can speak or interpret the language. Abundis thought that wasn't fair. "This is the most important appointment of their lives. And it literally hangs in the balance of some random person they found out of a waiting room." With Interpreter Tap, Abundis is hoping to change that. Interpreter Tap is an app that offers interpreter services in real time on your mobile device. The idea is that the app will connect you to an interpreter through a video call and interpret on the spot.

"I want The Three Bears!" These days parents, caregivers and teachers have lots of options when it comes to fulfilling that request. You can read a picture book, put on a cartoon, play an audiobook, or even ask Alexa. A newly published study gives some insight into what may be happening inside young children's brains in each of those situations. And, says lead author Dr. John Hutton, there is an apparent "Goldilocks effect" — some kinds of storytelling may be "too cold" for children, while others are "too hot." And, of course, some are "just right."

A 17-year-old Pakistani exchange student killed in a mass shooting at a high school in Texas was laid to rest Wednesday in her hometown of Karachi. Sabika Sheikh was among 10 students and staff slain Friday at Santa Fe High School. Sabika had planned to return home in a few weeks for Eid al-Fitr, the three-day holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.