The U.N. migration agency says Amy Pope of the U.S. has been elected as its next director general.

Amy Pope of the United States has elbowed aside her European boss to land the top job at the International Organization for Migration.

International Organization for Migration chief Antonio Vitorino of Portugal faces what is poised to be a tight race against his Biden administration-backed American deputy, Amy Pope, as the Geneva-based organization chooses its next director-general on Monday.

The migration agency of the United Nations says the first three months of 2023 were the deadliest first quarter in six years for migrants crossing the central Mediterranean Sea in smugglers’ boats.

The U.N. migration agency says the coronavirus pandemic has “radically altered” mobility around the world, projecting in a new report that the growth in the number of international migrants is likely to remain weaker as long as travel and other restrictions remain.

A coalition of organizations working to help people escape Taliban rule in Afghanistan appealed Monday for more assistance from the U.S. government and other nations as conditions deteriorate in the country.

Six European Union countries want the forced deportation of migrants back to Afghanistan to continue despite the government in Kabul suspending such “non-voluntary returns.”.