Syed Ahmed Jamal was viewed as a model neighbor in his Kansas community. A professor with multiple degrees who teaches at local universities, Jamal was also an involved PTA parent who ran for the local school board, his brother says. What most people didn’t know is that Jamal is undocumented, having overstayed an expired work visa. Everyone found out the truth when the father of three was arrested by immigration agents.

ON THIS DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY On March 9, 1841, the US Supreme Court rules that captive Africans who seized control of the ship carrying them — The Amistad — were illegally taken into slavery. The Africans had been kidnapped in West Africa and were bound for Cuba when they took control of the vessel. The Supreme Court rules 7-1 in the Africans’ favor, finding they’d been illegally taken from Africa and should return home. (Image: Sengbe Pieh (Joseph Cinque), leader of the La Amistaduprising. New Haven Museum)

Losing both legs was devastating to both Joey Jones and Rafiullah Kunari, two soldiers on the same Afghanistan battlefield, but that’s where their experiences diverge. After his injury, Jones, a US marine, received health care, education and housing help from the US government. But it’s a different story for Afghan soldiers who fought alongside Americans and are now left to fend for themselves.

On unscheduled vacations. That’s where China is sending critics of a plan to scrap presidential term limits. Beijing’s communist party rulers are expected approve a constitutional amendment allowing the country’s powerful leader Xi Jinping to serve as president for life if he chooses. Critics argue that the constitutional amendments are a step backwards. One dissident who wishes to remain anonymous confirms to VOA that he was forced to leave Beijing and can’t return until the vote is over.

The Trump administration says it has struck deportation deals resulting in the removal of more than a dozen countries from the ‘recalcitrant’ list. In reducing the number of countries that refuse to accept citizens deported from the US, the administration has cleared the way to begin deporting roughly 100,000 people with final orders of removal.

VIDEO: Life in this city in the foothills of the Himalayas revolves around the river that runs through it. The Neelam River provides Muzaffarabad in Pakistani Kashmir with drinking water and is the primary source of entertainment and tourism. But change is coming. A new hydro power project will soon divert the water into tunnels to generate electricity. VOA meets local residents who worry the impact could be devastating to their way of life.

American students are learning real skills by creating virtual businesses. Their enterprises produce simulated products that are marketed and sold for virtual money. The students are networking, running meetings, and working with mentors, all of the which can help set them apart when they get into college and move on to their careers.