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Immigration News Blog

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Legal immigrants to U.S. face endless wait

Legal immigrants to U.S. face endless wait
When Zeenat Potia started her application for US permanent residency - known as a green card - she assumed she'd get it in two years. But soon she was told to expect delays.

 

Promise of U.S. jobs lures migrants who vowed to stay in Mexico

Promise of U.S. jobs lure migrants who vowed to stay in Mexico
In Mexico, "the regional economy remains stuck in time and in salary," said Luis Miguel Rionda, one of Mexico's top immigration experts at the University of Guanajuato. With the minimum wage at about $4.50 a day, "it's not very attractive to work in Mexico."

 

Philippines and the planned export of labor

Philippines and the planned export of labor
By Peter Rousmaniere
Possibly no nation has been as deliberate in educating and facilitating the temporary travel of its workforce overseas as has the Philippines. According to this article in the Vancouver Sun, it has 24 overseas labor offices to oversee labor protections of its workers. This article deals with an agreement between British Columbia and the Philippines; three other Canadian provinces already have signed agreements. For B.C, the Philippines is already the third largest source of immigrants.

 

Immigrants have lower incarceration, crime rates

Immigrants have lower incarceration, crime rates
By Peter Rousmaniere
Do immigrants have higher criminal rates than non-immigrants? Those critical of immigration, in particular the presence of illegal immigrants, often allege that crime rates are higher. Here are some articles which report that if anything the reverse may be truer.

 

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

I Was An Illegal Alien by John Derbyshire

I Was An Illegal Alien by John Derbyshire
Immigration, people tell me, is the hot-button political issue of tomorrow. Public anger is swelling. The 9/11 attacks got everyone thinking. Citizens' groups are springing up all over. Congressional and presidential candidates in 2004 are going to face a lot of questions about immigration, had better have well-thought-out positions on the topic. Etc., etc., etc. The tide is turning, my immigration-restrictionist friends tell me. The sleeping giant has woken. Etc., etc., etc.

 

'Shattered Dreams, Broken Promises' Recounts Immigrants' Obstacles on Road to America

'Shattered Dreams, Broken Promises' Recounts Immigrants' Obstacles on Road to America
Around the world, women are lured into the sex trade or low-wage work in sweatshops by the promises of a better life. A book by author Michael Viner called 'Shattered Dreams, Broken Promises' tells the stories of women from Russia and Eastern Europe who escaped poverty to face trouble in the United States.

 

Monday, February 25, 2008

Immigration debate snares seasonal businesses

Immigration debate snares seasonal businesses
John Graham's crab company has held its own for 65 years as the local catch has dwindled and cheap Chinese crabmeat filled the supermarkets. It might not survive the immigration debate in the U.S. Congress.

 

Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey Announces Higher Civil Fines Against Employers for Immigration Violations

Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey Announces Higher Civil Fines Against Employers for Immigration Violations
Higher Civil Fines Against Employers for Immigration Violations WASHINGTONAttorney General Michael B. Mukasey today announced higher civil fines against employers who violate federal immigration laws. The announcement was made in a joint briefing today

 

H-1B visa shortage again

H-1B visa shortage again
Despite evidence of an impending recession in the US, there is expected to be a severe shortage once again of US visas for Indian IT professionals in the coming year. April 1 is the date to begin filing H-1B cases

 

Service members battle for US citizenship

Service members battle for US citizenship
Despite a 2002 promise from President Bush to put citizenship applications for immigrant members of the military on a fast track, some are finding themselves waiting months, or even years, because of bureaucratic backlogs. One, Sergeant

 

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Immigration: Tending the American Melting Pot

Immigration: Tending the American Melting Pot
When discussing lofty concepts such as 'rule of law,' it helps to use real-world examples. So as Alfonso Aguilar spoke to a class of Vietnamese immigrants prepping for the U.S. citizenship test yesterday, he noted that in his parents' homelands

 

Monday, February 18, 2008

Expose of immigrant worker poultry factory injuries in North Carolina

Expose of immigrant worker poultry factory injuries in North Carolina
By Peter Rousmaniere
The Charlotte Observer has run a series of article on poultry worker injury in North Carolina. Go here for the entire series. It focused on two companies, Tyson Foods and House of Raeford Farm, and ot weak regulators. House of Raeford Farms is one of the largest poultry processing companies in the country. For a period of four years, it did not report a single musculoskeletal disorder among its 800 person workforce. For these and other incredible stories, read this one of several articles in the series:

 

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

U.S. population projections: huge impact of immigration

U.S. population projections: huge impact of immigration
By Peter Rousmaniere
The Pew Research Center issued a report this week which projects the nation’s population to 2050. Our country will become increasingly immigrant-based and Hispanics will approach 30% of the population. “If current trends continue, the population of the United States will rise to 438 million in 2050, from 296 million in 2005, and 82% of the increase will be due to immigrants arriving from 2005 to 2050 and their U.S.-born descendants. Of the 117 million people added to the population during this period due to the effect of new immigration, 67 million will be the immigrants themselves and 50 million will be their U.S.-born children or grandchildren.”

 

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Airzona's economy drying up?

Airzona's economy drying up?
By Peter Rousmaniere
The NY Times reported today on the combined effects of economic slowdown and anti- illegal immigrant legislation in Arizona. Whatever the cause, a lot of people are leaving the state. "In the fourth quarter of 2007 the apartment-vacancy rate in metropolitan Phoenix rose to 11.2 percent from 9 percent in the same quarter of 2006, with much higher rates of 15 percent or more in heavily Latino neighborhoods."

 

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Michigan law and undocumented workers - contending proposals

Michigan law and undocumented workers - contending proposals
By Peter Rousmaniere
Workcomcentral (subscription required) reports of Michigan bills to restore benefits to undocumented workers. “Two Detroit lawmakers have introduced legislation that would allow all workers in Michigan who pay into the workers' compensation fund to receive benefits if they are injured on the job, regardless of their U.S. residency status, nullifying a state Supreme Court ruling.”

 

Bush trying to grow the temporary farm worker H-2A program

Bush trying to grow the temporary farm worker H-2A program
By Peter Rousmaniere
The Bush administration is set to make regulatory changes to the temporary farm worker – H-2A – program, changes that do not require legislation. The plan is designed to increase the use of legal temporary workers, which today account for about 2% of American farm labor. Upwards of 70% of farm workers today are estimated to be illegal. Senator Diane Feinstein had sought to enact her AgJobs program either as part of comprehensive immigration reform or separately, to help California farmers. That program, on which I have posted, would legalize the status of hundreds of thousands of illegal farm workers.