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Immigration News Blog

Monday, March 24, 2008

New York City area losing jobs due to visa barriers

New York City area losing jobs due to visa barriers
By Peter Rousmaniere
According to the NY Times, The New York City metropolitan area is losing financial sector and other high paying jobs which are filled overseas because visas are so difficult to obtain. The primary visa category is the three year H-1B visas for professionals, of which 65,000 visas are awarded annually, plus 20,000 for graduates of American universities. Last year the quota was filled up on the first day, April 1.

 

Friday, March 14, 2008

2 states consider guest-worker programs

2 states consider guest-worker programs
AP - As a labor contractor in the nation's winter lettuce capital, Francisco Chavez struggles to hire enough workers to pick and package the produce.

 

Border measures pushing migrants to sea

Border measures pushing migrants to sea
AP - The migrants board rickety boats in the dark, taking orders from inexperienced seamen. From sandy Mexican shores popular with weekend tourists, they can see downtown San Diego's lights when the sky is clear.

 

Study shows H1-B visas create more jobs

Study shows H1-B visas create more jobs
Times of India,
For all the heartburn and hoopla over H1-B visas and the flood of skilled guest workers coming into the United States, American companies are finding it hard to fill vacant positions with thousands of posts just waiting to be taken by qualified workers, a new study released this week shows.

 

Canada: Tories to shake up immigration

Tories to shake up immigration
Toronto Star, Canada
Immigration Minister Minister Diane Finley is playing down public anxiety over major changes to immigration policy to be tabled as soon as today in Parliament as part of the government's budget.

 

Cutting off the nose to spite the face

Cutting off the nose to spite the face
Fort Worth Star Telegram
Arizona's recent attempt to halt the employment of the undocumented within its borders will not deter more workers from crossing the border.

 

Short Handed

Short Handed
The Times-Picayune
Gulf Coast busineses are starved for seasonal workers, but calls to allow more visas are tied up in the immigration battle

 

Colorado Farm Worker Bill May Be Scaled Back Forbes

Colorado Farm Worker Bill May Be Scaled Back
Forbes
A proposal to help farmers hire temporary workers from Mexico is running into more opposition at the state Capitol which could force it to be scaled back.

 

Businesses Face Cut in Immigrant Work Force

Businesses Face Cut in Immigrant Work Force
New York Times
Mr. Zammer is caught up in a Congressional standoff over immigration overhaul that is punishing employers who play by the rules and that, advocates of change say, could cost small companies billions in lost business.

 

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Around Town: Facing migrant issues

Around Town: Facing migrant issues
Prague Post, Czech Republic
On Saturday, March 15, you can have your say on this hot topic at the conference Immigration and the EU: Focus on Middle Eastern and North African Migration, being put on by the Center for Middle East Studies at the Metropolitan University in Žižkov

 

Gates to Congress: Microsoft needs more H1-B visas

Gates to Congress: Microsoft needs more H1-B visas
Ars Technica
In addition to the H-1B visa increase, he advocated an easier process for highly skilled immigrant workers to become permanent residents,

 

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Bill Gates Targets Visa Rules for Tech Workers

Bill Gates Targets Visa Rules for Tech Workers
NPR audio:
Microsoft's Bill Gates testifies before Congress about the need to make it easier to hire foreign-born workers. He says the U.S. is losing its position as the global innovation leader due to limits on H1-B visas for these employees.

 

Italy: Most immigrants in Rome area are female and European says ...

Italy: Most immigrants in Rome area are female and European says ...
Immigrants now form over 10 percent of inhabitants in the Italian capital, Rome and outlying areas, while the majority of these immigrants are female and from European countries, said a new report presented in Rome on Thursday.

 

US woes slow migrant remittances

US woes slow migrant remittances
BBC News
The amount of money sent back home last year by millions of Latin Americans working abroad grew at the slowest rate in nearly a decade, partly due to the economic turndown in the US.

 

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

What About Immigration?

What About Immigration?
ILW.com
Though hard to nail down, the long-run benefits of the productivity of these additional workers and consumers are likely to dwarf all other effects. ...

 

Community Organizer Fights for Immigrants

Community Organizer Fights for Immigrants
NPR Audio
Letting legitimate workers come and go with supply and demand. He doesn't understand why it's not part of the debate over immigration or free trade. ...

 

Kansas legislators reconsider immigrant regulations

Kansas legislators reconsider immigrant regulations
Kansas City Star
Lawmakers debating immigration reform are rethinking proposals to go after businesses aggressively with new regulations and tougher penalties.

 

Workers Sue Gulf Coast Company That Imported Them

Workers Sue Gulf Coast Company That Imported Them
New York Times
A group of 500 foreign welders and pipefitters brought in to work at Gulf Coast oil rig yards after Hurricane Katrina said Monday that they had sued their employer, claiming they were lured with false promises of permanent-resident status, forced to live in inhumane conditions and then threatened when they protested.

 

Monday, March 10, 2008

United Kingdom: 200 migrant workers arrive in Merseyside each week

200 migrant workers arrive in Merseyside each week
Liverpool Daily Post, UK
Merseyside, near Liverpool, has witnessed an unprecedented explosion in the number of foreign nationals moving to the region to work.

 

UN Report: USA Mistreating Migrant Workers after Katrina

UN Report: USA Mistreating Migrant Workers after Katrina
texascivilrightsreview.org
Migrant workers on the Gulf Coast are experiencing an unprecedented level of exploitation. They often live and work amid substandard conditions, homelessness, poverty, environmental toxicity, and the constant threat of police and immigration raids, without any guarantee of a fair day’s pay.

 

UPS crackdown hits workers, spares business

UPS crackdown hits workers, spares business
Seattle Times
The results are consistent with an ongoing enforcement pattern: Even as the Department of Homeland Security talks big about cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants — grabbing headlines in some high-profile cases — it's generally the workers who take the hardest hit. Actions against employers are still relatively rare.