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Immigration News Blog

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Many Hispanics Are Hit Hard by Economic Slump

Many Hispanics Are Hit Hard by Economic Slump
What had been a story of steady advances for Hispanics has given way to growing joblessness and lost homes.

 

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

A mass of data about immigrants in the U.S.

A mass of data about immigrants in the U.S.
By Peter Rousmaniere
the Migration Information Institute issued this FAQ document last year, in October 2007. It is extensive. Go through all of it to find what you are looking for. It covers demographics, workforce and geographic distribution, countries of origin, unionization, immigration status, deportations, naturalization, etc. Its website has a motherlode of studies about immigration.

 

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

News from Global Workers Justice Alliance

News from Global Workers Justice Alliance
By Peter Rousmaniere
The Alliance, one of my favorite activist groups reported today on two of its initiative to support labor rights of immigrant workers. One, it launched a “defender network” involving representatives from 13 human rights organizations in Latin America. It trained them on worker rights in the United States which are often compromised for H-2 guestworkers. Two, it got the U.S. embassy in Guatemala to distribute to H-2 workers a leaflet it developed with the Southern Poverty Law Center. The leaflet educates these workers on their rights. The Alliance says that “due to the excessive recruitment abuses that are illegal under Guatemalan (and Mexican) law, the guestworker program has become a vehicle for human trafficking.”

 

Experts Discuss Myths about Latino Kids

Experts Discuss Myths about Latino Kids
NPR audio:
New census data shows that about a quarter of children younger than five in the U.S. are of Hispanic decent. Pedro Noguera, professor of education at New York University; and Jeffrey Passel, from the Pew Hispanic Center, discuss the rising number of Latino children and what it means for America.

 

Monday, May 05, 2008

Remittances to Latin America are flat or down

Remittances to Latin America are flat or down
By Peter Rousmaniere
From 2001 to 2006, remittances from the U.S. to Latin America boomed from $15 billion to $45 billion, according to the Inter-American Development Bank. Since then they have barely grown. Why? According to a survey of 5,000 Latin American immigrants reported in the New York Times, “Latino immigrants said life had become more difficult for them here. Of those interviewed, 81 percent said it is harder to find a good-paying job. Almost 40 percent said they were earning less this year than the previous year. The largest group of immigrants in the survey — 18 percent — worked in construction, which has been especially hard hit in the slowdown.