On April 17th 2007 the BBC World Service broadcast a story which until recently has received little attention in the media. With the tensions and deaths of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and the UN focus on Iran and missing sailors, the consequences of conflict in the region has only recently focused on the resulting […]
Verifying the identity of illegal migrants and cracking down on companies that employ migrants without legal documentation is the subject of a number of articles and commentaries this week. In their often desperate quest for work in the United States, illegal migrants have resorted to what the New York Times calls “a growing trade in […]
Over on her very interesting blog, our fellow FPA analyst Bonnie Boyd provides insights into the new policies of Tajik President Rakhmon, which have an impact on Tajik migrants and their remittance payments. …Though President Rakhmon has not yet descended into full Tajikistanibashi mode, this ruling will have several short-term and medium-term effects on its […]
HIV-AIDS activists in Australia are up in arms after Prime Minister John Howard has floated the idea that migrants with the disease could be denied access to the country. The BBC reports that officials from the city of Calais and NGO groups are meeting to discuss the possible re-opening of a new asylum camp, dubbed 'sangatte II’. […]
French voters will take to the polls for the first round of presidential elections on April 22nd. Immigration and national identity have emerged as key topics in the debate between the four leading candidates: Nicolas Sarkozy of the conservative UMP, Ségolene Royal from the Socialist Party (PS), centrist candidate François Bayrou and Jean-Marie Le Pen, […]
The fate of boat people who seek a better life by taking to a voyage at sea to reach the shores of more prosperous countries are random at best. Three stories illustrate the conditions and result of such attempts to escape poverty around the world. In Senegal, with the results of poverty and recent civil […]
President Bush will take a ride near the US-Mexico Border today near Yuma, Arizona in a further attempt to create support for his "comprehensive immigration reform". With the upcoming presidential primaries, Bush is seeking support from the anti-immigration right of the Republican Party in order to produce one of his last significant policy initiatives before […]
In a special feature, the Financial Times offers a close look at two Zimbabweans trying to escape the economic hardship in their country for a better life in South Africa. (This application requires Macromedia Flash Player 7). The accompanying article can be read here. In the US, the New York Times features a number of […]
Canadians Abroad Part 3: Mohammed Al-Attar, a Canadian citizen and immigrant to Canada from Egypt was in court again on March 28th 2007. He was accused in addition with another three Israeli men for being intelligence officers for Israel who gave El-Attar orders to use money and sex to recruit Christian Egyptian-Canadians. The three others […]
On April 4th 2007, the continuing tensions surrounding US immigration reform and its effect on American industry was highlighted on a raid on the Cargill pork plant in Illinois. In the raid, 62 illegal immigrants were arrested and taken into custody. While they are part of an independent sanitation crew, the Cargill raid and make […]
The OECD is set to release a comprehensive report on migration today, showing that Australia, Canada and New Zealand – all countries which have skilled migrant schemes in place – have seen the fastest population growth over recent years. But the US and the UK remained the biggest destination countries, receiving nearly one million and […]
At the end of every week we will offer a regular look at the 'top stories’ on migration, integration, fundamental rights and the movement of people in general. In news from Europe, a riot at the Parisian Gare du Nord crystalizes the debate over immigration and national identity as a key issue in the French […]
Spring has sprung all across Europe. With the warming of the waters off the Spanish and Italian coasts, thousands of African migrants will again try to make their way to the promised land: Europe. Many, desperate for a better life, will become victims of human traffickers , will risk life and limb on open waters, […]
Canadians Abroad Part 2: The question of the rights of Canadian citizens abroad has recently come to light in the case of Mohamed El-Attar. El-Attar was put to trial on Feb 24th 2007 in Egypt for allegedly being a spy for the Israeli Mossad in Canada. He was picked up on January 1st on a […]
Canadians Abroad Part 1: The question of how immigrants should be treated, or considered equally among all social and cultural groups in a country was put to its greatest test in Canada in the summer of 2006. During the conflict between Israel and Lebanon last summer there was a flood of protests and criticisms against […]