Recently I had a conversation with a civil engineer from Greece. He asked me directly if my country accepts economic migrants. As someone who has worked in the immigration system and has followed recent changes to the system here, I had found it odd that people who apply to immigrate would use the term economic […]
It’s the economy, stupid. That mantra from Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential race pretty much sums up the core issue when it comes to immigration from Mexico to the United States. Many Mexicans abandon the countryside in their native country to seek a better life in the United States. The main reason: they cannot compete with […]
The holiday travel season, the beginning being marked by International Migrants Day on December 18, is winding down. Even this traditional and commonplace form of travel is in some way facilitated or restricted by the human right to migration. Though primarily preoccupied by its connection with the features of the human right to work, migration […]
After years of writing on the FPA immigration blog on topics usually concerned with Latino immigration in the United States, I sincerely believe that there are no current policies or legal frameworks that can handle the issue of illegal immigration in the US. With no real spokesperson for the millions of illegal immigrants in the […]
Once again, it’s time for business leaders to step forward As earlier posts have argued, relations between Washington and New Delhi – which not too long ago seemed destined to reach for the stars – are now feeling the heavy tug of gravity. In place of soaring rhetoric and high-profile undertakings, ties between the two […]
Penelope Chester wrote a post today that I highly recommend on the double standards increasingly demonstrated by European countries, especially France. One clear example is when it comes to issues of immigration. On the recent call by France and Italy to revise the Schengen Agreement that allows people to cross the borders of member states […]
By Carol Bohmer and Amy Shuman Political asylum is a gender neutral concept. The law of asylum is based on the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees, currently adopted by 147 countries, so the actual asylum law of receiving countries is quite similar. The impact of this ostensibly gender neutral law is, however, far […]
A judge ruled today that the trial of controversial Dutch minister Geert Wilders trail can resume in two weeks. Wilders has compared the Koran to Hitler’s Mein Kampf. “I’ve had enough of Islam in the Netherlands – ban that fascist book,” he said. In fact he was wrung up on both comments individually; the judge […]
Indirectly we’ve talked about immigration repeatedly on this blog. I commented on the right-wing, anti-Islam reaction in a number of European states, it again played a role in my post on Tunisia and the tepid lack of European support for its democratization. Finally, as my co-blogger pointed out the other day: the overall immigration population […]
The United States is a country of immigrants – even more so if they are counted successfully in the current 2010 Census. Extra efforts have been made to reach previously undercounted populations, including those arriving as migrants. One reason that recent immigrants are less likely to participate may be lack of information about the Census, […]
In so many ways this event mirrored bilateral relations today, cordial, but increasingly thorny as an accumulating list of important issues, from immigration to international trade and non-proliferation, lead more and more Brazilians to the conclusion that the United States is part of the problem, not the solution.
Since the 1980s, the Brazilian government has offered amnesty to illegal immigrants in four different campaigns, benefiting tens of thousands of foreigners living in Brazil. The latest campaign began in July 2009 by presidential decree, and though it officially ended at the close of 2009, some cases are still pending. Until now, 41,816 foreigners received […]
This past weekend the US Congress passed a bill to reform the country’s health care system. It must now be merged with legislation in the Senate and pass through an additional vote in that house. One aspect of the bill rarely mentioned in the past week, but which attracted scrutiny, is health care coverage for […]
Next year the Obama administration will likely push for comprehensive immigration reform that legalizes millions who are currently in the United States without documentation. The US has an estimated 11 million “illegal immigrants”, representing approximately 3% of the total population. (Note: Please see a clarification on terminology below.) This is an astonishing number. Albeit the […]
On August 24th HBO presented a new documentary titled “Which Way Home”. This film follows a number of children, as young as 9-years old, on their perilous journey from Central America into the United States. While seeking to enter the US illegally, they dream of building better lives. Venezuelan migrants do not live in the […]