Immigration News: December, 2002 - Volume #9

THE AMERICAS

INS to DHS, Interior, Students
The INS and 21 other agencies will become part of a new Department of Homeland Security in the largest government reorganization since the Defense Department was created in 1947.

Mexico: Bush, IDs, Remittances
President George W. Bush, in Mexico for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in October 2002, said

Labor: Unemployment, Unions
The US unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent in October 2002, continuing the so-called "jobless recovery;"

Sweatshops, Health
Bread and Roses, the cultural arm of Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union in New York City, gave cameras to immigrant workers to document their work lives.

Politics, Schools, Georgia
Americans went to the polls on November 5, 2002, and elected a Republican Congress.

Canada: Immigration, Border
Canada's immigration targets for 2003 were increased by only 5,000 despite some employers' calls for increased immigration to ease a shortage of skilled workers.

Latin America
About 20 million people born in Latin America and the Caribbean live outside their country of birth, usually in the US or Canada

ASIA

China: Economy, Migrants
The Communist Party holds congresses to select new leaders every five years, and the 16th Communist Party Congress was held in Beijing in November 2002.

Philippines, Indonesia
Remittances to the Philippines rose from $1 billion in 1989 to $5 billion in 1995, and topped $8 billion in 2002

Thailand, Malaysia
Beginning November 7, 2002, Thai police began to crack down on unauthorized foreign workers, who face three years in jail or a fine of 60,000 baht ($1,430 US dollars) and deportation.

Japan, Korea
The Sapporo District Court in November 2002 ordered a private bathhouse on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido to pay a total of $25,000 to three foreign-born men who were refused entry on the basis of race.

India: Economy
China has surged ahead of India in per capita GDP--$890 in China in 2000, compared to $460 in India.

EUROPE

EU: Enlargement, Turkey, Morocco
The 15-nation EU agreed to add 10 new members on May 1, 2004: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

UK, Ireland
Britain's Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill went into effect on November 8, 2002.

France, Netherlands, Belgium
On November 5, 2002, 10 days ahead of schedule, French officials closed the three-year old Sangatte Red Cross migrant center to new arrivals;

Germany, Austria, Switzerland
A 30-year-old Turkish-born woman wants to wear a headscarf at work selling perfume in a department store near Frankfurt.

Turkey, Spain
Turks went to the polls on November 3, 2002, and the Justice and Development Party (AKP in Turkish) won 34 percent of the vote, or 363 (64 percent) of the seats in the 550-seat Parliament.

Russia, Ukraine
An estimated three to 3.5 million illegal migrants live in Russia. The quota for employment of foreign workers will be 583,000 in 2003, and the government aims to reduce illegal employment with employer sanctions.

OTHER

Australia, New Zealand
Since 1992, Australia has detained foreigners who arrive illegally by boat and apply for asylum.

Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq
In October 2002, the Israeli government barred the entry of additional legal foreign workers.

UN: 175 Million Migrants
The United Nations Population Division in October 2002 estimated there were 175 million people residing outside their country of birth in 2000

Global Trade, Aid
The 144-member World Trade Organization met in Doha, Qatar in November 2001, and agreed to launch a fourth round of global trade liberalization talks.