Immigration News: March, 2002 - Volume #9

NORTH AMERICA

Enhanced Border Security
President Bush in January 2002 proposed an $11 billion border security budget, up from the current $9 billion.

INS: Border, Benefits, Sanctions
President Bush requested $6.3 billion for the INS in FY03, a $1.6 billion or 24 percent increase in the INS budget.

Labor: H-1B, Investors
The US unemployment rate fell to 5.6 percent in January 2002, down from 5.8 percent in December; California's rate rose to 6.2 percent from 6.1 percent.

Mexico: US, Migrants, Politics
Presidents Bush and Fox are scheduled to meet on March 22, 2002 to discuss a new immigration agreement.

Foreign-Born, Poverty, Education
The March 2000 Current Population Survey found that 56 million US residents, 20 percent of all US residents, were born abroad or are the children of immigrants.

Canada: Guest Workers
In 2000, some 7,300 Mexicans were among the 16,900 foreign farm workers admitted to Canada; the non-Mexicans were from Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados and six other eastern Caribbean islands.

Latin America
Haitians continue to emigrate, with many traveling in boats to the Bahamans and then to Florida.

ASIA

China, Hong Kong, Taiwan
The week-long Chinese New Year holiday witnesses one of the world's largest migrations, as many internal Chinese migrants return to their villages of origin.

Japan, Korea
Japan had 221,870 legal foreign workers on June 1, 2001, up seven percent from a year earlier, and up sharply from 96,528 in 1993.

Southeast Asia
Malaysia has 770,000 legal foreign workers, and an estimated 450,000 unauthorized foreigners, for a total of 1.2 million.

EUROPE

EU: Mobility, Enlargement
The European Commission in February 2002 said that there is too little worker mobility in Europe despite freedom of movement guarantees

Germany: Immigration, Integration
There were 7.3 million foreigners in Germany in 2000, making them 8.9 percent of 82.2 million residents.

UK: Immigration, Sanctions
A February 2002 white paper, "Secure Borders, Safe Haven," outlined new proposed requirements for British citizenship and new guest worker and asylum reforms.

Benelux, France
Leefbaar Nederland (Livable Netherlands) is an anti-immigration party that polls suggest could win 10 to 22 seats in the 150-member parliament in May 2002 elections.

Northern Europe
The Danish People's Party agreed to support the proposed DKK 417 billion budget of the Liberal-Conservative coalition government, which reduces foreign aid to one percent of Danish GDP.

Southern Europe
An immigration reform law named for Deputy Prime Minister Gianfranco Fini and Umberto Bossi, head of the Northern League, and backed by conservative Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is moving through Parliament.

Russia, Eastern Europe
Russia plans to offer $35, three-day tourist visas to nationals of EU Schengen countries entering the country through selected points in a bid to boost tourism.

OTHER

Australia: Asylum
Migrants arriving "illegally" in Australia are detained. Most apply for asylum, have their applications rejected, and remain in detention while they appeal; a process that can take several years.

Middle East, South Asia
Individuals posing as labor inspectors are reportedly stopping foreign workers in the streets of Bahrain, asking to see their identity cards, and then stealing their wallets.

Israel: Guest Workers, Conversions
Some 300,000 foreign workers live in Israel; 100,000 are legal.

Africa: Zimbabwe, Rwanda
Zimbabweans are reportedly migrating to South Africa to escape food shortages, unemployment and political violence ahead of the March 9-10, 2002 elections.