In The News

Towns Rethink Laws Against Illegal Immigrants

Ken Belson October 1, 2007
An anti-immigrant fire has swept the American landscape over the past two years, and immigrants are not the only ones scorched. Laws passed in more than 30 US towns, penalizing anyone who employed or rented to illegal immigrants, sent thousands running and left local businesses empty of customers. The laws, intended in part to eliminate the wage suppression typically associated with large illegal...

Children Trafficked From Asia to UK to Work in Cannabis Factories

Nina Lakhani September 27, 2007
In 2004, Britain declassified cannabis, decreasing the penalties for growing or possessing the controlled substance. As fear of punishment faded, demand grew and so did the appeal of producing the drug for greater profits. Organized crime rushed to fill the gap between supply and demand, and with record levels of production, Vietnamese gangs rely on children to tend plants. So declassification...

Muslims and the Tale of Two Continents

Shada Islam September 14, 2007
Ever since the 9/11 attacks, Islamic extremists have chosen the US as the target of their ire. But in the six years since 9/11, actual attacks planned on US soil are few in number, with more plotters emerging in Europe. Shada Islam, journalist and policy analyst based in Brussels, suggests that Muslim immigrants in Europe and US both share frustration about Western prejudices and...

India's Lower Castes Seek Social Progress in Global Job Market

Emily Wax September 5, 2007
For 3000 years, India operated with a caste system; from birth, Indians understood their status and role in society. Prohibited by law, the caste system remains a source for discrimination in India. By law, the public sector and public universities set aside a percentage of jobs for people born into the lowest castes, and activists encourage similar affirmative-action programs within the private...

Skilled Immigrants? No Thanks

Michael Sauga September 3, 2007
Most developed nations have loosened immigration policies in the competition for skilled labor. But not in Germany. Employers want skilled workers, but the government adds obstacles to hiring immigrants, regardless of education or skill, even as thousands of highly trained Germans leave for jobs abroad. “Ironically, just as the German economy embarks on its strongest boom in years, the country...

Migrants Agree: It's Harder to Get Jobs

Pablo Bachelet August 15, 2007
Migrants report that finding work in the US has become more challenging, according to a recent study conducted by Inter-American Development Bank and the Bendixen polling firm. Migrants often feel as though they live in a “sense of siege” and many contemplate returning to their native countries. In the US, they face job, lending and housing discrimination and often do not make enough money to...

Surge in Immigration Laws Around US

Julia Preston August 10, 2007
With the failure of a US immigration bill, most analysts assumed immigration reform was dead until after the next presidential election. But states have taken the matter into their own hands, considering more than 1000 pieces of legislation on immigration, with an unprecedented number of laws passed by 41 state legislatures, along with more from some cities and towns. Varying laws – most hostile...