In The News

Expats Become Nepal's Biggest Money Spinner

AFP January 31, 2006
Nepal’s Maoist insurgency has paralyzed the country, driving civilians from their villages and leaving the kingdom’s economy in ruins. The war has driven away many of the tourists on which the poor-but-picturesque Himalayan nation relies, while foreign aid donors have cut off their assistance to the country in protest of King Gyanendra’s autocratic style of government. Nepalese, fearful for...

Migration: Illegal But Integral to Economy

Sanjay Suri January 25, 2006
Europeans often blame illegal immigrants for a number of social ills, including high rates of crime and unemployment. Yet “people with irregular status” are the invisible bedrock for many social institutions in the developed world, suggests this article in Terraviva Europe. Without the work of illegal immigrants from Africa, Asia and parts of Eastern Europe in fundamental sectors like healthcare...

How US Immigration Evolved as the Nation Grew and Changed

Cynthia Crossen January 11, 2006
The notion of the US as a “melting pot” that welcomed immigrants of all nationalities is familiar, but does not accurately describe the history of the country’s immigration patterns. Early on, the government encouraged quick populating of the young nation, and European immigrants came in droves. By the 20th century, however, cities teemed with poor, unskilled refugees, and politicians introduced...

Carpenters’ Union Courts Immigrants to Increase Clout

Miriam Jordan December 16, 2005
The union movement in construction has suffered steady eroding membership over recent decades as employers confront pressure from foreign competition. As a result, the industry turns to nonunion workers to reduce costs. In Denver, Colorado, illegal immigrants are a prime source for nonunion construction labor. Now union leaders reach out to illegal immigrants, promising higher pay and benefits....

Politicus: U.S. Model for Europe: Immigrant Work Ethic

John Vinocur December 14, 2005
As the recent riots in France show, Europe faces a conundrum when it comes to integrating its immigrant populations into their host societies. Some acknowledged and indisputably real factors need to be addressed, including discrimination and lack of education. However, a new notion is garnering attention from some European politicians – the idea that the US has had more success integrating...

Give Us Your Skilled Masses

Gary S. Becker December 1, 2005
Amid the Bush Administration's efforts to create a guest-worker program for undocumented immigrants, Nobel laureate economist Gary Becker argues that the US must do more to welcome skilled legal immigrants too. The US currently offers only 140,000 green cards each year, preventing many valuable scientists and engineers from gaining permanent residency. Instead, they are made to stay in the...

East-to-West Migration Remaking Europe

Kevin Sullivan November 29, 2005
Janis Neulans is a Latvian laborer embarking on a journey that is becoming more and more common these days. Neulans travelled from Latvia to Ireland, where he felt that he could build the type of life for himself that is not possible in his home country. Since Latvia and nine other countries were added to the European Union in May 2004, nearly 450,000 people, most of them from the same strained...