In The News

As Immigration Debate Generates Heat, Dust Gathers on a Workable Plan

Joseph Chamie December 18, 2007
For two centuries, the US grew and flourished with the world's most open immigration policy. But with the public worried about growing illegal immigration and politicians trying to outdo one another with an anti-immigrant stance, the issue has moved from reason to rhetoric. As a topic, immigration has tripped many a politician in US election campaigns, and the 2008 presidential race is no...

Western Union Empire Moves Migrant Cash Home

Jason DeParle December 5, 2007
Technology and circumstances can lift or dash industry fortunes in a heartbeat. Western Union was a company that went bankrupt in the early days of the internet. But even as the internet became established in homes and offices, worker mobility increased, with growing numbers of migrants looking for safe, easy ways to send money home to families. So Western Union is back in business, earning...

A World of People on the Move

Antonio Guterres December 3, 2007
No community or country can control the human urge to improve one’s situation. The 21st century will become the century of migration, suggests Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner of Refugees. People have long had many reasons for migrating from a birthplace to another part of the world – and the century will undoubtedly deliver more: work opportunities, war, climate change, natural disasters....

Cosmopolitan Masala: Diversity Enriches Us All

Philippe Legrain November 16, 2007
There is growing opposition in many countries to immigration, viewed by some as costing government treasuries and diluting national cultures. Philippe Legrain, a British economist and former adviser to the director-general of the World Trade Organization, argues that productivity flourishes in culturally diverse cities and that people are willing to pay to live and work in such fertile...

Exploiting Thailand’s Burmese Refugees

Jürgen Kremb November 12, 2007
The recent pro-democracy protests in Myanmar’s major cities overshadow the ongoing civil war raging near the border. Forcible conscription and the devastation of war have prompted an influx of refugees into neighboring Thailand. These illegal immigrants face formidable challenges, including corrupt police, unemployment and organized crime. Because of their illegal status, they cannot secure work...

Bloodstained Rubies Fund Burmese Regime

Beat Balzli October 25, 2007
It is well known how the proceeds from sales of diamonds or oil can subsidize civil war and corrupt regimes, but less well known is how the international ruby trade sustains the Burmese junta. The United States and Europe each responded to Myanmar's violent repression of peaceful protesters with tightened trade limitations in their relations with the pariah in Southeast Asia, but were easily...

Chasing the Chinese Dream

Ariana Eunjung Cha October 25, 2007
Business entrepreneurs seeking security, opportunity and religious tolerance are turning away from traditional immigration destinations like the United States or Europe, and instead finding themselves on China's shores. The number of internationals in China with long-term visas has nearly doubled since 2003, about 450,000 people, including about 20,000 Muslims and 1,000 displaced Iraqis. The...