In The News

E.U. Looks at Travel Policy for Gay Couples

September 23, 2003
Free movement of labor between EU countries is, in the words of one EU official, "key for Europe's competitiveness". Yet, each nation's policy towards same-sex relationships complicates this freedom of movement. As of now, a spouse can immigrate with ease, whereas a domestic partner – same sex or otherwise – has difficulty moving into some EU countries but not others. As...

Border Security Merging

Jesse Bogan September 22, 2003
Coming into the US can be a confusing experience, with all different agencies competing to check your car for illegal immigrants, drugs, fruit, or terrorists. Now, in a move towards political expediency, the department of Homeland Security is moving to present "one face at the border" through a unified border patrol (CBP). Current immigration and agriculture officials are complaining...

Majority of 20s, 30s Wish to Emigrate

Hong Seo-rim September 18, 2003
More and more young adults in South Korea are looking to relocate to Canada, America, Australia and elsewhere. This potentially massive emigration would seriously damage the Korean economy and lead to even greater political instability. Citing better educational possibilities, less unemployment, and more opportunities elsewhere, young Koreans are frustrated with the lack of possibilities within...

Knock, Knock…Who's There? Many Migrants!

Joseph Chamie August 5, 2003
All people have the right to leave their country, writes Joseph Chamie, Director of the United Nations Population Division, but they do not have the right to enter another without permission. As population growth soars in the developing world, this apparent contradiction is creating a dilemma for developed countries, which are being inundated with illegal migrants. According to Chamie, the...

Young Foreign Workers Fill Summer Shortages

Steven Greenhouse July 20, 2003
Foreign students love spending time in American resort towns, but they don't always come as tourists. Over the summer months, when small vacation spots like Cape Cod, Montauk, or Wisconsin Dells flood with visitors, university students from Eastern Europe and elsewhere take jobs unfilled, or undesired, by their American counterparts. Many work 80-hour weeks at minimum wage, cleaning...

Closing the Culture Gap

John Boudreau July 18, 2003
California's San Francisco Bay area attracts a diverse group of people from around the world who come to the US for work, pleasure, or study. When the love bug strikes, though, do cultural differences just fade into the background? Certainly not, says this article in San Jose's Mercury Times. Nonetheless, honest communication and an open mind can help bridge those inevitable cross-...

Xenophobia has no place in Thailand

Pravit Rojanaphruk July 16, 2003
Writing in Thailand’s major newspaper the author urges his fellow citizens not to view Burmese refugees as unwelcome invaders. Though historical enmity, national security, and the "ungratefulness" of Burmese people are regularly cited whenever there is a crackdown against student protestors or migrants, Thai people should not be blinded by mistrust. The reality is that, regardless of...