In The News

Malaysian State to Whip 400 Illegal Immigrants

November 15, 2002
After a four-month amnesty has expired for all illegal immigrants in Malaysia, one southern state is beginning to crackdown on stragglers. Over 400 illegal immigrants will be whipped for their failure to depart. These punitive measures have been decried by Indonesia and the Philippines. Yet along with such cruel and unusual punishment, Malaysia also seems to be biting the hand that feeds it....

A Road That Death Often Travels

Norimitsu Onishi September 18, 2002
For many in West and Central Africa, the only hope for decent work lies in reaching Libya, and from there Europe and the Americas. For these illegal immigrants, the journey often means traveling across the punishing Sahara desert. But while surviving the trip is a victory itself, it is no guarantee that they will find the better life they seek. – YaleGlobal

Indonesia Must Learn from Illegal Migrant Issue

Philips Jusario Vermonte August 28, 2002
Unemployment in Indonesia is widespread, and jobs are hard to find. An estimated 600,000 Indonesians have migrated to neighboring Malaysia and taken jobs. About 400,000 of those are working in Malaysia illegally. To protect its domestic labor market, Malaysia recently passed a strong anti-immigration law, and thousands of Indonesian workers will soon be deported. The Indonesian government is...

Amnesty Urges Malaysia to Stop Whipping Illegals

Reuters August 12, 2002
Until recently, caning was an infrequent practice in Malaysia, authorized as a supplementary punishment for many crimes but used only 13 times in 2001. The practice has been revived now as a punishment for illegal immigrants, most of whom come from Indonesia. Amnesty International has requested that the practice be stopped, calling it cruel and unlikely to deter immigrants or asylum-seekers....

Vegetable Prices Set to Soar After Exodus of Illegals

August 8, 2002
When more than 320,000 illegal immigrants left Malaysia during a four month amnesty, the agricultural sector took a bad hit. Farms in Johor Baru and Bukit Kempas were left unattended or worse, completely weeded over. With supply down by 40 percent, officials fear that consumers in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore might have to pay 30 percent more for all their vegetables. Farmers say they hired illegal...

Filipino Nurses Losing Out to Chinese

August 6, 2002
Greater numbers of Chinese nurses are now finding employment in the UK and US, fast overtaking the demand for popular Filipino nurses. Chinese nurses have gained the upper hand as a result of their improved proficiency in English and their consent to pay higher placement fees as part of a salary reduction scheme. China helped the nurses by providing language instruction, prompting some in the...

Gephardt Is Preparing a Measure to Legalize Illegal Immigrants

Carl Hulse July 23, 2002
The United States is home to millions of illegal immigrants, many of them from Mexico, who have become a major chunk of the American labor force. Before September 11, President Bush talked with Mexican President Vicente Fox about the possibility of granting amnesty to some of those immigrants, but heightened concerns about national security have left that plan hanging. Democrats in the House of...