Sunday, June 14, 2009
Security first--for now
"On the thorniest of political issues, President Obama has embraced the enforcement-first position on immigration that he criticized during last year's presidential campaign, and he now says he can't move forward with the type of comprehensive bill he wants until voters are convinced that the borders can be enforced.
Having already backed off his pledge to have an immigration bill this year, Mr. Obama boosted his commitment to enforcement in the budget released Thursday. The spending blueprint calls for extra money to build an employee-verification system and to pay for more personnel and equipment to patrol the border." Story in the Washington Times
Having already backed off his pledge to have an immigration bill this year, Mr. Obama boosted his commitment to enforcement in the budget released Thursday. The spending blueprint calls for extra money to build an employee-verification system and to pay for more personnel and equipment to patrol the border." Story in the Washington Times
Labels: Barack Obama, border
# posted by Norma : 6:52 PM
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Illegals in Italy--tragedy hits
[March 31, 2009] Hundreds of migrants from Africa are missing and believed to have drowned in the Mediterranean over the weekend.
More than 30,000 migrants are believed to have crossed the Mediterranean in 2008, a 75 percent increase on 2007. The majority end up in detention centers, and are eventually deported. In Libya, there are between 1 million and 1.5 million African irregular migrants, drawn by the need for unskilled labor and hoping to move on to Europe. Story here
More than 30,000 migrants are believed to have crossed the Mediterranean in 2008, a 75 percent increase on 2007. The majority end up in detention centers, and are eventually deported. In Libya, there are between 1 million and 1.5 million African irregular migrants, drawn by the need for unskilled labor and hoping to move on to Europe. Story here
Labels: 2008, Africa, Italy, Libya, Mediterranean
# posted by Norma : 3:54 PM
Friday, February 20, 2009
Border agents released
After serving two years in federal prison in solitary confinement for shooting a fleeing Mexican drug smuggler who had brought 750 pounds of marijuana into the U.S., Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean are being released into home confinement until March 20. Link
# posted by Norma : 3:45 PM
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Not the whole problem with the California budget, but here’s an estimate
Illegal immigrants are a factor in California's budget math Complete article.
* There were 2.8 million illegal immigrants living in California in 2006, the last year for which there are relatively good figures, according to the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. That represented about 8% of the state's population and roughly a quarter of the nation's illegal immigrants. About 90% of California's illegal immigrants were from Latin America; 65% from Mexico.
* There are roughly 19,000 illegal immigrants in state prisons, representing 11% of all inmates. That's costing $970 million during the current fiscal year. The feds kick in a measly $111 million, leaving the state with an $859 million tab.
* Schools are the toughest to calculate. Administrators don't ask kids about citizenship status. Anyway, many children of illegal immigrants were born in this country and automatically became U.S. citizens.
If you figure that the children of illegal immigrants attending K-12 schools approximates the proportion of illegal immigrants in the population, the bill currently comes to roughly $4 billion. Most is state money; some local property taxes.
* Illegal immigrants aren't entitled to welfare, called CalWORKs. But their citizen children are. Roughly 190,000 kids are receiving welfare checks that pass through their parents. The cost: about $500 million, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.
Schwarzenegger has proposed removing these children from the welfare rolls after five years. It's part of a broader proposal to also boot off, after five years, the children of U.S. citizens who aren't meeting federal work requirements. There'd be a combined savings of $522 million.
* The state is spending $775 million on Medi-Cal healthcare for illegal immigrants, according to the legislative analyst. Of that, $642 million goes into direct benefits. Practically all the rest is paid to counties to administer the program. The feds generally match the state dollar-for-dollar on mandatory programs.
So-called emergency services are the biggest state cost: $536 million. Prenatal care is $59 million. Not counted in the overall total is the cost of baby delivery -- $108 million -- because the newborns aren't illegal immigrants.
The state also pays $47 million for programs that Washington does not require: Non-emergency care (breast and cervical cancer treatment), $25 million; long-term nursing home care, $19 million; abortions, $3 million.
Schwarzenegger has proposed requiring illegal immigrants to requalify every month for Medi-Cal benefits, except pregnancy-related emergencies.
There also are other taxpayer costs -- especially through local governments -- but those are the biggies for the state. Add them all up and the state spends well over $5 billion a year on illegal immigrants and their families.
* There were 2.8 million illegal immigrants living in California in 2006, the last year for which there are relatively good figures, according to the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. That represented about 8% of the state's population and roughly a quarter of the nation's illegal immigrants. About 90% of California's illegal immigrants were from Latin America; 65% from Mexico.
* There are roughly 19,000 illegal immigrants in state prisons, representing 11% of all inmates. That's costing $970 million during the current fiscal year. The feds kick in a measly $111 million, leaving the state with an $859 million tab.
* Schools are the toughest to calculate. Administrators don't ask kids about citizenship status. Anyway, many children of illegal immigrants were born in this country and automatically became U.S. citizens.
If you figure that the children of illegal immigrants attending K-12 schools approximates the proportion of illegal immigrants in the population, the bill currently comes to roughly $4 billion. Most is state money; some local property taxes.
* Illegal immigrants aren't entitled to welfare, called CalWORKs. But their citizen children are. Roughly 190,000 kids are receiving welfare checks that pass through their parents. The cost: about $500 million, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.
Schwarzenegger has proposed removing these children from the welfare rolls after five years. It's part of a broader proposal to also boot off, after five years, the children of U.S. citizens who aren't meeting federal work requirements. There'd be a combined savings of $522 million.
* The state is spending $775 million on Medi-Cal healthcare for illegal immigrants, according to the legislative analyst. Of that, $642 million goes into direct benefits. Practically all the rest is paid to counties to administer the program. The feds generally match the state dollar-for-dollar on mandatory programs.
So-called emergency services are the biggest state cost: $536 million. Prenatal care is $59 million. Not counted in the overall total is the cost of baby delivery -- $108 million -- because the newborns aren't illegal immigrants.
The state also pays $47 million for programs that Washington does not require: Non-emergency care (breast and cervical cancer treatment), $25 million; long-term nursing home care, $19 million; abortions, $3 million.
Schwarzenegger has proposed requiring illegal immigrants to requalify every month for Medi-Cal benefits, except pregnancy-related emergencies.
There also are other taxpayer costs -- especially through local governments -- but those are the biggies for the state. Add them all up and the state spends well over $5 billion a year on illegal immigrants and their families.
Labels: California
# posted by Norma : 7:48 PM
Monday, December 08, 2008
Trafficking in Persons Report
"The International Labour Organization (ILO)— the United Nations agency charged with addressing labor standards, employment, and social protection issues—estimates that 12.3 million people throughout the world are enslaved in forced labor, bonded labor, sexual servitude, and involuntary servitude at any given time. Millions of these victims are trafficked within their own national borders. According to the State Department’s 2005 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, approximately 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders each year; of these, about 80 percent are female, and up to half are minors. The majority of transnational victims are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation." (Asian Transnational Organized Crime and its impact on the United States, National Institute of Justice, January 2007)
"In FY 2006, the U.S. Government obligated approximately $74 million to 154 international anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) projects in 70 countries and $28.5 million to 70 domestic anti-TIP projects. These projects are working to ensure human trafficking is prevented, the survivors are protected, and the traffickers are put in jail. They are funded through the coordinated efforts and program funds of the Departments of State, Justice, Labor, Health and Human Services, and USAID. See the corresponding fact sheet at http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/fs/07/83371.htm for a visual overview of the FY 2006 TIP project obligations. " Link
Labels: human trafficking, NIJ, organized crime, slavery, TIP
# posted by Norma : 3:25 PM
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Koreans happy with Obama selection
Although I've never thought of Barack Obama as an African American, Koreans, particularly those with dark skins and who are immigrants do:
- “Skin color deeply affects the way the one million migrant workers residing in Korea are treated. Those from China, Vietnam, the Philippines and some African countries generally hold low-paying, labor-intensive jobs in and around industrial complexes and are looked down upon, while white North Americans are usually welcomed as English teachers and business consultants.
"As a minority in Korea, I welcome Obama, a minority in the U.S.," said Maung Zaw, 39, a Myanmarese democracy activist who recently received refugee status in Korea.
"I don't think the U.S. and the world will change overnight after Obama comes to power. But I trust this is a symbol, opening doors for minorities in the long term."
Seeing Obama in the White House will also be an inspiration to the many North Korean defectors for whom political representation is still a long way off. . . “
- “My expectations from Obama are that...we North Koreans are a minority here but some of us can also become lawmakers and politicians some day," said Kim Yoon-hee, 30, a Hankuk University of Foreign Studies professor who defected from North Korea in 2000. "Why shouldn't we? There's no law that prohibits us."
Obama has said he is willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in person, and was generally seen as being more able to successfully help the reclusive state rejoin the international community than his hardline Republican rival John McCain. But McCain still enjoyed support from older North Korean defectors who perceived Obama as too naive to handle Pyongyang's nuclear brinkmanship.”
Labels: Barack Obama, Korean immigrants, Koreans
# posted by Norma : 5:03 PM
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Undocumented Koreans--230,000
LOS ANGELES -- Approximately 230,000 undocumented Koreans were residing in the United States as of January 2007, reports the Korea Times. The figure is based on the report Illegal Alien Resident Population by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The number of undocumented Koreans has decreased by some 20,000 from the year earlier, yet Korea ranks number seven in countries with the largest number of undocumented immigrants in the United States.
Mexico is the leading country of undocumented immigration, with 7 million, or 59 percent of the U.S. undocumented population. El Salvador came next with 540,000, followed by Guatemala with 500,000, and the Philippines and China, each with 290,000. Koreans made up 2 percent of the U.S. undocumented population.The United States has seen a growing number of undocumented immigrants - 11.8 million last year, up from 11.3 million in 2006 and 8.5 million in 2000. Brazil, India and Guatemala showed the biggest increase in undocumented immigration to the United States. By state, California had the most undocumented residents, with 2.8 million, or 24 percent of the state's immigrant population, followed by Texas with 1.7 million and Florida with 1 million. (See 230,000 undocumented Koreans, New America Media)
Mexico is the leading country of undocumented immigration, with 7 million, or 59 percent of the U.S. undocumented population. El Salvador came next with 540,000, followed by Guatemala with 500,000, and the Philippines and China, each with 290,000. Koreans made up 2 percent of the U.S. undocumented population.The United States has seen a growing number of undocumented immigrants - 11.8 million last year, up from 11.3 million in 2006 and 8.5 million in 2000. Brazil, India and Guatemala showed the biggest increase in undocumented immigration to the United States. By state, California had the most undocumented residents, with 2.8 million, or 24 percent of the state's immigrant population, followed by Texas with 1.7 million and Florida with 1 million. (See 230,000 undocumented Koreans, New America Media)
Labels: Koreans
# posted by Norma : 6:26 PM
