September 1998, Volume 5, Number 9

INS: Enforcement, Naturalization, Asylum
The House immigration subcommittee in July 1998 approved on a voice vote a bill by Representative Harold Rogers (R-KY) that would create a new Bureau

Congress: H-1Bs, HIV, Haitians
H-1Bs. The H-1B compromise reached by Congressional Republican leaders in July 1998 was not considered by the US House of Representatives

Immigrants and Welfare
Since January 1993, the number of welfare recipients has fallen by 41 percent, or 5.7 million. The welfare reforms of 1996 made states

Mexico, Central America
Many US border communities continue to complain about the $45 cost to their Mexican customers to obtain the new US border-crossing card--the new

Canada: Investor Visas, Immigration
Both the US and Canada offer visas to foreigners who invest in a business that creates jobs. In both countries, middlemen such as immigration lawyers

Hispanics, Asians
The Census reported that there were 30 million Hispanics in the US in 1997 and 34 million African Americans--11 percent of US residents were

California: Courts, Hispanics
The federal government has withheld $13 million allocated for English as a Second Language instruction because California failed to properly account

Taxes: EITC, Nannies
The US tax system is based on individuals assessing themselves the taxes they owe and forwarding the monies owed to the IRS. Many immigrants with low

Research Papers
In "The Economic Progress of Immigrants," George J. Borjas develops a model in which the relationship between the entry wage of immigrants and the

Japan: Apprehensions, Students
Japanese police charged 1,360 foreigners in 1997 with illegal entry, including 1,209 Chinese. In the first eight months of 1998, some 677 foreigners

Malaysia, Singapore
Malaysia. On August 15, 1998, an estimated 237,000 work permits held by foreign workers expired. In January, 1998, Malaysia announced that

China, Hong Kong
China has 400 million urban residents and 800 million rural residents. There are about 260 million urban workers of working age, 18 to 60, and

Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand
Indonesia. Between May 14-20, 1998, some 150,000 persons left Indonesia, including 71,000 Indonesians. At least 40,000 ethnic Chinese

Germany: Immigration in Campaign
Politics. The major German political parties announced tough new anti-crime policy proposals in the run-up to the September 27, 1998

Ireland: Romanian Asylum Seekers
Ireland has traditionally been an emigration country. However, in 1997, 29,000 people left and 44,000 arrived in the country. In 1987, by contrast,

UK: Asylum Reform
The White Paper on asylum reform released July 27, 1998 was discussed in August. One of the major issues is the proposal that asylum applicants be

Italy: North Africans, Kosovo
Some 3,000 North Africans arrived by boat in southern Italy in July, as many as arrived in the first six months of 1998. Many paid $2,000 each to be

Portugal, Spain
Portugal reported that 175,263 foreigners lived legally in the country at the end of 1997; 58 percent were EU nationals. By region of origin, 47

France: Vatican, Politics
Illegal immigrants facing expulsion occupied the Vatican embassy in Paris the first weekend in August. The 12 immigrants were initially welcomed and

Australia: Immigration and Population
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson's June 1998 call for zero net migration prompted an August debate between the major political parties over

Middle East
Gulf. The governments of the Gulf oil-exporting countries have announced crackdowns on illegal foreigners, and new policies to substitute

Israel's Foreign Workers
Israel's internal security agency, Shin Beth, labeled foreign workers "a time bomb" that threatens the country's security. There are 190,000 foreign

UNHCR Under Fire
The Financial Times reported on July 29, 1998 that alleged UNHCR had spent money without proper accounting, including paying for ammunition flights