Immigrant News and Opinion Outside Spain

Malaysia learns a hard lesson in the boomerang effect of immigrant labor crackdowns.

Meanwhile Britain is lacing up its boots for something similar during its stint in the EU presidency. There are some interesting ideas concerning development outlined here, though some studies have indicated that such projects may increase rather than decrease illegal immigration flows as countries of origin gain awareness and exposure to language etc. of assisting country. Vital would be linking assistence to a proven tightening of illegal outflows.

In a similar vein, some wishful thinking from DC concerning a new crusade towards Mexican development. An obvious answer is that we help Mexico by helping ourselves - remittances are an indispensable force for development in Mexico, and the low-cost work in the US that generates these flows helps our economy as well.

On the other hand, the national ID / secure driver´s L. initiative may provide a reasonable way to staunch fears about terrorism. Here in Spain you can´t own a car without regularized status. In Denver most anti-immigrant racism is expressed in automotive terms -- either they drive too fast, drive too drunk ("this isn´t Mexico, you know") or they leave to many cars on their lawn.