ethnic geography specialty group new sletter volume 14 ... · 14.05.2016 · ethnic geography...

Ethnic Geography Specialty Group Newsletter Volume 14, Numbers 1-2

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EGSG OfficersChair: Wei Li (Arizona State University)Vice Chair: Emily Skop (University of Texasat Austin)Secretary/Treasurer: James Smith (TowsonState University, Maryland)Board of Directors:Joy Adams (California State University,Humboldt) John Frazier (Binghamton University, NewYork)Susan Hume (University of Southern Illinois atEdwardsville)David Kaplan (Kent State University)Wei Li (Arizona State University)Heather Smith (University of North Carolina atCharlotte)Emily Skop (University of Colorado atColorado Springs)James Smith (Towson State University,Maryland)Ezra Zeitler, Student Representative (Universityof Nebraska at Lincoln) and Webmaster forEGSG’s website at:http://www.unl.edu/ag/geography/ethnic/

Don’t Forget to Attend theEthnic Geography Specialty Group Business

Meeting During the AAG Meetingsin Boston (Grand Ballroom - Salon K,M)

Thursday, 4/17/0811:55 AM - 12:55 PM

Do You Have Anything to Contribute tothe EGSG Newsletter?

Please Contact: Thomas D. Boswell,

Department of GeographyUniversity of Miami

Coral Gables, Florida 33124-221 [email protected]

Ethnic Geography Specialty Group NewsletterCo-Editors: Thomas D. Boswell (University of Miami)

and Terry Ann Jones (Fairfield University)

Fall 2007/Spring 2008

Fourth Biennial “Race, Ethnicity, andPlace Conference”

to Be Held at the University of MiamiNovember 5-8, 2008

The Race, Ethnicity, and Place (REP)Conference fosters dialogue on a range of issuesrelated to the racial and ethnic transformation ofplaces. It encourages interdisciplinaryperspectives, philosophical and methodologicaldiversity, and professional and studentperspectives on such issues. The Conference iscommitted to providing high quality programsand remaining open to broad participation bytheoreticians, practitioners, and students. TheConferences makes an effort to rotate amongU.S. regions, incorporating a regional focuswhen appropriate, while maintaining nationaland international perspectives on race, ethnicity,and place issues. The conference seeks partnersand hosts institution for future conferences. Thecurrent partners are the Association of AmericanGeographers, Binghamton University, HowardUniversity, Texas State University, and theUniversity of Miami.

The first REP Conference was held at SUNYBinghamton University in 2002. It was thebrainchild of that university’s Department ofGeography and its University Administration. They still provide some of the leadership andfinancial assistance for the Conference as it is


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rotated around the country. The secondconference was held at Howard University inWashington, D.C. in 2004, and the third washeld at Texas State University in San Marcos,Texas in 2006.

In 2008 it will be held in Miami, the perfectvenue for such a conference. This is because itis now in some ways the premier immigrant cityin the United States. The 2000 U.S. Censusshowed that 51 percent of Miami-Dade County’spopulation was comprised of immigrants, by farthe highest of any major metropolitan area in theUnited States or in the world. It is a city that hasgone through greater proportional change in itsethnic and racial composition than any other cityin the United States during the past half century. In 1960, about 5 percent of MetropolitanMiami’s population was comprised of Hispanics,80 percent were Non-Hispanic White, and 15percent were Black. By 2006 these figureschanged to 62 percent Hispanic, 18 percentNon-Hispanic White, and 20 percent Black.

The REP Conference is a big attraction. The2006 conference registered 1,300 participantsand was directed and coordinated by LawrenceEstaville, Professor of Geography at Texas StateUniversity. It is an interdisciplinary conference,drawing experts from many fields, such aspolitics, geography, sociology, anthropology,law, economics, foreign languages, governmentofficials, history, philosophy, universityadministrators, and agencies that provideservices to minorities and the poor. The REPConference draws participants from all over theworld. The 2006 Conference attractedparticipants from 15 foreign countries andfunding from 25 corporations and businesses. Inaddition to its paper and panel sessions onNovember 6th and 7th, it also includes a set ofoptional field trips to be held on Saturday,November 8th.

The University of Miami and members ofthe Miami Metropolitan Area will showcase themany benefits of this ethnically and raciallydiverse community. Representative TomTancredo of Colorado referred to Miami as

being a “Third World County” in a speech hedelivered in Palm Beach, Florida. These wordsoffended many who live in Miami, butunfortunately they reflect the perception thatmany people living elsewhere have of SouthFlorida. For example, a Zogby Poll(www.Zogby.com) conducted this past Januaryof more than 7,000 respondents nationwidefound that fewer than 10 percent said that Miamiwould be a nice place to live. Only one-thirdrated the area’s quality of life as good. Theseperceptions prevail despite the facts that crimerates are way down, cocaine cowboys are oldhat, and the area’s economy is generallyperforming well.

The REP Conference provides anopportunity to demonstrate to foreign anddomestic visitors the way Miami has beentransformed since 1960, from a cityoverwhelming dependent upon a single industry,tourism, to one that has a much more diversifiedand healthy economy. In 1960, New York City,Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Houston all hadmore trade with Latin America and theCaribbean than did Miami. Today, largelybecause of its large Hispanic population, Miamiis now widely considered to be the ‘GatewayCity” between the United States and LatinAmerica.

The 2008 REP Conference will be held atthe well-equipped James L. Knight InternationalCenter in Downtown Miami (400 S.E. 2ndAvenue, Miami, Florida 33131). The GalaEvening Dinner on Thursday night will be heldon the main campus of the University of Miamiin Coral Gables. The two meeting hotels are theHyatt Regency Miami (305-358-1234) andClarion River Park (305-374-5100), both ofwhich are located immediately adjacent to theJames L. Knight International Center. If youdecide to stay in either of these two hotels, becertain to mention the Miami REP Conference,so you will receive a reduced room rate.

So far we have raised about $100,000 insupport of the Miami REP Conference frommore than 10 sponsors and more contributors are


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expected. The registration fee is $135 and thefirst 200 to register will receive 3 free meals. Registration is online at the Conference Website:www.rep-conference.binghamton.edu. Alternatively, you can contact:

Professor John FrazierDepartment of Geography

Binghamton University (SUNY)P.O. Box 2000

Binghamton, New York [email protected]

(607) 777-6179

MPI Estimates Average AnnualImmigration to the U.S. Is More

Than 1.8 Million The Migration Policy Institute in

Washington, D.C. has provided some newestimates for annual immigration to the U.S. forthe five-year period from 2002 through 2006. Their estimate for total annual immigration is1,842,570. This includes 1,021,884 LawfulPermanent Residents, 320,686 temporaryworkers and dependents, and 500,000unauthorized immigrants. The figure fortemporary workers and dependents is based onthe assumption that about 60 percent of alltemporary workers stay instead of returning totheir countries of origin. Although MPI did notestimate the number of immigrants who leavethe U.S. to return to their home countries, othersestimate this to be between 300,000 and 350,000per year. Thus, the average net immigration tothe U.S. was around 1.5 million per year.(“Annual Immigration to the United States: TheReal Numbers,” Migration Policy Institute, May,2007 available on-line atwww.migrationinformation.org.)

Immigration Could Add 105 Millionto U.S. Population by 2060

A new report from the Center forImmigration Studies projects how differentlevels of immigration would impact the futuresize of America’s population. The findings,modeled on earlier projections by the U.S.Bureau of the Census, show that the current level

of immigration could add 105 million to the U.S.population by 2060. This figure includes thechildren born to these immigrants while they areliving in the United States. The estimateassumes an average net immigration of 1.25million, which is less than the estimate of MPImentioned in the immediately preceding articlein this newsletter. It also assumes a total annualimmigration of 1.6 million (more than 200,000less than the MPI estimate) and a total annualreturn migration (emigration) of 350,000. Thestudy also determined that this high level ofimmigration would have only a tiny effect onlowering the average age of the U.S. population. With this level of immigration the increase in thepercent of persons of working age would be onlyfrom 60 percent to 61 percent (the latterpercentage assumes a decline in net immigrationto 300,000, not zero net migration becausenobody thinks immigration will decline to zero). Net immigration would account for 63 percent ofthe total population increase between 2007 and2060. The total population of the U.S. wouldreach 468 million in 2060, up from slightly morethan 300 million today.(Steven A. Camarota, “100 Million More:Projecting the Impact of Immigration on the U.S.Population, 2007 to 2060, Center for MigrationStudies, Washington, D.C., 2007. Available on-line at:www.cis.org/articles/2007/back707.html.)

The Washington Beat andImmigration Reform

This past June 2007 the ComprehensiveImmigration Reform Act failed to get passed inthe U.S. Senate. Among other things this billwould have provided a path toward legalizationfor unauthorized immigrants living in the UntiedStates. Immediately after its failure, proponentsof that failed legislation proposed two alternativebills, one called the DREAM Act and the othercalled AgJOBS. Both subsequently failed to beacted upon.

The DREAM Act (Development, Relief,and Education of Alien Minors Act) would have

http://www.migrationinformation.org.)

http://www.cis.org/articles/2007/back707.html.)


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provided the possibility of legal residence foryoung immigrants who graduated from highschool in the U.S. but did not have legal status. To be eligible, the high school graduate wouldhave to have entered the U.S. by age 16, havebeen in the U.S. at least five years, be under theage of 30 years, and have no criminal record. Ifit had been enacted, these high school graduateswould have received conditional U.S. residencythat could turn into a regular legal immigrantstatus during the next six years, provided theunauthorized youth attended at least two years ofcollege in the U.S. or served in the U.S. militaryfor at least two years. An estimated 65,000unauthorized foreigners per year graduate fromU.S. high schools, and 13,000 are believed to goto U.S. colleges. One estimate was that theDREAM Act would cover 279,000 high schoolgraduates now under the age of 24 years, andanother 715,000 now aged five to 17 years whowould become eligible in the future. That is atotal of 994,000, or almost one million illegalimmigrants. Furthermore, once they becameU.S. citizens, a process that could take a decade(or less), they could have sponsored their parentsand relatives for immigration into the U.S. Included could be the very people who wereresponsible for bringing them (their children) tothe U.S. illegally in the first place.

People who support the DREAM Act stillhope that it will be reconsidered and passed inthe near future in the U.S. They reason thatchildren who are illegally in the U.S. should notbe punished (by being sent home) for the sins oftheir parents because it was their parents whobrought them illegally to this country. Many ofthese children have lived almost all of their livesin the United States and have had fewassociations with their countries of birth. It isargued that they would have major adjustmentsto make if they were sent home and that wouldbe cruel treatment for them. Furthermore, theyargue, this country will have to eventually haveto come to terms with its undocumentedresidents and provide a path to legalization

simply because there are far too many (at least12 million) of them to be eventually returned.

The opponents to the DREAM Act arguethat legalizing illegal immigrants will onlyprovide an incentive for more illegal immigrantsto come to the U.S. This is what happened afterthe 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Actprovided an amnesty for about 2.7 million illegalimmigrants. They also suggest that the DREAMact will have a multiplier affect because the onemillion young people who could be legalizedunder it would have an opportunity to bring theirparents and other relatives to the United States,as has happened with the family reunificationpolicy of current immigration law. Finally, theysay that the children who are illegally here in theU.S. have received many benefits already atAmerican tax payer expense, such a receiving afree education and learning to speak English. These benefits will help them compete for goodjobs in their countries of birth if they are senthome.

AgJOBS (the Agricultural Job Opportunity,Benefits, and Security Act) would have allowedup to 1.5 million unauthorized farm workers toearn legal immigrant status by continuing to dofarm labor over the next five years. There weresome additional requirements such as not havinga criminal record. Most of the Senators whoopposed this bill favored a guest worker programas an alternative that would make it easier forU.S. farmers to hire legal workers, withoutencouraging further illegal immigration byproviding an amnesty for those now hereillegally.

Three other immigration issues that also arebeing hotly debated are: (1) the creation ofsanctuary cities for illegal immigrants, (2) in-state tuition for illegal immigrants at statesupported universities, and (3) the Real ID Act.

There are now 73 sanctuary cities in theUnited States. These cities forbid their officials(including police) from inquiring about the legalstatus of their residents. Police are not allowedto report people they suspect of beingunauthorized immigrants to federal immigration


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officials. Officials in these cities say thatimmigration is the responsibility of the federalgovernment and not their’s. Furthermore, theyhave not been funded to take on this addedresponsibility. Opponents say that this violatesfederal law in the sense that all citizens and lawenforcement agencies are morally obligated toobey the law and the federal constitution. Theynote that in any other type of criminal case thelocal police would support federal lawenforcement officials. Furthermore, sanctuarycities serve as an incentive and as a magnate formore illegal immigration.

In-state tuition is now offered to illegalimmigrants living in 10 states. In 1982, the U.S.Supreme Court ruled that illegal immigrantchildren are entitled to free K-12 education, butin 1996 Congress banned states from offering in-state college tuition to unauthorized residents. The 10 states got around this restriction bybasing in-state tuition on graduating from in-state high schools, not on residency. Thus, alegal foreign student in one of these states who isattending college on a student visa is required topay out-of-state tuition. Furthermore, a U.S.citizen from another state also has to pay out-of-state tuition, while an illegal immigrant pays in-state fees. These 10 states are banking on theassumption that eventually most of these illegalstudents will be allowed to remain in the U.S.under some form of amnesty. If this assumptionis correct, it is to the individual state’s benefitthat they be better educated so they can betterassimilate into society and contribute more totheir economies, by having better jobs andpaying more taxes. However, if these illegalimmigrants are not granted an amnesty, thiswould be an additional expense the tax payerswill have to pay that will primarily benefit thecountry which sent the immigrants in the firstplace.

The Real ID Act was passed in 2005 as asecurity measure and as an attempt to provideidentification for people in the United States thatis hard to counterfeit. These ID’s are to beproduced by individual states, rather than the

federal government. However, they will be inthe form of driver’s licenses and are supposed topass certain quality tests that make them moredifficult to forge. This will give them greaterauthenticity. In addition, the U.S. governmentwill establish a data base that can be used todetermine the legal status of people in the U.S. Eventually, the Real ID, if widely used, will beused to check a persons legal residency status inthe United States. All states are supposed tobegin issuing Real ID driver’s licenses by May2011, and begin to replace current driver’slicenses by December 2014. Right now thefederal government is requesting states toparticipate in its new E-Verify program. It is avoluntary system that checks the data providedby newly hired employees against governmentdatabases. It aims to reduce the employment ofunauthorized workers. Unfortunately, recenttests of this system have determined that the listscontaining the legal status of names maintainedby the federal government are in error abouteight percent of the time. The legislatures of 17states have passed legislation opposing the RealID program, calling it an unfunded federalmandate that will become a national ID card atthe expense of states and an invasion of theprivacy of their residents.(Migration News, January 2009, Vol. 15. No 1.http://migration.ucdavis.edu.)

Profile of Immigrants Living in theUnited States in 2007

The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS)recently published a profile of America’s foreignborn population. Its findings came from theMarch 2007 Current Population Surveyconducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Among its more interesting findings are thefollowing:# The Nation’s immigrant population (legal

plus illegal) reached a record high of 37.9million in March 2007. This compares to10.3 million in 1900, 13.5 million in 1910(when the percentage of immigrants was the


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highest), 9.6 million in 1970, and 31.1million in 2000.

# Immigrants account for one in eight (12.6percent) of all U.S. residents, the highestlevel in 80 years. In 1970, the comparablepercentage was 4.7 percent and in 1980 itwas 6.2 percent. The highest it has beensince 1900 in the U.S. was 14.7 percent in1910.

# Nearly one in three immigrants is an illegalresident in the U.S. Half the Mexican andCentral American immigrants and one-thirdof South American immigrants are illegal.

# Since 2000, nearly 10.3 million immigrantshave arrived–the highest number in anyseven-year period of the history ofimmigration to the U.S. More than half (54percent) of these people were estimated byCIS to be illegal entrants. 57 percent of theillegal population comes from Mexico, 11percent is from Central America, 9 percent isfrom East Asia, 8 percent is from SouthAmerica, and Europe and the Caribbeaneach account for 4 percent.

# The largest number of immigrants to arrivebetween 2000 and 2007 arrived in California(2,022,000), Texas (1,071,000), Florida(1,068,000), New York (877,000), NewJersey (501,000), and Illinois (491,000). These figures are not for net immigrationbecause they do not include the number wholeft these states to live elsewhere.

# Immigrants and their U.S. born childrenaccounted for at least one-fifth of thepopulations of the following states:California (38 percent), New York (28percent), Florida (24 percent), Texas (21percent), New Jersey (27.5 percent), Nevada(25 percent), and Hawaii (22 percent).

# 29 percent of all immigrants 18 years andolder in the labor force had less than a highschool education in 2007, compared to lessthan 8 percent of the U.S. born population. Furthermore, 36 percent of the adultimmigrants in the labor force who arrivedbetween 2000 and 2007 had less than a high

school education. Since 2000, immigrationincreased the number of workers without ahigh school diploma by 14 percent and allother workers by only 3 percent.

# The study found that immigrants with acollege degree have incomes and use socialservices similar to natives. However, legalimmigrants with very little education hadpoverty rates and welfare use rates that areas high as those for illegal immigrants. Forexample, 56 percent of the household headedby a legal immigrant who lacked a highschool diploma used at least one majorwelfare program, triple the rate for the U.S.born population. This is important becausean estimated 57 percent of the illegalimmigrants have not completed high school. Therefore, their legalization is unlikely tosolve the problem they have with lowincomes and the heavy use of social services.

# The share of immigrants and natives in theU.S. who are college graduates is about thesame. However, immigrants were oncemuch more likely than natives to be collegegraduates.

# The proportion of immigrant-headedhouseholds using at least one major welfareprogram is 33 percent, compared to 19percent for native households.

# The poverty rate for immigrants and theirU.S. born children (under 18) is 17 percent,nearly 50 percent higher than the rate fornatives and their children.

# Immigrants and their U.S. born childrenaccount for 71 percent of the increase in theuninsured since 1989.

# Immigrants make significant progress intheir socioeconomic status over time spent inthe United States. Still, even those who havebeen in the U.S. for 20 years are more likelyto be living in poverty, lack health insurance,and use welfare services than the U.S. bornpopulation.

# The primary reason for the high rates ofimmigrant poverty, lack of health insurance,and welfare use is their low education level,


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not their legal status or unwillingness towork.

# Immigration accounts for virtually all of thenational increase in public school enrollmentover the last two decades. In 2007, therewere 10.8 million school age children fromimmigrant families in the United States.

# Recent immigration has had very littleimpact on the United States’ age structure,even though immigrants who arrived in theU.S. since 2000 tend to be slightly younger(29.4 years of age) than the U.S. bornpopulation (35.9 years of age). If the 10.3million post 2000 immigrants are removedfrom the U.S. population, the average age ofthe total U.S. population would decline from36.7 years to 36.4 years. Clearly,immigration will not save the country’ssocial security system by significantlylowering its average age, so there would bemore adults to support the elderly.

# Immigration has a large effect on the low-skilled labor market in the U.S. Immigrantscomprise between one-fourth and one-thirdof all workers in cleaning, construction, andthe food service occupations. Roughly halfof these immigrant workers are estimated tobe illegal immigrants. In contrast, just 9percent of journalists and 6 percent oflawyers are immigrants, and almost none areillegal immigrants. This partly explains whythe argument that immigrants only do jobsAmerican don’t want is widely accepted inthe media and among elites in general. Butthe fact is, the overwhelming majority of lowwage jobs are done by less education nativeborn Americans not immigrants.

# Unemployment and non-work has grownsignificantly among the less educated nativeborn Americans. In 2007 there were morethan 22 million adult natives of working age(18-64 years) with no education beyond highschool who were either unemployed or notin the labor market. Wages and benefits forsuch workers have also generally stagnatedor declined in recent years. Most Americans

do not face significant job competition fromimmigrants, but those who do are usually thepoorest and most vulnerable.

# Immigrants themselves clearly benefit bycoming to the United States. This fact canbe used to justify continuing the currentpolicies of immigration in this country onhumanitarian grounds. But it is important toknow that there are costs involved becausethe latest data clearly show that poorlyeducated U.S. born workers, public schools,health care providers, and taxpayers willcontinue to increasingly feel the effects ofthese costs if we continue in this direction.

(Steven A. Camarota, “Immigrants in the UnitedStates, 2007: A Profile of America’s Foreign-Born Population, Backgrounder, Center forImmigration Studies, November 2007. Availableon line at: www.cis.org/articles/2007/back1007.html.)

New PRB Research on Black Immigration to U.S.

New research by the Population ReferenceBureau staff shows that recent flows ofimmigrants from the Caribbean and Africa are agrowing component of the U.S. population. They are part of the racial and ethnictransformation of the U.S. taking place in the 21st

Century. Although far outnumbered by non-Black Hispanic and Asian immigrants, thenumber of Black immigrants is growing at aremarkable rate. More than one-fourth of theBlack populations of New York, Miami, andBoston is foreign born. Immigration contributedat least one-fifth of the growth in the U.S. Blackpopulation between 2001 and 2006.

Several new developments sparked renewedimmigration of Blacks from the Caribbean andAfrica beginning in the 1970s. New laws(especially the Immigration Act of 1965) openedlegal channels for people wanting to immigrateto the U.S. Cheaper and more frequent air travelreduced the physical and psychological distancesto the U.S. Better telephone and new Internetcommunications connected immigrants to theirfamilies back home, and allowed them to send

http://www.cis.org/articles/2007/back1007.html.


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news of job opportunities to potentialimmigrants back home. Poor economicprospects, political instability, and violence insome areas were powerful “push” factors. Thestrong U.S. economy and the United States longhistory as an immigrant country were among thefactors attracting additional newcomers fromthese regions. Some analysts also point to a lesswelcoming atmosphere for Africans in Europe asencouraging potential immigrants to come to theU.S.

The foreign born Black population rosenearly seven fold between 1960 and 1980, andmore than tripled between 1980 and 2005. Theforeign share of all U.S. Blacks increased fromless than one percent to eight percent duringthese years. This was a sizeable increase, eventhough the percent foreign born is much higher(12.5 percent) for the entire U.S. population. The number of Haitians–the second largestCaribbean group–nearly quadrupled between1980 and 2005, and the number ofJamaicans–the largest Caribbean group–morethan doubled. The increases were even moredramatic among African groups. For example,the number of Ethiopians in 2005 was 13 timeswhat it was in 1960. Overall, the number offoreign born Blacks rose from 125,000 in 1980to 2,815,000 in 2005, with a majority arrivingsince 1990. About two-thirds of Black foreignborn is from the Caribbean and Latin America,and one-third is from Africa. Only a smallfraction was born in Europe, Canada, orelsewhere. But the African share is growing. More African born Blacks arrived between 2000and 2005 than in the previous decade.

Until recent years, new Black immigrationwas little noticed outside a few cities–especiallyNew York and Miami–where communities ofWest Indians, Haitians, Nigerians, and otherBlack immigrants flourished. But that haschanged in recent years as Somali communitieshave become noticeable in Columbus, Ohio,Lewiston, Maine, and Minneapolis. ImmigrantBlacks and their children are gaining prominencein many fields, raising their visibility and

attracting attention among the generalpopulation.

Nearly two-thirds of Caribbean born Blackslive in the New York or Miami metropolitanareas. African born Blacks are more dispersedthroughout the United States. Among the topcities for African born Blacks are New York,Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, and Atlanta. Still three-fifths live in other metropolitan areas,such as Philadelphia, Los Angeles, or Dallas. These immigrants have high educationalattainment–38 percent of the adult African bornand 20 percent of the adult Caribbean or LatinAmerican born Blacks have college degrees.They tend to have low rates of unemploymentand poverty, compared with the generalpopulation. But they often are underpaid andunderemployed given their educationalachievements and experience. Like mostnewcomers, immigrant Blacks face myriadchallenges as they join the labor force and raisetheir families in the United States. As they adaptto life in their new country, they will also changethe society around them, especially as theirnumbers grow and they expand to more cornersof the country. (Mary Mederios Kent, “Immigration andAmerica’s Black Population,” PopulationBulletin, Vol. 62, No. 4, December 2007.Available on-line at:www.prb.org/publications/populationbulletins/2007/blackimmigration.aspx?p=1.)

Managing ImmigrationThroughout the World

The number of international migrants in theworld is at an all-time high. There were 191million migrants in 2005, which means that 3percent of the world’s population left theircountry of birth or citizenship for a year or more. The number of international migrants inindustrialized countries more than doubledbetween 1985 and 2005, from almost 55 millionto 120 million.

However, most of the world’s 6.6 billionpeople never cross a national border; most liveand die near their place of birth. Those who


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cross national borders usually move to nearbycountries, for example, from Mexico to the U.S.,or from Turkey to Germany. The largest flow ofmigrants is from less developed to moredeveloped countries. In 2005, 62 millionmigrants from developing countries moved tomore developed countries, but almost as manymigrants (61 million) moved from onedeveloping country to another, such as fromIndonesia to Malaysia. Large flows of peoplealso move from one industrialized country toanother, such as from Canada to the UnitedStates, and much smaller flows move from moredeveloped to less developed countries, such aspeople from Japan who work or retire inThailand.

The international community believes thatinternational migration should be voluntary, andhas tried to minimize “forced migration,”whether motivated by persecution or economicdeprivation at home. The United nations 1948Universal Declaration of Human Rights assertsthat “Everyone has the right to leave anycountry, including his own, and to return to hiscountry.” However, the right to emigrate doesnot give migrants a right to immigrate, and mostmigrants are not welcomed unconditionally intothe countries to which they move.

Most countries discourage immigration–theydo not welcome the arrival of foreigners whowish to settle and become naturalized citizens. Some also discourage emigration. This was thesituation in communist nations as symbolized bythe Berlin Wall, which was used to detercrossing from East to West Germany between1961 and 1989. Today, North Korea continuesto prevent its citizens from leaving the country.

Five major countries plan for the arrival ofimmigrants: the United States, which accepted1.2 million immigrants in 2006; Canada whichaccepted 250,000; Australia 125,000; NewZealand 50,000; and Israel 25,000. Industrialized countries planned to accept 1.5million immigrants a year. Howeer, the numberof newcomers arriving in these countries eachyear exceeds the number planned, suggesting

that many are temporary visitors or illegalimmigrants who find ways to settle rather thanreturn home.

Perspectives on the rising number ofmigrants can be illustrated by two extremepositions. At one extreme, organization rangingfrom the Catholic Church to the Wall StreetJournal and the World Bank have called formore migration, arguing that people should notbe confined to their countries of birth by nationalborders and that more migration would speedeconomic growth and development in bothsending and receiving countries. They argue thatpeople are both producers and consumers andboth are good for economic growth. At the otherextreme, in virtually every industrializedcountry, organizations are demanding sharpreductions in immigration. In the United States,the Federation for American ImmigrationReform (FAIR) and a number of others arguethat unskilled newcomers hurt low-skilled U.S.workers, have negative environmental effects,and threaten established U.S. cultural values. Political parties in many European countrieshave called for reducing immigration at one timeor another. For example, during the 1995 Frenchpresidential campaign, the National Front inFrance proposed removing up to three millionnon-Europeans from France in order to reducethe number of Muslim residents.

The first step toward making migrationmanageable is to understand why peoplemigrate. Most people do not want to crossnational borders, and even though the number ofmigrants is at an all-time high, internationalmigration is still low relative to the 97 percent ofthe world’s residents who do not migrate. Furthermore, economic growth can turn former emigration nations into destinations forimmigrants, as it did for Ireland, Italy, and SouthKorea. The challenge is to manage immigrationby reducing the differences that encouragepeople to cross borders, while taking intoconsideration how investment, remittances, andaid can stimulate economic development and


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reduce migration pressures in the countries thatmigrants leave. (Philip Martin and Gottfried Zurcher, “ManagingMigration: The Global Challenge,” PopulationBulletin, Vol 63, No. 1, march 2008. Availableon-line at: www.prb.org/publications/populationbulletins/2008/managingmigration.aspx.)

Tech Firms Make New Pushfor H-1B visas

Oracle, Microsoft and other tech companies,joined by business leaders in New York andWashington, are making a new push for anincrease in visas for skilled workers. But theyconceded Thursday they face difficult odds inCongress.

Robert Hoffman, an Oracle vice president,predicted that applications for the next H-1Bvisa lottery will quickly exceed the 65,000available slots, with winners determined by arandom process that ignores market needs andeconomic benefits. Last year, the 65,000 capwas reached on the first day of applications. Under this "surreal system," Hoffman said, afashion model will have the same chance at avisa as a tech entrepreneur who generates jobs.

Hoffman said he hopes Congress will doublethe current cap. Barring that, he also proposedthat legislators free up unused visas fromprevious years. For instance, during the 2001-02recession, after the tech boom fizzled, the totalof unused H-1B visas grew to about 300,000. But that's not likely this year, despite animpassioned plea from Bill Gates two weeks agoand persistent lobbying by many businesses.After the collapse of a comprehensiveimmigration bill last year, Congress has beenreluctant to do anything on immigration exceptto tighten border and workplace enforcement.

While an increase in visas has support inCongress, some members, such as Sens. CharlesGrassley, R-Iowa, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., havefocused on past abuses by job brokers who havemisused the H-1B visa system to bypass U.S.workers and bring in foreign workers for lowerwages. The Programmers Guild, an advocacy

group for U.S. computer programmers, hasargued that the skilled-worker visa system hasnot protected the rights of U.S. workers. Thegroup did agree with Hoffman and Gates that thelottery system should reward U.S. firms thatcreate jobs in the United States.

Large tech employers contend that the lowvisa cap forces them to outsource some jobs andoperations. Hoffman said about 75 percent ofOracle's H-1B visa applications were granted. Ofthe remaining applicants, about half wererelocated overseas and half were let go.

A new study by the National Foundation forAmerican Policy, a non-partisan group thatconducts research on trade and immigration,found that H-1B visa holders are not displacingU.S. workers and those companies are growingoverall. "For every H-1B position requested,U.S. tech companies increase their employmentby five workers," the study found. The studycited the example of Sonnet Technologies, basedin Irvine, which hired an H-1B applicant fromJapan who helped develop the Japanese marketfor the company's products, resulting in thehiring of 10 more production personnel.

Thursday's briefing was designed to showthat the skilled-visa issue is not just the concernof tech companies. Officials with the NationalAssociation of Manufacturers, a powerfullobbying force in Washington, and thePartnership for New York City - a group ofcorporate and investment leaders - said the limitson visas were hampering business growth. California ranks first among H-1B visas, with18.2 percent of the total in 2006, and the NewYork tri-state area accounted for 21 percent ofthe visas, with many going to small employersneeding foreign talent to connect with globalmarkets, said Diana Torres, a vice president of

the partnership. (Frank Davies, “Tech FirmsMake New Push for H-1B Visas, ” MercuryNews, March 28, 2008)

Wall Street Journal Weighs In On theDebate About H1B Visas

April 1 was a critical day for immigrationpolicy. On that day, U.S. Citizenship and


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Immigration Services (USCIS) began acceptingnew H1-B visa petitions for the next fiscal year.Created in 1990, H1-B visas allow companies tosponsor highly educated foreigners -- architects,doctors, engineers, scientists among them -- towork in the United States for at least three years.The H1-B program, which accounts for nearlyall skilled immigrants admitted to work hereeach year, is capped annually at 65,000 forpeople with a bachelor's degree or higher, plusan additional 20,000 for those with a master'sdegree or higher.

Is this enough supply to meet marketdemand? Not even close, say many U.S.companies. Last year, by the afternoon of thefirst day petitions were accepted, more than150,000 had been filed. So USCIS rejected allpetitions received after close of business the nextday, and then allocated the 85,000 visas viarandom lottery. USCIS is forecasting a similarcrush for 2009 petitions.

Skilled immigrants have long contributed torising U.S. standards of living. They bringhuman capital, brimming with ideas for newtechnologies and new companies. They bringfinancial capital as well, with savings andresources to develop these new ideas. And theyoften bring connections to business opportunitiesabroad, stimulating exports for multinationalcompanies.

One of the most innovative and productivesectors of the U.S. economy, which accounts formore than half of the economy-wide productivityacceleration since 1995, is informationtechnology. At the end of the 1990s, 24% of allIT firms in Silicon Valley had been founded byimmigrants from China or India. IT's gain fromskilled immigrants has been mirrored throughoutthe economy. The number of foreign-bornworkers in the U.S. science and engineeringworkforce has nearly quintupled since 1980.Increases have been most pronounced among themost educated. The foreign-born share ofdoctorate-level workers rose to 42% today from24% in 1990.

Higher education offers another primeexample. America built the world's mostdynamic university system largely by welcomingforeign scholars. At the Tuck School of Businessat Dartmouth College, 36% of tenured andtenure-track professors are foreign born. Nonetheless, leading U.S. companies today arecrying out for more immigrants to satisfy theirtalent needs. And they do so as globalizationgives companies an ever-wider range oflocations abroad in which to operate.Increasingly, talent needs that cannot be met inAmerica can be met abroad -- much to thedetriment of the U.S. economy. Bill Gates putthis clearly in testimony to Congress last month:"many U.S. firms, including Microsoft, havebeen forced to locate staff in countries thatwelcome skilled foreign workers to do work thatcould otherwise have been done in the UnitedStates, if it were not for our counterproductiveimmigration policies."

Alarms are increasingly being sounded aboutAmerica's waning competitiveness. In particular,American capital markets are losing out tofinancial centers like London. The independent,bipartisan Committee on Capital MarketsRegulation opened its latest report with this line,"By any meaningful measure, thecompetitiveness of the U.S. public equity markethas deteriorated significantly in recent years."

A recent McKinsey report surveyedhundreds of senior finance executives and foundthat their single most important concern was"availability of professional workers." Oneexecutive said, "It is much easier hiring talentedpeople in the U.K. There are plenty of greatpeople and I never have trouble getting them inbecause of immigration restrictions; I couldn'thire the team I need in the U.S. today."

And why is it easy to hire financial talent inLondon? Because the U.K. welcomes anunlimited supply of the world's best financialminds. Since 2004, the U.K. Highly SkilledMigrant Programme has maintained a list of theworld's top 50 business schools. Anyone whoearns an MBA from one of these schools is


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automatically eligible to work in the U.K. for atleast one year.

America is currently facing many economicchallenges. In Washington and on thepresidential campaign trail, however, we hearvery little about immigration. And what we dohear is mainly about issues such as fences anddrivers' licenses. This is unfortunate. Tomaintain high standards of living for Americans,the U.S. economy needs skilled workers. But ourimmigration policy keeps out many of theworld's best, and as a result threatens America'scompetitiveness. The solution? Eliminate the capon H1-B visas. What a wonderful April Fool'sDay surprise that would be.

Mr. Slaughter (who wrote this article) isAssociate Dean and Professor at the TuckSchool of Business at Dartmouth, ResearchAssociate at the National Bureau of EconomicResearch, and Senior Fellow at the Council onForeign Relations. From 2005 to 2007 he was amember on the Council of Economic Advisers.(Matthew J. Slaughter, “The Immigrant Gap,”The Wall Street Journal, April 1, 2009.”)

H-1B Visa Applicants Expected toGreatly Increase

H-1B visas enable U.S. companies to hireskilled foreign workers for certain jobs that aredifficult to fill domestically. Attorneys who helpemployers file petitions say they haven't seen adecline in interest despite the economicdownturn. Last year, the U.S. governmentreceived 124,000 applications for H-1B visas,nearly double the congressionally mandated capof 65,000, so the visas were awarded by lottery. This year, visas were granted to 65,000individuals randomly chosen from a pool ofpetitions filed in the first five business days inApril, as stipulated by U.S. Citizenship andImmigration Services, the federal agency thatoversees the process. Selected foreignprofessionals can begin work at the employerthat filed for them in the fiscal year starting Oct.1.

Low unemployment in the high-tech sectorcoupled with the narrow window for petitioning

for H-1Bs "will offset any softness in the overalleconomy," predicts Steve S. Miller, a Seattleattorney whose clients include many companiesthat employ foreign professionals. Iimmigrationproponents are making efforts in Congress toopen the U.S. wider to foreign high-techworkers. However, calls to expand the programhave failed.

Transpire, of Gig Harbor, Washington, relieson workers with expertise in nuclear physics andengineering coupled with applied programming."Only a handful of graduates each year in theU.S. have the ideal skill set for what we need,"says Mr. Failla, whose company's software helpsdoctors to target radiotherapy on tumors.Transpire's software is also used in homelandsecurity, fusion-power research, spacecraftdesign and oil exploration. The company issubmitting an H-1B application for a Serbiannational with a background in physics-basednumerical simulation software. "He has beenworking for us remotely for the past two years,"Mr. Failla says. "But we can't put him on criticalwork until he is here in the U.S." Transpire alsohopes to hire a Venezuelan national who is dueto graduate within months from a Texasuniversity with a doctorate in nuclearengineering.

The H-1B visa allows 65,000 foreigners withat least a bachelor's degree and specific skills towork for a U.S. company for a six-year period.The program allocates an additional 20,000 visasto foreign nationals with advanced degrees fromU.S. universities.

U.S. high-tech companies for years havecalled on Congress to increase the cap on visasfor skilled foreigners. In testimony to Congressearlier this month, Microsoft Corp. ChairmanBill Gates warned lawmakers that the U.S. riskslosing its competitive edge in technology unlessit can secure qualified workers. "Other nationsare benefitting from our misguided policies," Mr.Gates said. "They are revising their immigrationpolicies to attract highly talented students andprofessionals who would otherwise study, live


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and work in the United States for at least part oftheir careers."

Changes to the H-1B visa program wereincluded in the immigration-reform bill thatfailed in Congress last year. The visa stalematehas prompted some companies to expandoverseas. In September, Microsoft opened itsfirst software-development center in Canada,saying it enabled the company to recruit andretain highly skilled people "affected byimmigration issues in the U.S." The week afterMr. Gates's testimony, two bills were introducedby legislators to raise the quota. A bill sponsoredby Rep. Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican,would bring the number of H-1B visas to195,000. A bill drafted by Democratic Rep.Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona would boost thecap and exempt foreigners educated at U.S.institutions from the quota.

A study released March 10 by the NationalFoundation for American Policy, an Arlington,Va., policy research group, found that onaverage every foreign national on an H-1B visagenerates another five to 7.5 jobs, depending onthe size of the technology company. But criticscontend that the H-1B program takes jobs fromU.S. citizens, lowers wages and is exploited byforeign companies, particularly from India, thatsend workers to the U.S. for training and thenreturn them home. Some lawmakers,worker-advocacy groups and immigrationrestrictionists have voiced strong opposition tobringing more foreign workers to the U.S.(Miriam Jordan, “Skilled-Worker Visaapplicants Expected to Soar,” The Wall StreetJournal, March 31, 2008.)

Controversy Surrounds Rhode IslandGovernor’s Immigration Order

Rhode Island Governor Carcieri’s executiveorder cracking down on illegal immigration metwith backlash yesterday from Rhode IslandDemocratic Party leaders who accused him of“mandating racial profiling” and from immigrantadvocates who accused him of scapegoating andinflaming the immigration debate.

The executive order the governor recentlysigned will empower state police andcorrectional officers to enforce someimmigration laws through an agreement with thefederal Bureau of Immigration and CustomsEnforcement (ICE). It will require electronicverification of the legal status of employees whowork for the executive branch and employees ofvendors who do business with the state.

Governor Carcieri said he decided to takeaction in the face of federal inaction onimmigration reform — inaction he said has ledto an “epidemic” flow of illegal immigrants,leaving taxpayers to bear “the consequentialcosts.” A spokesman for the governor saidCarcieri took action because many of the currentbills aimed at illegal immigration wereintroduced but failed to pass the state’s GeneralAssembly last year, and “as a result, it is notclear that these bills will be approved this year.” Carcieri reviewed similar policies, includingexecutive orders, “in a number of differentjurisdictions,” including Tennessee, SouthCarolina, Georgia, Idaho, Montana, Missouri,Arizona, Florida, Oregon and Oklahoma, Nealsaid. He also consulted ICE and other governors.

The Governor said he was aware that thetopic of illegal immigration “stirs great emotion”and “is a very sensitive issue.” At several pointshe blamed the media for racheting up therhetoric. However, critics say he is the one that’sinflaming the debate. According to them, thegovernor has scapegoated the immigrationpopulation for political gain and along the wayhas undermined the safety of the residents ofRhode Island. They say that If you look orsound like an immigrant, there’s no reason to trust Rhode Island state troopers for fear of beingdeported.

However, many Rhode Islanders calledtalk-radio shows yesterday to praise Carcieri.Most of the callers said they welcome theimmigrants that will comply with ourimmigration laws and said they felt that thegovernor had to do something because the state


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legislature and federal government had droppedthe ball.

Carcieri’s actions were also being notedoutside Rhode Island. For example, Bob Dane,spokesman for the conservative national groupFederation for American Immigration Reform,said Carcieri “will be in good company.” Hecalled the Governor’s program that gives statepolice immigration powers “a kind offorce-multiplier … it’s a good program. It’s notcops working as immigration officers as much asit’s cops working more closely with theimmigration officers.”Dane added, “So much of the immigration fightis moving from inside the Beltway here inWashington to cities and states across thecountry. The local communities in the states aredoing the work the federal government isn’tdoing and won’t do.”

Angela Kelley, director of the ImmigrationPolicy Center, a research arm of the AmericanImmigration Law Foundation, said that federalaction — not executive orders by governors — isthe most appropriate way to go. “I think [anexecutive order] is a good way to do business ifyou’re trying to send a message, but it’s not aterribly effective way to solve the problem,” saidKelley. The majority of local initiatives try tosend a tough message of cracking down on folks,perhaps naively hoping they’ll leave. I do thinkit’s naive. We’re not talking about aninsignificant number of people. There are 12million undocumented people, 7 to 8 million ofthem are workers, and we have 3 to 5 millionU.S. citizen kids where one or more parents areundocumented. That’s why I think it’s aboutsending a message,” said Kelley. “I don’t thinkanyone really believes they’re going to go.” (Karen Lee Ziner, “Immigration Order DrawsPraise, Ire,” Rhode Island News, March 29,2008.)

Immigration Issue Fades,But It May Return

When Republican presidential candidatesmet for the YouTube/CNN debate in November,the first four questions were about illegal

immigration. The focus on that topic reflectedits central role in their race, as they repeatedlychallenged one another's credentials as defendersof the nation's border with Mexico. It was also akey topic for the Democrats, as Sen. HillaryClinton first endorsed, then repudiated then-NewYork Gov. Elliot Spitzer's proposal to providedriver's licenses for illegal immigrants. What adifference a presumptive nominee makes. Withimmigration reform advocate Sen. JohnMcCain's emergence as the presumptiveRepublican nominee, the issue has faded fromthe campaign.

Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of theCenter for Immigration Studies, a think tank thatadvocates lower levels of immigration, said theArizona senator and his two Democratic rivals— Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Clintonof New York — have no reason to debate theissue. "All three candidates have identicalpositions," he said.

McCain angered many conservatives lastyear by supporting a bill that would have givenillegal immigrants a path to citizenship andcreated a guest worker program. Both Clintonand Obama favor a similar approach. As therace heated up, McCain shifted his position,saying the defeat of that bill persuaded him thatthe border must be secured before there are anymeasures to accommodate the illegal immigrantsalready in the country. But in the YouTubedebate and in other forums, he also made a pointof distancing himself from GOP hard-liners whocalled for rounding up and expelling illegalimmigrants. "We need to sit down as Americans andrecognize these are God's children as well. Andthey need some protection under the law; theyneed some of our love and compassion," he said.

Beyond the apparent victory of themoderates, the emergence of another issue hashelped push illegal immigration out of thespotlight: the economy. Thomas Mann, apolitical analyst at the Brookings Institution inWashington, said the three major presidentialcandidates have no incentive to focus on


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immigration now that the public is consumedwith recession worries. John J. Pitney, apolitical science professor at ClaremontMcKenna College in California, added that attimes in American history, bad economic newshas prompted citizens to see immigrants asunwanted competitors, but "this downturn isdifferent" — lacking any obvious causal linkwith illegal immigration. "Few people claim thatillegal immigration is the main cause of themortgage meltdown or the collapse of BearStearns," he said.

The issue of illegal immigration, however,may soon see a revival effort. SenateRepublicans plan to introduce severalimmigration-related amendments in the next fewweeks, including measures that would makeEnglish the Nation's official language, requirethe deportation of illegal immigrants convictedof drunken driving and withhold federal moneyfrom cities that have so-called "sanctuary"policies that bar police and local officials fromchecking the immigration status of residentsusing city services. The measures also includeone by Georgia GOP Sens. Saxby Chambliss andJohnny Isakson that would clarify the authorityof state and local police to enforce immigrationlaws and expand training in the area. Fifteenimmigration measures were introduced togetherduring March alone in an effort spearheaded bySen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala). The plan is to offerthem as amendments to larger bills.

The increasing vigor of immigrationopponents could put McCain, both as acandidate and a member of the Senate, in adifficult position. He faces being forced tochoose between possibly upsetting Hispanicvoters or further alienating the Republican base,with which he has been working to build arelationship after years of bucking them as aparty maverick.

The issue of immigration could also emergein congressional races across the country —though its outlook is cloudy. Immigrantadvocates point to the defeat earlier this monthin Illinois of Republican Jim Oberweis in a

special election to replace Republican formerHouse Speaker Dennis Hastert, who retired. Oberweis focused heavily on illegalimmigration, saying in a television ad that"illegal aliens are coming here to take Americanworkers' jobs, drive down wages and takeadvantage of government benefits such as freehealth care." He lost to Democrat Bill Foster inwhat had been thought to be a dependably GOPdistrict.

Clarissa Martinez, director of immigration atthe National Council of La Raza, a Hispaniccivil rights organization, said many Republicansare misreading the public on the issue, and"scapegoating" illegal immigrants is not awinning strategy. But Krikorian said mostRepublicans remain upset about illegalimmigration and it will be a major factor incertain districts. For example, Lou Barletta, themayor of Hazleton, Pa., who became famous forpushing through an ordinance cracking down onillegal immigrants, is running for Congress. Barletta's Web site says he "brought the cityback from the brink" after "an influx of illegalimmigration threatened its financial foundationand brought gang violence, drugs and crime topeaceful neighborhoods." Krikorian alsopredicted that illegal immigration will be atheme in races for some state offices because inthe absence of federal action, many states areenacting their own laws regarding illegalimmigration. "You are going to see statelegislative races turn on the issue," he said.(Eunice Moscoso, “Immigration Issue Fades, ButIt May Return,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 30, 2008.)

Fears Grow for Recklessnessof Coyotes

Human smugglers are employingincreasingly risky and dangerous methods totransport illegal immigrants since securitytightened along the U.S.-Mexico border. "They're getting less area they can successfullyenter," said Oscar Saldaña, a U.S. Border Patrolspokesman. "That's why were seeing more ofthese desperate acts. And unfortunately, we


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anticipate there's going to be more of these typesof events."

Within the past month a Ford F-150 carryingmore than 20 illegal immigrants collided withanother vehicle on Expressway 83 in Peñitas,Texas leaving three dead and another 14 injured. They were the latest victims of what appears tobe a growing and often fatal trend in the RioGrande Valley of human smugglers, or coyotes,filling cars and trucks with loads of immigrantsfar beyond the vehicles' capacity and thendriving at high speeds to elude law enforcement. Law enforcement's presence here has increasedsignificantly over the past six years, sincePresident Bush ordered federal law enforcementagencies to tighten control of the U.S.-Mexicoborder.

The number of Border Patrol agents in theValley has risen from about 1,200 in 2002 tomore than 2,200 this year, Saldaña said. Andlocal law enforcement agencies - fromsmall-town police departments to the HidalgoCounty Sheriff's Office - have been awarded aseries of state and federal grants to dedicateofficers to border security details. "You'retalking about human smuggling and drugs,"Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said."There's no doubt in the last five years theattitude of the human smuggler has taken a 180.They have transformed themselves into acommodity broker that has no limitations togetting their cargo to where they want to go."

Less publicized than their counterparts in thedrug trafficking industry, human smugglingorganizations tend to be highly structured, withresources and operatives spread across the globe,said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcementagent Janice Ayala, who directs investigationsbetween Laredo and Brownsville. Fees rangeanywhere from $300 to $50,000 per person,depending on where the immigrant is comingfrom and wants to go, as well as the difficulty ofthe route, she said. A person traveling fromChina might have one smuggler take them toCentral America, another take them to Mexico,another to take them across the border and

another to move them through the United States."These are organizations moving people fromone country to another to another, so they need avery sophisticated network in order to do that,"Ayala said. Most of these alien smugglingorganizations are paying passage to a large(drug) cartel, because they have the routes to theU.S.

The Mexican government, at both the stateand federal level, is in the midst of a publicrelations campaign to warn Mexican nationals ofthe growing danger of crossing the borderillegally. Billboards in the United States andMexico caution against traveling with coyotes,and government-written newspaper columns tellhorror stories of immigrants drowning in the RioGrande or being left to die in the desert heat.

In Washington, D.C., where Congress isexpected to address immigration reform againnext year, the recent worsening of the humansmuggling problem has not as yet gained tractionas a political issue, said Douglas Rivlin, aspokesman for the National Immigration Forum,a pro-immigrant advocacy group.In fact, despite heightened interest early in thispresidential campaign, illegal immigration hasfallen off as a talking point for the candidatesover the last two months, he said.(James Osborne, “Officials Fear GrowingRecklessness of Coyotes,” The Monitor, March30, 2008.)

Arizona Considers Establishing A GuestWorker Program of its Own

Arizona already at the cutting edge ofimmigration reform seems poised to undertakeyet another experiment: a guest worker programcreated and administered by a state rather thanby the federal government. The Arizonalegislature is expected very soon to fast trackbills to create a temporary worker program in thestate. Even with the backing of top lawmakers,the bills face big hurdles, including sign-off fromthe feds. But if approved, they would streamlinethe process for Arizona employers to hiretemporary workers from Mexico – and wouldserve as a model for national reform, say


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supporters. At the same time, Arizona ispursuing a separate path to try to ensure thatemployers here, mainly in agriculture, haveenough workers to bring in the crops.

Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) is proposing thatArizona serve as a pilot for testing changes –some proposed by states bordering Mexico andothers by US Labor Secretary Elaine Chao – tothe existing federal program for granting visas tofarm laborers from abroad. The state already hasthe toughest employer sanctions law on thebooks – a possible reason, some experts say,employers are finding it more difficult to find anadequate number of workers now. Others,though, say that worker shortages here arechronic and that the real problem is lack ofcomprehensive immigration reform at the federallevel.

"We've heard from lawmakers around thecountry who are concerned" about flaws in theexisting visa program for farm workers, saysSheri Steisel, an immigration policy expert at theNational Conference of State Legislatures inWashington. "Other states are going to watchthis Arizona effort."

It is well known that guest worker programshave a long history in the US. There was oneduring World War I and another, known as thebracero (strong arm) program, from World WarII until 1964. The latter, critics say, led tomassive immigration, both documented andundocumented. Currently, the Department ofLabor oversees a program created in 1986,dispensing H-2A visas for farm workers andH-2B visas for those in other industries.Government officials and analysts alike say theformer is a bureaucratic morass and is little usedby employers. On Feb. 6, the Labor Departmentproposed changes – the first in 20 years – tomake the H-2A program more efficient. In astatement announcing the changes, thedepartment acknowledged that "only a littlemore than 75,000 workers participate in theH-2A program, while there are an estimated600,000 to 800,000 illegal immigrant workers onAmerica's farms."

Changes include a procedure to more fairlycalculate wages for foreign workers and ways tocut red tape, making it easier and swifter to hireforeign workers, particularly at harvest time. Toprotect domestic workers, the proposed changesincrease the time employers would be required torecruit American workers before resorting tohiring foreign labor. Arizona is home to a hugeagricultural center at Yuma, where 80 to 90percent of lettuce consumed in the US in thewinter is grown.

Governor Napolitano backs in-state moves tocreate a guest worker program. Twin bills werefirst filed in February and have been gainingsupport. They are set to be reintroduced soonwith the Senate and House leaders ascosponsors. With the leadership sponsoringthem, the expectation is that the bills will be fasttracked through the legislature. The measureswould spare agricultural employers the arduousUS approval process. Instead, an employerwould send only one application, laying out theneed for foreign labor, to the IndustrialCommission of Arizona. If the commissioncertifies that Arizona lacks enough workers tofill the need, the employer can recruit in Mexico. Prospective employees in Mexico go to the USconsulate, undergo background checks, and, ifcertified to enter the US, receive employmentcards to work in the US for two years, versus the10 months now allowed under the federalprogram.

However, the program has its critics. "Oneargument made now about why we need a guestworker program is that it will end undocumentedimmigration," says Luis Plascencia, an expert onMexican migration and guest worker programs atArizona State University in Tempe. "It's theexact opposite. The bracero program and ensuingefforts stimulated illegal immigration…. Oncemigratory movements start, they becomeself-perpetuating." Other critics cite a lack ofenforcement, either against employers whoabuse workers or workers who overstay theirvisas. The US government doesn't have themanpower or resources to do it now, experts say,and neither does Arizona.


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(Faye Bowers, “Arizona Considers A GuestWorker Program of its Own,” The ChristianScience Monitor, March 31, 2008.)

Anti-Illegal Immigration GroupsExpand in Florida

World War II veteran Enos Schera monitors''the invasion'' from his Miami home in thepredominantly Cuban-American suburb ofWestchester. Information is the former Marine'sweapon.Surrounded by stacks of paper, old televisions,VCRs and radios, Florida's ''grandfather ofimmigration reform'' -- as other activists havedubbed him -- tracks crimes committed byimmigrants, failing public schools andpoliticians' positions. Schera's Citizens of DadeUnited is among a growing cohort of anti-illegalimmigration groups in Florida trying differenttactics to drive out undocumented immigrants.They have turned to legislators in Tallahasseefor help in the wake of Washington's inability tofind a solution. ''I feel like a little guy at thebottom of the dam with my finger plugged in thedike,'' said Schera, 80, vice-president of thegroup. ``I know what's going to happen if I pullmy finger out, only instead of a trillion tons ofwater it will be a trillion tons of people.''

After mounting a somewhat solitary fight forthree decades in Miami, the city with the nation'shighest percentage of foreign-born residents,Schera now has company. In Haines City, theMinuteman Civil Defense Corps organizes teamsof Floridians to help patrol the Arizona-Mexicoborder for immigrants trying to sneak in. InJupiter, Floridians for Immigration Enforcementprotest outside an ''illegal immigrant hiring hall''and sometimes post videos on Youtube.com ofthose who come to hire workers. In Fort Myers,Citizens Against Illegal Immigration holdcandlelight vigils to honor U.S. citizens killed byillegal immigrants.

Now, the groups are lobbying the FloridaLegislature on illegal immigration. Amongmeasures: Require state government contractorsto participate in a federal program to verify newemployees' immigration status and make it a

crime to harbor or transport an undocumentedimmigrant. ''People call us hate-mongers andracists, but this isn't about racism at all; it's aboutthe rule of law,'' said state Minuteman CivilDefense Corps director Bill Landes, 52, inHaines City.

Immigrant advocates, who call anti-illegalimmigration groups ''nativists,'' say theanti-immigrant rhetoric can have dangerousresults, evidenced by a reported rise in hatecrimes against Hispanics. FBI statistics indicatea spike of almost 35 percent from 2003 to 2006. The Southern Poverty Law Center recentlyreleased a report saying the number of ''hategroups'' grew by 48 percent since 2000, anincrease it attributes to growing anti-immigrantsentiment. ''I think what's happened in manycases is that some of the real vile . . . propagandaagainst Latinos and immigrants specifically,really begins in white supremacist hate groups,''said the Center's Mark Potok. ̀ `But what we'reseeing as a phenomenon is that those allegationsmake their way out of hate groups and then gointo the anti-immigration movement.''

The leaders of the nascent Florida groups aregenerally older men -- several of them veterans --who often feel the country's soul is threatened bythe influx of mostly Hispanic immigrants. Theyseethe every time they have to ''press 1 forEnglish'' when they call a government office.They reel off figures about overpopulation andimmigrants on welfare. Many believe thatMexican immigrants want to reclaim Californiaand the Southwest.

With an estimated 12 million undocumentedimmigrants living in the United States, thefrustration has been climbing steadily on bothsides of the immigration debate. In theMinuteman group's early days in 2005, membersconsidered regular boat patrols off the Floridacoast to search for immigrants attempting toarrive by sea, but now the group's sights are seton Tallahassee.

As with many other activists, Schera, whoseson and a grandson followed him into themilitary, feels the world around him has changedin ways he cannot accept -- starting with the


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Mariel boatlift when 125,000 Cubans arrived.Asked if he has Cuban friends, Schera points toHeberto Casares. Casares, 88, sold a short-waveradio to Schera, an amateur ham radio operator,and they became friends. Schera, an electrician,helped Casares build his first house. Casaresdisagrees with some of Schera's views -- forexample, Casares thinks translating governmentdocuments into Spanish or other languagesmakes sense -- but he doesn't worry about hisfriend's more controversial views.

Schera claimed several political victories inearly 1980s, including an ordinance that declaredEnglish the official language of Miami-DadeCounty. That measure was later repealed asCuban Americans gained political power. 'Wehave bigger issues now than the `English-only'fight,'' said Dave Caulkett, 59, of Floridians forImmigration Enforcement or FLIMEN. Caulkettand other activists attended an October summitin Orlando organized by FAIR, an event thatgave birth to the loose lobbying coalition now inTallahassee.

With the failure of federal immigrationreform, local and state governments havebecome the new battlefront. Oklahoma andArizona have passed the most restrictive laws.An Arizona law yanks the business license ofemployers who hire illegal immigrants.Oklahoma's law, used as a model for a Floridabill, makes it a crime to hire or transportundocumented immigrants.

Caulkett also runs a website,www.reportillegals.com, where, for a $10 fee, hewill report a suspected ''illegal alien'' toimmigration authorities. Caulkett's group spendsmost Saturday mornings protesting outsideJupiter's El Sol Neighborhood Resource Center,a non-profit that matches day laborers withemployers looking for workers. ''Shut down theJupiter illegal alien hiring hall!'' Caulkett yellswith carnival barker's flair. Protesters hold signsthat read ''Mow your own damn grass!'' and``Hiring an Illegal? Smile for the camera.'' Oneof the group's early attempts at taping would-beemployers -- to post the video on Youtube --ended in a December altercation. One employer,

now facing simple battery charges, allegedlytried to take away the camera and pushedCaulkett. Inside the center workers seembemused by the weekly demonstration. ''Theyaccuse us of all sorts of terrible things, but wejust want to work,'' said day laborer JoseAlvarez, 41, from Guatemala.

For every emotional story of an immigrant inneed, activists counter with a tragedy. RussellLandry, head of the Fort Myers-based CitizensAgainst Illegal Aliens of Southwest Florida, hasheld candlelight vigils for Americans killed byundocumented immigrants. Landry, a disabledformer Marine, was touched by a mother'stelephone call. She recounted the story of herdaughter, a 19-year-old honors student who waskilled by a drunk driver, an undocumentedimmigrant who had been deported several timesbefore. ''It's very frustrating, because peopledon't seem to get involved because they haven'tbeen directly affected,'' said Landry, 47, who'splanning to move to New Hampshire. ``I don'tknow what it's going to take for more people tostand up for our country.''(Casey Woods, “Anti-Illegal ImmigrationGroups Grow in Florida,” The Miami Herald,March 31, 2008.)

Tall Border Fence Works BestAlong U.S.-Mexico Border

U.S. border patrol agent Michael Bernackeguns his SUV down the wide desert-sand roadthat lines the U.S.-Mexican border through urbanSan Luis, Arizona. To his right stands a steelwall, 20 feet high and reinforced bycement-filled steel piping. To his left another tallfence of steel mesh. Ten yards beyond, a shortercyclone fence is topped with jagged concertinawire. Visible to the north, through the gauze offencing are the homes and businesses of thisgrowing Southwest suburbia of 22,000 people."This wall works," Bernacke said. "A lot ofpeople have the misconception that it is a wasteof time and money, but the numbers ofapprehensions show that it works."

The triple-and double-layered fence here inYuma is the kind of barrier that U.S. lawmakers- and most Americans - imagined when the


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Secure Fence Act was enacted in 2006. The lawinstructed the Department of Homeland Security(DHS) to secure about one-third of the1,950-mile border between U.S. and Mexicowith 700 miles of double-layered fencing - andadditionally through cameras, motion sensors,and other types of barriers - by the end of theyear to stem illegal immigration.

Bankrolled by a separate $1.2 billionhomeland security bill, the Secure Fence Actwould, it was hoped, make our borders moresecure. By most recent estimates, nearly half amillion unauthorized immigrants cross theborder each year. On the ground, though, thingshave turned out differently. The DHS scaledback its ambitions early on, trimming itsend-of-2008 target down to 300 miles of vehiclebarrier and 370 miles of pedestrian barrier. As ofFebruary, 2008, only 302 miles of barrier havebeen constructed mostly on federal land inArizona, New Mexico, and California. Just $200million will have been spent by June, accordingto Lloyd Easterling, the border patrol publicinformation officer. Only a fraction of the newbarriers resemble anything like the images offormidable fencing - the Berlin Wall or the bleakmonolith that divides Israel and the West Bank -envisioned by the initial proposal. Most of thenew fencing is not a double wall, but acombination of regular vehicle blocks andpedestrian barriers that range from metal meshand chain link to traditional picket fences.

In Yuma, at least, the fence seems to bepreventing illegal border-crossings. Since thetriple fence was finished in October, there hasbeen a 72 percent decline in illegal migrantapprehensions in the 120-mile swath of theU.S.-Mexican border known as the Yuma sector.Eight hundred people used to be apprehendedtrying to cross the border here every day. Now,agents catch 50 people or fewer daily. The1.5-mile strip of triple fencing that cuts throughsuburban San Luis is the most impenetrable.That's because the three walls are separated hereby a 75-yard "no man's land" - a flat, sandycorridor punctuated by pole-topped lighting,cameras, radio systems, and radar units, where

unauthorized migrants can be chased down byborder agents.

The triple-layer fencing begins at the SanLuis port of entry, one of a handful of formalcheckpoints where cars and trucks from Mexicoline up, waiting for the U.S. border patrol toinspect them for illegal contraband or migrantsbefore they cross over. One-and-a-half miles eastof San Luis, the triple fencing gives way todouble fencing for about five miles, after whichcomes another 39 miles of so-called "primaryfencing" - a combination of steel mesh and steelpanels fitted over bollards, or small metal andcement pillars, that stick up from the ground. Most residents support the idea of a barrier, saysTerry Ross, editor of the Yuma Daily Sun, adaily newspaper in Yuma, but also feel that "thewall is a temporary measure that won't solve theproblem (of foreign workers) in the long run."

Border security has been beefed upconsiderably, reflecting heightened security andimmigration concerns. The budget for bordersecurity has more than doubled in this time, ashas the number of border patrol agents, which isanticipated to top out at 18,000 agents by the endof this year. But as with 1994's OperationGatekeeper - when the Border Patrol's San Diegosector beefed up fencing, agents, and technologyto keep out border-crossers from Mexico only tofind they entered the country elsewhere - criticssay Yuma's apparent success does notnecessarily translate into a permanent solution. Strengthening border security in Yuma may bediverting illegal immigration to rural and desertareas.

Also of concern is the increase in borderviolence by drug and human smugglers, whoseem to be more desperate now that one of theirprimary entry routes has been choked off. Twomonths ago, a border patrol agent wasintentionally run over and killed in theAlgadones Dunes area, in the Yuma sector,where thousands of off-road vehicles haveprovided cover for smugglers moving illegalmigrants north in SUVs. Assaults on agents androck-throwing at border patrol vehicles havegone up, says senior agent Derek Hernandez,


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who has been patrolling the Yuma sector for thepast three years. He points to his white SUVpatrol car, which has been ribbed with a kind ofmetal exoskeleton that folds down to protect thewindshield and windows. He then reaches intothe car to demonstrate what is becoming moreagents' weapon of choice - an air gun that firestear-gas-filled pellets.

Yuma is the U.S. border patrol's successstory of the moment. But a very small percentageof the fencing will look like Yuma's, Easterlingsaid. Why can't the DHS extend triple-layerfencing the entire length of the U.S. border? Thereasons include cost and the engineeringproblems associated with rocky, mountainousterrain, and other natural obstructions. The urbanYuma sector is perfectly flat, able to host a widecorridor of fences. The terrain along the southernborder of the United States with Mexico is sodiverse and mountainous, that we don't need tobuild the same kind of fences to halt migrationthere.

Such a wall is not necessary in rural areas,many claim. In border cities, illegal migrants arejust a few hundred feet from transportation totake them farther north. But migrants who try tocross rural areas have miles and miles of openterrain to cross, not to mention rivers and gorgesand other natural obstructions. Farther east ofYuma and San Luis, there are other issues thatsome say make triple-layer walls impractical.Environmentalists say that various types offencing affect the migratory patterns of wildlife,including important endangered species. Theycan block river flow and lead to fragmentation ofhabitat. Some environmental groups havechallenged in court the border fences being builtin conservation areas.

Native American families on the TohonoO'odham Indian Reservation - which now has 75miles of pedestrian fencing - have complainedthat the vehicle barrier being built on their landdesecrates an ancient burial site. And the extrapatrols disrupt their daily life. "Getting back andforth to our own land on both sides of the borderis now problematic," said Ophelia Rivas, aTohono O'odham grandmother who has land on

both sides of the border. "They are alwayshassling U.S. for passports, which we have neverhad."

Near Brownsville, Texas, many ranchersown land on both sides of the border and haverefused to allow government surveyors onto theirproperty. The Texas border is scheduled to haveabout 130 miles of 18-ft.-high metal pedestrianfencing, much of it near urban areas andinternational bridges. On March 7, a federal judge allowed access toone ranch owner's land but ordered thegovernment to negotiate with the owners overthe price of access and potential seizure. Even ifsurveyors get access, the U.S. government stillneeds to be purchase or seize the land througheminent domain, then establish locations anddesign before building the fence.(Danial B. Wood, “Where U.S.-Mexico BorderFence Is Tall, It Works,” Christian ScienceMonitor, March 31, 2008.)

Deported Mexicans Will Get Free RideHome from U.S. Paid by

the Mexican Government Mexicans who are deported from the United

States or leave voluntarily after beingapprehended are being offered free trips back totheir hometowns under a new pilot program. The program in Tijuana, dubbed HumanitarianRepatriation, will also ensure that returningMexicans receive shelter, food, emergencymedical care and temporary employment upontheir return to Mexico. President Felipe Calderónannounced the program in December, andfederal officials hope to expand it to othercommunities along Mexico's northern border.

Ten Mexican federal immigration agentstrained to work with returning migrants havebeen assigned to Tijuana under the program. Theagents will assess the returnees' psychologicalhealth and help them contact family and obtainidentification papers. Mexico's government hasnot allocated additional funds for the program,but by shifting around existing resources as wellas coordinating efforts among governmentagencies, religious organizations and nonprofit


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groups, officials say they hope to step up supportfor Mexicans who are forced to return. Untilnow, deportees and others forced to return havehad half the cost of a trip to their homecommunities paid by the Mexican government.From now on, they will receive free bustransportation home. Mexican officials say closeto a half-million Mexicans are sent back fromthe United States each year, and about 40percent are sent through Baja California.(Sandra Dibble, “Mexicans Deported from U.S.Will Get Free Ride Home,” San Diego Union-Tribute, April 1, 2008.)

Italian Americans Are IncreasinglyChoosing Dual Citizenship

Joseph Jorgensen carries both his Italian andhis U.S. passport when he travels. He decideswhich one to use once he arrives at customs andcan choose “whichever line is shorter.” JessicaAmato, a 30-year-old anthropology professorfrom San Francisco, has a name forborn-and-bred Americans of Italian ancestry whoapply for Italian citizenship. She calls themsleeper citizens. “With this Italian citizenship,you’ve had it your whole life,” said Amato, whois eligible even though both her parents and hergrandparents were born in the United States. “Soyou’re just applying for activation.”

Italian law allows foreigners of Italiandescent to claim citizenship even if they have togo back four generations to link to an ancestorwho was born in Italy. The concept of applyingfor citizenship that is technically already yours,called jure sanguinis (Latin for “by right ofblood”), isn’t unique to Italy, of course. Butwhat distinguishes Italy from other Europeancountries is that others don’t recognize theso-called blood right in the progeny of émigrésmore than two generations down the line. Thatmeans that if you’re an American who wantsItalian citizenship, you can reach back to yourgreat-great grandfather Giuseppe and make ithappen — at least in theory. The Italiangovernment doesn’t make it easy to apply (ittakes an average of three years and costs about$1,000), but thousands of Americans are doing it

despite the bureaucratic tangle involved. (If youhave any doubts about just how tangled theprocess can be, consider the fact that the Italianembassy wouldn’t even respond to requests forinformation on how many Americans havebecome dual Italian citizens, and calls toconsulates around the country wentunanswered.)

Dual Italian citizenship connects Americansto more than their heritage. They can freelywork, retire, invest, or get health care in any ofthe 27 member states of the European Union. The appeal of Italian citizenship comes “fromthe economic standpoint of somebody that isdoing well,” said Giuseppina Spillane, whofields citizenship queries as a program director atthe National Italian-American Foundation. Spillane compared the attitudes of NorthAmericans with that of South Americans ofItalian descent who fled to Northern Italyfollowing Argentina’s economic meltdown in theearly 2000s. “Argentineans were really in needof basic necessities and some sort of help by thegovernment,” she said. Americans, by contrast,have the attitude of “I can invest by buyingproperty over there, retire over there. I can go toschool there, get a master’s degree.” She saidshe’s seen many more applications during thelast five years, saying Italian citizenship is nowvery much in demand and that consulates and theministry of interior are being overwhelmed withapplications. So overwhelmed, apparently, thatthe Chicago consulate has stopped acceptingthem until 2009, according to a recorded voicemail message.

If you don’t enjoy the sound of recordedmessages, there’s help. Donald McLean, theowner of myitaliancitizenship.com, asix-year-old company based in Nova Scotia thathelps citizens-to-be gather documents, said 100new customers a month sign up for $55document searches. McLean said he didn’tknow why jure sanguinis citizenship has becomeso popular.

The Silvio Berlusconi government of Italy“fought hard for Italians living abroad to vote,”at least in part, Tamburri said, because of the


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perceived conservative leanings of theItalian-American population. The first-evermail-in ballots in the country’s history didn’twin Berlusconi the election, however; becausehis party, the Forza Italia, narrowly lost to theRomano Prodi party.

The uptick in applications matches a surge inItalian ethnic pride in the United States, saidDeSanctis, the editor of Italian AmericaMagazine. “Italians always aimed to blend inbecause they were a despised minority,” shesaid. Yet between the 1990 and 2000 censuses,the number of people who identified as beingfrom Italian descent increased by more than 4million. “What that indicates is a greater ethnicawareness,” said DeSanctis, pointing to theworldwide “balkanization of ethnicity” as acause. Italian-Americans often “don’t speakItalian. They’ve only been to Italy on vacation.But they want to identify with their Italianroots,” DeSanctis said, adding that dualcitizenship is one way to do that.

For Nick Iovacchini, the 28-year-old ownerof a sports apparel company in Hoboken, N.J.,becoming an Italian citizen gave him the chanceto play baseball overseas. Iovacchini was ajunior at Rice University, in Houston, Texas,playing shortstop and second base for the schoolteam, the Owls, when an Italian team recruitedhim in 2002. The Bollate, from the province onthe outskirts of Milan, were allowed only somany foreign players. Iovacchini, as an Italiancitizen, wouldn’t count. He and his father, EricIovacchini, an attorney who has since foundedBella Consultants, based in Asheville, N.C., tohelp people with their own applications, soonrealized what dual citizenship could mean fortheir family beyond “the baseball side of things.”

With global perceptions of U.S. hegemony atan all-time low, having European citizenship is adefinite plus. “It’s so practical,” said McLean.“It opens up a whole section of the world.” “You never know when you’re going to want topull out a European passport,” said Iovacchini,who always travels with both passports. Onetime he landed at an airport in South Americawhere there was a long customs line for

Americans, who had to pay $90 to enter thecountry. But there was a second line forEuropeans. And they got to walk through forfree.(Mary Cuddehe, “Dual Citizenship GainsPopularity with Americans of Italian Descent,”Columbia News Service, April 1, 2008.)

Arizona’s Virtual Border Experiencing Problems

At first glance, the surveillance tower inAravaca, Arizona looks like an ordinary TVantenna tower. Thirty-five miles of dusty desertfrom the nearest highway, it telescopes almost ahundred feet up in the air, topped with camerasand radars. Nearby, a security man fromPinkerton National Detective Agency sits in adark-colored SUV, watching movies on a laptop.Two giant tanks of water apparently forwandering migrants have been placed close athand by the human rights group DerechosHumanos.

The tower is one of nine surveillance turretsstrung across 28 miles of Arizona border northof Sasabe that are supposed to communicatecoordinates and images of moving figures toremote centers and laptops in border patrolvehicles. They are part of "Project 28," aDepartment of Homeland Security initiativemeant to test the viability of a "virtual fence" – ahigh-tech, possibly more effective alternative tothe fencing the US is erecting across hundreds ofmiles of the southwestern border. The idea thatradar towers could help fill in the current gaps inthe physical wall, and the technology could evenbe transported to problem areas at will appealedto the DHS.

However, the excitement over the possibilityof securing the border through all-seeingelectronic eyes has ebbed recently.Technological snags in the project, which wascontracted out to Boeing for $20 million, haveraised doubts among some congressionalinvestigators about the workability of the entireventure. Nevertheless, Homeland Securityofficials say that despite the hiccups the projectis on track.


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At the top of the tower, a rotating radar dishdetects moving figures on the border and radiosthe coordinates to an integrated camera. Thecamera then focuses in on the targets. Agentssitting at a remote command post look at theseimages on monitors to determine if the movingfigures are human – as opposed to a roadrunneror other desert critter. They then radio thecoordinates to laptop computers placed in thecabins of roving border patrol cruisers.Ostensibly, the agents then swoop into thedesignated area and catch the illegal bordercrosser.

Project 28 is an early test of various newways to coordinate radar, cameras, andon-the-ground apprehension being developedunder a broader umbrella known as SBInet – aDHS initiative launched in 2006 to examinetechnological alternatives to fencing alongunspecified stretches of the border. In earlytrials from July to December 2007, technicalproblems and other snafus led to media reportsthat DHS and the Boeing company mightmothball the project. Problems includedsoftware glitches, wind and rain that affected thecamera image quality, and radar that had troubledistinguishing sage-brush from campingmigrants or animals.

Boeing officials publicly admitted that theeffort has been more challenging than theyanticipated. The project, which was supposed tobe handed over to border patrol in June 2007was not accepted till December. At a recentcongressional hearing, Richard Stana, HomelandSecurity and Justice Director for the GeneralAccounting Office said that Project 28 "did notfully meet the user needs." But DHS officialshave moved to dispel the notion that the projectwas stalled or scrapped. They say the technologyis still in use, that it is being tested to improvevarious designs and capabilities. It has beenresponsible for catching more than 2,400migrants in the desert testing areas, the DHSclaims.

DHS withheld part of the $20 millionoriginal funding until Boeing made the necessarycorrections, according to DHS press secretary

Laura Keehner. "As good stewards of thetaxpayers money, DHS delayed acceptance ofP-28," says Ms. Keehner. "After a period ofoperational testing, additional deficiencies wereidentified and subsequently corrected to thedepartment's satisfaction." DHS has requested $775 million next fiscal yearto continue to develop and deploy suchtechnology. "There are some things we want toimprove and there are some things that probablyit turns out we don't really need," DHS SecretaryMichael Chertoff said in a press conference inWashington Feb. 28. "But I envision we will usethis design in other parts of the border."

Some congressional investigators havewarned that if they judge the system to beunderperforming, they may urge ending theproject. Many were not impressed with theshadowy footage taken in late February in whichProject 28 cameras tracked three large groups ofimmigrants crossing the border before relayingthe images to a command post in Tucson 70miles away. "Project 28 was supposed to be anexample of how we could use technology tosecure the border. The lesson is we can't secure28 miles of our border for $20 million," saidRep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D) of New Jersey, HouseHomeland Security Committee member at ahearing Feb. 27. "After so many years ofpromises and tests and millions of dollars spent,we are no closer to a technological solution tosecuring the border. This is unacceptable."

Another possible problem, experts say, isthat the radar is easily foiled by terrain that is notflat. And operator training appears to beimportant if the system is to be effective. "Partsof Project 28 hold much promise if you cannurture experienced operators who can detectmigrants and then guide other agents to interceptthem," says T.J. Bonner, president of theNational Border Patrol Council, whichrepresents more than 12,000 United Statesborder patrol agents. "The radar doesn't give youdepth perception, and the same can be said of thecameras especially at night. So it's easy forcontract employees who are trying to sector inthe precise locations to be way off."


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Some investigators of the US GovernmentAccountability Office, the investigative arm ofCongress, have said that the initial investmentwas too paltry to expect significant results andthat Boeing was not given enough time tocomplete the fairly complex project. Thecompany has also received $64 million for a newcontract, according to Keehner, to develop newcommand-and-control software, improvedidentification capability, and greater range. After testing, the new hardware and software areintended to be installed in two locations, one inTexas and one in Arizona.(Daniel B. Wood, “Arizona's 'Virtual' BorderWall Gets A Reality Check,” The ChristianScience Monitor, April 2, 2008.)

U.S. Voters Don’t Know ImmigrationPositions of Presidential CandidatesA poll commissioned by the D.C.-based

Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) found thatAmerican primary and caucus voters generallyknow little of the major presidential candidates'immigration policies. In addition to lackingknowledge of their candidate's stances onimmigration, many voters also registeredpersonal views on immigration at variance withthe candidate they supported. The surveysbespoke a public much more amenable torestricting immigration than any of its currentpresidential choices. "I think the main thing is,"CIS research director Steven Camarotaexplained, "people just don't follow many issuesvery closely. People have a life to live and even[regarding] issues that are pretty salient, peoplejust don't keep that close a track."

Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.),Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain(R-Ariz.) have all backed amnesties for millionsof illegal aliens, yet only 42 percent of Clintonsupporters, 52 percent of Obama supporters and34 percent of McCain backers imputed thatpolicy to their candidate. Dr. Camarota said thepublic's overwhelming failure to recognize Mr.McCain's position owes somewhat to his effortsto publicly distance himself from a bill heco-sponsored with Sen. Edward Kennedy

(D-Mass.) that would put many illegalimmigrants on a path to legal residency. Afterthe bill failed to pass Congress last summer, Mr.McCain professed to heed what he perceived asvoters' strong sentiment that stepped-upenforcement should precede any masslegalization. Only 31 percent of Mr. McCain'ssupporters agreed with his support for newlegalizations while 45 percent of Mrs. Clinton'svoters did and 61 percent of Mr. Obama's did.

The poll determined that restrictionist votersoutnumbered pro-amnesty voters and it alsofound that restrictionists tended to give the issuegreater political weight. Nearly nine out of 10Republican voters who wanted heightenedenforcement against illegal entrants said they"strongly supported" it, compared to fewer thanhalf of pro-amnesty GOP voters who stronglyfavored legalization. Among Democraticsupporters of more enforcement, over 70 percentstrongly supported it, whereas fewer than 60percent of pro-legalization Democrats stronglyapproved of the policy.

Dr. Camarota said this apparent disconnectbetween the public and its presidentialcandidates on immigration reflects thecomparatively copious time public officialsspend speaking with prominent constituencyheads (e.g. business leaders, religious leadersand nonprofit heads) rather than ordinaryAmericans.(Bradley Vasoli, “Candidates’ ImmigrationStances Unknown to Voters,” The Bulletin, April2, 2008.)

States Slowing Down On Forming TheirOwn Immigration Policies

The headlong rush of states into immigrationpolicy may be slowing. In legislative sessionsthis spring, ambitious proposals in state capitolshave been watered down, delayed or outrightdefeated. State legislators, many frustrated with federalinaction on immigration issues, continue to diveinto the debate over whether undocumentedimmigrants are entitled to driver’s licenses,in-state tuition at state universities, public


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benefits, and business licenses. But this year,their actions have been measured or curtailed bytheir governors or special interest groups,especially compared to recent years, when statelawmakers presented a flurry of new ideas andpassed an unprecedented number ofimmigration-related laws.

In Indiana, Kentucky and Nebraska,get-tough proposals died in key committees.Ideas on the table included measures to shutterbusinesses that hired undocumented immigrants,enlist state police in federal immigrationenforcement efforts and cut off public benefits toillegal immigrants. Meanwhile, Utah lawmakershad to make several concessions to winGovernor Jon Huntsman’s (R) support of a newlaw to prevent companies from hiringunauthorized workers. As a result, the law won’teven take effect until 2009, giving the state timeto study its potential impact and Congress timeto deal with immigration at the national level. Mississippi passed a tough hiring law thatthreatens businesses with loss of state contractsand their licenses for violation. But Gov. HaleyBarbour (R) cited a long list of concerns with themeasure and urged legislators to change thestatute.

One area where states are taking a tougherstance is driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants.This year, Oregon, Michigan and Marylandbacked off previous policies that allowedundocumented immigrants to drive legally — achange prompted by concerns over fraud andcompliance with the federal Real ID Act. Thefederal law aims at keeping driver’s licensesfrom terrorists and illegal aliens.The U.S. Department of Homeland Securitythreatened to make Maine residents subject toadditional screening at airports under Real ID,citing flaws in how the state issues driver'slicenses to illegal immigrants. Gov. JohnBaldacci (D) said he would try to limit licensesto people in the country legally, and, with thatassurance, federal officials backed off the threaton Wednesday (April 2). North Carolina andTennessee rescinded similar policies since 2006,and a public uproar, led by Republicans in the

New York Senate last fall, stopped then-NewYork Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) from lettingundocumented residents drive legally.

The year’s legislative sessions are far fromover, and immigration remains a hotly debatedissue in numerous states where lawmakers arestill meeting, including Alabama, Kansas,Missouri, Rhode Island and South Carolina. Buteven in those states, far-reaching proposals —from barring undocumented students fromattending public universities in Missouri tomandatory identification cards for all Alabamaworkers — have run into trouble. The cautiousapproach is a marked change from the last threeyears, when states competed to pass the strictestanti-illegal immigration law in the country.Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and Oklahoma allapproved groundbreaking measures that crackeddown on the problem..

Last year, 46 states enacted 194 newimmigration-related laws — triple the numberfrom the previous year, according to a tally bythe National Conference of State Legislatures.The group hasn’t released numbers for 2008 yet.The issue had also been a hot topic on thecampaign trail for states that had elections in2007. It played an especially prominent role inelections in Mississippi and Virginia.

Now business groups, which are mountingstrong opposition to many of the measures, saythey’re better organized to fight proposals thatthreaten to shut down companies that hire illegalimmigrants, as laws passed last year in Arizonaand Oklahoma do. State budget woes andpocketbook issues are also overshadowingconcerns about immigration. For example,Kentucky state Rep. Kathy Stein (D) cited thepotential cost to state and local governments ofan immigration crackdown as one of the reasonsthat she, as the head of the judiciary committee,killed a bill there that included a wide range ofmeasures to combat illegal immigration.

Shorter legislative sessions of election yearsand the increased time demands of campaigningmay also be playing a role, observers say, bygiving lawmakers less time to iron outdisagreements.


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Some observers have suggested thatpolicymakers in other states may be waiting tosee whether tough policies adopted by statessuch as Arizona and Oklahoma will survivecourt challenges. So far, legal challenges tothose laws have been unsuccessful, but the fightscontinue. Business groups have taken the lead intrying to knock down the Arizona and Oklahomameasures, both of which punish businesses thatdon’t use E-Verify, a controversial federaldatabase to check the legal status of new hires.

One of the central arguments in all of thelegal cases is whether states went too far andintruded on the federal government’s turf intrying to regulate immigration. The Governor of Mississippi urged legislators to retool a law theysent him that requires companies to useE-Verify, or face being sued, losing statecontracts or their business licenses. The systemhas faltered in 8 percent of queries whenconfirmation requires further efforts, which canlast for weeks, often because of outdatedinformation, according to the GovernmentAccountability Office.

Illinois legislators are reworking a law theypassed last year that prohibits companies fromusing the same federal database. They’re tryingto strike a deal that would convince the U.S.Department of Homeland Security to drop alawsuit it brought trying to invalidate the Illinoislaw. Both Iowa and South Carolina lawmakershave also discussed other ways of verifying newhires’ legal status, mainly by using other formsof identification. But South Carolina Gov. MarkSanford (R) has grown frustrated with thoseefforts, threatening to stall any law’s enactment.He criticized separate measures that passed thestate House and Senate as ineffective and tooweak.

In other states, momentum for sweepingimmigration legislation slowed for a variety ofreasons. In Utah, the governor opposed a proposal to cutoff in-state tuition to undocumented collegestudents and to forbid illegal immigrants fromdriving legally, and those provisions weredropped from legislation. Huntsman approved an

employee verification law, but it takes effect in2009, after the next U.S. president has a chanceto address immigration with Congress.

Tensions over immigration legislation ranhigh in Indiana, as Hispanic groups and thebusiness community opposed a workerverification law. One Spanish-languagenewspaper even called the bill’s sponsor, Sen.Mike Delph (R), “El Diablo” (the devil) in print.With Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) staying on thesidelines, the proposal languished at the end ofsession.

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman (R) andAttorney General Jon Bruning suffered anembarrassing defeat when their joint effort to cutoff benefits — including in-state tuition — toundocumented immigrants failed in a committeeof the one-chamber, nonpartisan Legislature. When the two officials held a press conferenceto criticize the judiciary committee for bottlingup the measure, one of the committee’smembers, Sen. Ernie Chambers, crashed theparty. Chambers, who is black, grabbed themicrophone and accused the governor of “ridinga crest of racism” to win support for thecrackdown on illegal immigration.(Daniel C. Vock, “States Think Smaller, Sloweron Immigration,” Stateline.org, April 03, 2008.)

San Francisco Promotes Services forIllegal Immigrants

A series of new television and radiocommercials, billboards and bus shelter signswill soon go up around San Franciscoadvertising the fact that the city by the bay isalso a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants. Cityofficials on Wednesday unveiled the $83,000 adcampaign, which features images of smilingresidents and the iconic city skyline and spreadsthe message in English, Spanish, Chinese,Vietnamese and Russian. Brochures, which willbe handed out in public buildings like policestations and hospitals, promise safe access tocity services for the undocumented and adon't-ask-don't-tell policy when it comesresidency status.


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Officials said the public awareness campaignwas prompted in part by a series of federalimmigration raids around the region last yearthat left undocumented immigrants hesitant tocome forward to seek medical treatment orreport crimes, out of fear they might be deported.But the campaign precedes the city's plan inAugust to begin issuing municipal identificationcards to city residents - regardless of whetherthey are in the country legally. Officials saidthey not only want immigrants to know aboutSan Francisco's sanctuary city policy, they wantcity workers, business owners, and others toknow the same. "We're taking a big bite of thereality sandwich in admitting that there arepeople who live here who may or may not havecitizen status," said Supervisor Tom Ammiano,who helped spearhead the ad campaign and whorepresents the city's heavily Latino MissionDistrict.

Police Chief Heather Fong said officers willreport undocumented immigrants if they have afelony arrest, but otherwise, "we do not work onenforcing immigration laws." San Franciscobecame a sanctuary city in 1989 and since then ithas barred city employees from helpingImmigration and Customs Enforcement agentswith immigration investigations or arrests, unlesshelp is required by a federal or state law or awarrant. It is the city's formal policy to not reportillegal immigrants to federal immigration agentswhen they visit public health clinics or hospitals,enroll their children in school, report a crime tothe police or seek other city services or apply forbenefits.

While a number of cities around the countryalso call themselves sanctuary cities, includingSan Jose, Oakland, Houston, Seattle, Chicagoand Miami, few - if any - have embarked on awidespread campaign to advertise the fact.Former New York Mayor Rudy Giulianiadamantly denied that New York is a sanctuarycity after he came under fire over the issue lastyear during his bid for the Republicanpresidential nomination. "San Francisco clearlyis going a step beyond most places in boasting(about) and advertising this. Most cities kind of

almost apologize to their voters when theycomplain about it," said Mark Krikorian,executive director of the Center for ImmigrationStudies, a Washington think tank that supportsrestrictions on immigration. He also said SanFrancisco and other sanctuary cities are "openlysubverting the federal government's ability toprotect the borders" by extending protections toundocumented immigrants. "They're making it aseasy as they can for illegal immigrants to live inSan Francisco," he said.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, aDemocrat who is considering running forCalifornia governor in 2010, made headlines lastyear when he said he would not allow citydepartment heads or "anyone associated withthis city" to cooperate in federal immigrationraids. Wednesday he said no other issue he haschampioned has received a more negativereaction from the public than his sanctuary citystance - "and that includes gay marriage."(Cecilia M. Vega, “S.F. Promotes Services forIllegal Immigrants,” The San FranciscoChronicle, April 3, 2008.)

Mara Salvatrucha: The World’s MostDangerous Gang

MS-13 - or Mara Salvatrucha - is the biggest andfastest-growing of the Latin American streetgangs. Favored tactics include decapitation bymachete. MS-13 started life as a group of youngimmigrants on the streets of Los Angeles in the1980s. After nearly a million Salvadorans fledtheir civil war for the US, many of them settledin Los Angeles where gang violence was rife. The origin of the name is in dispute. Oneversion is that “Mara” is slang for gang and“Salvatrucha” refers to an army ant. Anotherversion of “Salvatrucha” is that it refers toSalvadoran peasant guerrillas who fought in ElSalvador during the 1980s.

In the 1990s, the "maras" spread to CentralAmerica after many of their leaders weredeported from the United States. Thosecountries, struggling to get back on their feetafter years of devastating civil conflict, were aperfect setting in which gangs could proliferate.


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There is evidence that the model of the gang isrape, kill, control. They're really about gainingcontrol over other immigrants from theircommunity. Today, some estimates put up to60,000 maras active in El Salvador, Honduras,Guatemala, Mexico and - according to the FBI -in more than 40 US states.

Rod J Rosenstein is Maryland's USAttorney. His office is currently prosecuting aseries of cases against MS-13. Rosenstein'sprosecutors have moved on from chargingindividual gang members with discrete crimes.Instead, they are now targeting MS-13 withfederal racketeering laws - the same legislationused against the Mafia and other organizedcrime. For this tactic to be successful, they mustprove that MS-13 is indeed an organizednetwork.

Mindful of the trans-national links, the FBIlast year made the decision to open an office inEl Salvador. Aaron Escorza heads the FBI'sNational Gang Task Force. He told us the gangsmove freely around the region. "They don'trecognize borders. They commit crimes in ElSalvador, flee El Salvador to come to the U.S.and you have MS-ers who are committing crimesin the U.S. and fleeing down to El Salvador toevade arrest." But once in El Salvador, thechallenge to authorities is immense. Entireswathes of the capital are virtually under thecontrol of MS-13 and its rival, Mara 18. Localpolice patrol warily, tending when possible toavoid those parts of the city. The region'shomicide rates are among the highest in theworld - 58 per 100,000 of population in ElSalvador.

The past decade has seen politicians rise topower on the back of promises to declare waragainst the gangs. The "Mano Dura" - or HardFist - policy introduced by Honduras at the startof the decade was closely followed by "SuperMano Dura" in El Salvador. The legislationmeant police could round up gang members atwill, throwing young men in prison for anysuspicious behavior, including associating withlikely gang members or sporting tattoos. Theresult was thousands of gang members in prison.

But courts were not able to process suchnumbers and many lingered in prison withoutcharge.The prisons themselves have becomestrongholds of the gangs, many of themcontrolled by the Maras themselves, theauthorities guard only from the outside. The"Mano Dura" policies are now largelydiscredited. On patrol in San Salvador, the policetold us the laws had been counter-productive,driving the gangs underground and leading tomore clever tactics from the likes of MS-13.They pointed out men who could be Maras, butwho now wear long t-shirts to cover their tattoos.

The graffiti that used to be ubiquitous,identifying each gang's territory, is no longer soobvious.Mano Dura made the prisons into virtualheadquarters for the gangs. And the U.S.deportation policy added to the problem, withthe result that the gangs have become ever moreorganized and powerful.

In the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan wasfighting a proxy war against the Soviet Union inCentral America, he promised to rebuild a new,better, El Salvador. But after spending so muchon the war, there was little appetite inWashington for the reconstruction project. Twodecades later, the US is reaping theconsequences. And in Central America, a regionstill struggling with poverty and crime, MS-13has thrived. (Piers Scholfield, “The World’s Most DangerousGang,” BBC News, April 3, 2008.)

Minorities Rapidly Growing andMaintaining Their Culture in CanadaVisible minorities now number more than

five million, growing at a rate five times that ofthe rest of the population. They make up astaggering 16.2 per cent of Canadians, and, ifcurrent trends continue, they could account forroughly one-fifth of the total population by 2017.And for the first time, South Asians slipped pastChinese to become the country's largest visibleminority group, with a population of 1,262,900.By comparison, about 1,216,600 people


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identified themselves as Chinese. Together, thetwo ethnic groups make up just under half of allvisible minorities.

But at the same time, Canadians reportedties to more than 200 ethnic origins - everythingfrom aboriginal to Zulu - confirming thecountry’s title as one of the most multiculturalplaces in the world. The numbers tell a new,dual-identity story of Canada, one that showsvisible minorities integrating more easily into themainstream while also maintaining strong ties totheir own culture and language. Visible-minority parents are especially eager toemphasize cultural tradition to their children,who make up a much larger swath of the overallpopulation.

The 2005 census shows that 96 per cent ofvisible minorities live in urban areas, comparedwith 69 per cent of the overall population. InToronto and Vancouver, about half of visibleminorities are under the age of 15; in Montreal,that figure is about a quarter. Nationally, 17.9per cent of Canadians are in this age bracket. InBrampton, Ont., outside Toronto, where SouthAsians make up 31.7 per cent of the population(the most in any community across Canada),entire shopping malls and community centersresonate with Punjabi, Gujarati and Hindi. Thecity's newest hospital, the Brampton CivicCenter, was opened as a result of millions ofdollars in donations from the region's SouthAsian population.

Mr. Bhatia, who owns a Hyundai dealership,said the cultural landscape for immigrants wasvery different as little as a decade ago. "Ten,eleven years ago, the Indian movies only playedat the third-grade theatres left behind by themainstream. Now, we see women inshalwar-kameez and saris at AMC witheverybody else. ... We might look different - I'ma turbaned Sikh - but we all like watching aquality movie in a quality theatre."

But in a delicate counterbalance to that verydiversity, the census data also revealed adecrease in the number of individuals whoself-identified as "Canadian." An explanation asto why is a little more nuanced than simply

attributing the downward trend to segregatedcommunities or a lack of patriotism, said ananalyst at Statistics Canada. "It means differentthings to different people," said Jane Badets,adding that those who typically identifythemselves as Canadian are third- orfourth-generation. The majority of South Asiansand Chinese are first- and second-generation.But some who drop the hyphenated Canadianlabel from their identities say they do it becausethe Canadian identity is implied. "If we're talkingto someone in Canada, I just say I'm Punjabi,"said Sharonveer Sandhu, a Grade 8 student atDasmesh. "When you go to Germany, you addthe 'Canadian.' "(Unnati Gandhi, “Facing Up to A New Identity:At Five Million and Growing, Visible MinoritiesAre Maintaining Ever Stronger Ties to TheirOwn Culture,” Globe and Mail, April 3, 2008.)

Hamilton, Canada Looks for Ways toAttract and Keep Immigrants

Local leaders are looking outside ofHamilton's borders for ways to attract visibleminorities to the city. This city is taking its cuefrom Toronto with plans for a new websiteaimed at helping newcomers with settlementissues. The Hamilton Chamber of Commerce islooking to diversify its membership and studyingother models -- like Brampton's Board of Trade,whose website offers information in Punjabi andPortuguese.

Citizens say innovation is necessary ifHamilton wants to compete for newly arrivedvisible minorities choosing to settle elsewhere.Statistics Canada (the Canadian census bureau)recently released numbers that show 12.3 percent of people in Hamilton are visible minorities.The number represents an increase from justunder 10 per cent five years earlier. ButHamilton still lags behind the national averageof 16.2 per cent, driven largely by cities likeVancouver and Toronto where nearly half thepopulation is made up of visible minorities.

Morteza Jafarpour, executive director ofSettlement and Integration ServicesOrganization, says two-thirds of newcomers are


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visible minorities. He adds Hamilton has to do abetter job of holding onto all newcomers whocome to the city. Hamilton was only able toretain around 1,500 new immigrants in 2006, farbelow the 6,000 who stayed five years earlier. Inaddition to employment barriers and lingeringdiscrimination, Jafarpour blames the city'songoing failure to market itself effectively."Other cities in British Columbia and Alberta arecoming here to recruit our immigrants," he said.

Ali Cheaib, a Mohawk College instructorand president of the Hamilton Council ofCanadian Arabs, points to "reverse migration"among some newcomers whose expectations arenot being met here. He adds the city has still not fully regained itsreputation after the Hindu Samaj Temple wasburned to the ground in the wake of 9/11. "It'seasy for a city to be labeled unfriendly toimmigrants and visible minorities," he says.Jo-Anne Priel, the city's general manager ofcommunity services, agrees that Hamilton hasnot done enough to market the city tonewcomers, but adds that new projects arefinally under way.

Among the initiatives is a new city websiteaimed at marketing Hamilton and its resources topotential and newly arrived skilled immigrants,as well as the development of a long-sought-afterimmigration strategy for the city. (Dana Borcea, “City Looks for Ways to Attract,Keep Immigrants,” The Hamilton Spectator,April 3, 2008.)

Passport-Free Travel Begins atSchengen Newcomers’ Airports

Border checks at airports in nine Schengenarea newcomers, mostly from the ex-communistbloc, vanished at midnight Sunday, allowing 400million people passport-free travel in the24-country zone. Malta and eight fellow 2004 European Unionentrants -- ex-communist Poland, the CzechRepublic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary,Slovakia and Slovenia -- all dropped passportchecks for air passengers who are Schengen statecitizens.

The move puts the final touch to theexpansion of the Schengen zone which first sawthe end of border checks at land and maritimefrontiers in newcomer states last December 20.Most have seized the opportunity created bySchengen entry to upgrade airports that havebenefitted from a boom in passenger traffic sinceEU entry.(“Schengen Passport-Free Travel Arrives atNewcomers' Airports,” AFP News Briefs List,March 30, 2008.)

New Report Cast Doubts on ImmigrationBenefits in Britain

Little evidence exists that immigrationbenefits Britain, according to a House of Lordscommittee on Tuesday that called for thegovernment to review its policies. A report bythe upper parliamentary house's EconomicAffairs Committee rejected the government'sargument that current record immigration levelsprovide economic advantages and said ministershave used "irrelevant and misleading criteria"."We have found no evidence for the argument,made by the government, business and manyothers, that net immigration -- immigrationminus emigration -- generates significanteconomic benefits for the existing UKpopulation," the report said.

The government says immigrationcontributes an estimated 6 billion pounds a yearto Britain, but the committee said it was wrongto use the total size of the economy as abenchmark for judging its impact. Instead, thepeers said immigration provided very littlebenefit on the income per head of the residentpopulation while it had a social impact byaffecting the demand for housing. Low-paidpeople were also worse off as they would notreceive training as businesses sought cheaperskilled workers from abroad. Nor couldimmigration solve the "pensions time bomb" ofan ageing population, the report said.

"Nothing in our report is saying we shouldstop immigration," committee member andformer Conservative minister Lord Wakehamtold BBC radio. “We believe immigration isgood and emigration is good. What we want to


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do is keep the balance between the two." Thecommittee said the government needed to reviewits policies and clarify the objectives of the newpoints-based system which comes in later thisyear.

Immigration has been a long-running andheated political issue amid public fears thatschools, hospitals and transport networks arebeing swamped by foreign nationals, especiallysince European Union enlargement. TheConservatives say the government has lostcontrol of the issue with official projectionsshowing that net immigration will increase byabout 190,000 a year in future. They have calledfor a cap on numbers.

"What the report is saying is let's not justlook at what's good for the economy, let's look atwhat's good for Britain, let's look at the widerimpact of immigration when we set immigrationpolicy," Immigration minister Liam Byrne toldBBC radio. "That's something that I happen toabsolutely agree with. I think we have got tolook at the wider impact of migration when wedecide in our new points system ... how manypoints a migrant needs in order to come to theUK."

Council leaders also called on thegovernment to review its immigration policies,saying the money generated by immigration wasnot finding its way to local levels. "The speedand scale of migration combined with theshortcomings of official population figures isplacing pressure on funding for services likehousing and children's services," said SimonMilton, chairman of the Local GovernmentAssociation. (Michael Holden, “British peers cast doubt onimmigration benefits,” Reuters, April 1, 2008.)

Britain Debates Immigration fromDeveloping Countries

Britain has long been a haven forimmigrants, from highly skilled workers fromEurope and the United States to those comingfrom developing countries to escape politicalpersecution or find a better life. Many of thoseimmigrants come from former British colonies in

Africa and Asia, and some find their welcome isnot what they expected. In 2006 Britain had a netinflux of close to 200,000 immigrants. Somefound ready-made jobs in the financial sector, inhospitals, schools, on farms, or in construction. For other immigrants, however, the transition isnot so easy. Some live in constant fear they'll bedeported back to their home countries wherethey may face political persecution or, at thevery least, the loss of the economic opportunitiesthey had hoped to achieve for themselves andtheir families.

Recent news reports have highlighted theplight of those who have not been welcomedwith open arms and who have instead ended upin detention camps set up around the UK tohouse immigration offenders and unsuccessfulasylum seekers.

Angela, who will only give her first name, isone of those. She came to the UK from hernative Uganda in 2001, at the age of 15. She saysher father an opposition activist and the familywas persecuted for his role. She says at one pointshe was even raped by unknown assailants infront of her father. After that, she says, she fledthe country. On getting to the UK, she appliedfor asylum. "When I made the application I wasgiven exceptional leave to remain, because I wasa minor. My exceptional leave was to expire aday before my 18th birthday," she said. TheHome Office turned down her request forrefugee status to stay in Britain indefinitely. Bythis time she was a mother. She appealed theruling and was told by an immigration officerthat she would receive an invitation for aninterview. "Three days after she told me she wasgoing to write me a letter for an interview, sheturned up on my door with about six other menwith a big van and I was put in handcuffs," shesaid. "I was told because my medical report saidI was suicidal, so they were putting handcuffs onme just in case I tried to kill myself." Angela wastaken to Yarl's Wood Immigration RemovalCenter. The bleak detention facility for failedasylum seekers and immigration offenders issurrounded by a heavy metal fence and underaround-the-clock supervision by guards.


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Voice Of America (VOA) talked todetainees, but was not allowed to record or filmthe interviews at the center, which holds 400failed asylum seekers and immigrationoffenders. Angela spoke to VOA after herrelease. "Your rights as a mother are strippedaway," she added. "You are told when to feedthe child, you are told how to carry your child. A child cannot have a second helping if theyever ask for one, because you are followingdetention rules." Angela was released after eightdays. She now has two children and is stillfighting to remain in the United Kingdom.

Alistair Burt is the member of parliament forWest Bedfordshire, where the detention center islocated. He says centers are needed to deal withimmigration. "Those who have tried to gainentry to the UK and take up residence here whenthey are told that they have to return may notwant to, so they simply disappear," he said. "Ina country like the UK, it is quite easy todisappear into immigrant communities in ourmajor cities."

Amanda Shah is deputy director of Bail forImmigration Detainees, a non-governmentalorganization that works with asylum seekers anddetained migrants. She says one of thedisturbing features of detention is that it is openended. "Immigration detention centers are not setout for people to be held for long periods oftime, and we are seeing many, many people whoare held for periods of over a year," she said. "They are held indefinitely and the conditionsthat they are held in are not appropriate forsomebody to be held in for that period of time."Shah says by being held indefinitely,immigration detainees are worse off thanterrorism suspects who, under British law, canonly be held for 28 days.

Alistair Burt says while long detentions areunfortunate, it is not the government's fault. Hesays in some cases the detainee has appealedagainst removal or the government of thecountry where the person must be sent does notwant to take her or him. Burt expressed concernabout the treatment of families. "There are somecases where you do query the actions of the

Borders and Immigration Agency in arrivingvery early in the morning and collecting quite anumber of children, with their parents, andtaking them from where they have been livingfor some years to countries where they have notbeen to for a long time, if at all, and there areprofound worries about that aspect of thepolicy," he explained. Burt says the government has to be seen asacting against people who think they can justcome to Britain to start new lives. He said it isdifficult to separate genuine asylum seekers fromeconomic migrants or those brought into thecountry by traffickers. "If the UK simply had apolicy that, because there are human rightsabuses in a whole variety of countries, nobodycould ever be returned there, then frankly theUK would continue to be a magnet for everyonewho wants to leave and come to start a differentlife somewhere else," he added. "You eitherhave an open-border policy or you do not. TheUK does not, and the UK should not have anopen border policy. That means somebody hasto take some difficult decisions. Occasionally,some people have to be returned."

The immigration debate shows no signs ofabating. A committee in Britain's upper house ofparliament, the House of Lords, has just releaseda report, saying that contrary to widespreadassertions that immigration benefits Britain'seconomy, there is no firm proof that immigrationcontributes significantly to the economicwellbeing of the nation. This report was coveredearlier in this EGSG Newsletter.(Tendai Maphosa, “Britain Grapples withMigration from Developing Countries,” Voice ofAmerica, April 4, 2008.)

Immigration Blamed for HousingCrisis in Australia

A massive, uncontrolled increase inimmigration in the past three years has fueled thehousing affordability crisis, home builders say. Housing Industry Association (HIA) managingdirector Ron Silberberg blamed the shortage ofprivate rental accommodation on netimmigration he estimated at 250,000 people a


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year. "There has been an uncontrolled expansionof the immigration program," Dr Silberberg tolda Senate committee in Canberra. "The pace inwhich it's increased has been massive over thelast three years. "Do we need an explanation asto why there's pressure on private rentalhousing?" He described the immigration program as afederal government lever which could be used toaddress the housing crisis.

More than one million Australians areconsidered to be in housing stress by paying atleast 30 per cent of their income on theirresidences. The HIA chief also said the industrysuffered from a skills shortage because only atiny fraction of immigrants had training inresidential construction. Only about 800 of thenet figure of 250,000 arrivals had the necessaryskills, he said.The Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) told thecommittee that the construction sector's ability tomeet demand is just as important as releasingmore land. "Addressing undersupply is a criticalissue if we are to ensure that we are able toadequately and affordably house ourcommunities as Australia continues to develop,"PIA national president Neil Savery said. "We'renot saying that addressing supply is the panaceato the problem and certainly that the equation inrelation to supply isn't simply: `Let's release asmuch land as we can possibly can on the urbanfringe of the city'," he said.

Institute chief executive Diane Jay saidreleasing more land sounded simpler than it was."There's some evidence that even if there weremore land immediately available we really don'thave the capacity within the construction anddevelopment sector to go a lot further in terms ofmeeting supply," she said. The group welcomed the federal government'splanned National Housing Supply Council butsaid it must produce nationally comparable dataon land release as well as new housing statistics.(“Immigration Blamed for Housing Crisis,” TheSydney Morning Herald, April 1, 2009.)

Conflict Over Rising Immigrationto New Zealand

New Zealand's Asian population is growingfaster than any other ethnic group and willoutnumber indigenous Maori by 2026,government figures released Wednesdayshowed. The findings drew the ire of ananti-immigrant party that contends the doorshould be shut on Asian immigrants, claimingthey do not integrate into mainstream society. "If we continue this open door policy there isreal danger we will be inundated with peoplewho have no intention of integrating into oursociety. The greater the number, the greater therisk," New Zealand First Party deputy leaderPeter Brown said.

Ethnic Affairs Minister Chris Cartercondemned the comments. "I think he'sabsolutely being racist," Carter said. "Heshouldn't be condemning people because of theirrace or culture." The chief executive of thecountry's Employers and ManufacturersAssociation, Alasdair Thompson, said Brown'scomments were "racial stereotyping of the worstsort." "We need our newer migrants. We don'tneed Mr. Brown's racism," he said.

United Asian Association spokesman KenYee welcomed the figures, saying the projectedrise in Asian numbers would mean "more colorand cultural diversity" that would only be a goodthing, National Radio reported. New ZealandFirst currently has seven lawmakers inParliament and is a support party in thegoverning coalition led by the center-left LabourParty. New Zealand First's leader, WinstonPeters, holds the post of foreign minister.

A general election is due by late Novemberand Brown's party, which has a long-standingpolicy against immigration, is garnering less than5 percent of voter support nationwide in currentpolls. According to government statistics, thecountry’s four main ethnic populations of Maori,Pacific Islanders, Asian and ethnic Europeanpeoples will all increase in the next 18 years,with those identifying as Asian set to grow themost. A projected increase of the Asianpopulation by 3.4 percent a year, mainly by


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migration, over the period to 2026 would see theAsian population double from 400,000 in 2006to 790,000 by 2026, according to governmentstatistician Geoff Bascand. Some 16 percent ofNew Zealand's total population was expected toidentify with Asian ethnicity by 2026, Bascandsaid. By then, New Zealand's overall populationwas projected to be 5.5 million from the current4.2 million.(“Anger Over Rising NZealand Immigration,”Yahoo News, April 2, 2008.)

Vodka-Maker Absolut Apologizes, Ends AdShowing California As part of MexicoThe Absolut vodka company apologized

Saturday for an ad campaign depicting thesouthwestern U.S. as part of Mexico amid angrycalls for a boycott by U.S. consumers. Thecampaign, which promotes ideal scenarios underthe slogan "In an Absolut World," showed a1830s-era map when Mexico includedCalifornia, Texas and other southwestern states.Mexico still resents losing that territory in the1848 Mexican-American War and the fight forTexas independence.

But the ads, which ran only in Mexico andhave since ended, were less than ideal forAmericans undergoing a border buildup andembroiled in an emotional debate over illegalimmigration from their southern neighbor. Morethan a dozen calls to boycott Absolut wereposted on www.michellemalkin.com, a Web siteoperated by conservative columnist MichelleMalkin. The ads sparked heated comment on ahalf-dozen other Internet sites and blogs.

"In no way was it meant to offend ordisparage, nor does it advocate an altering ofborders, nor does it lend support to anyanti-American sentiment, nor does it reflectimmigration issues," Absolut said in a statementleft on its consumer inquiry phone line.

Some fringe U.S. groups also claim the landis rightfully part of Mexico, while extremeimmigration foes argue parts of the U.S. alreadyare being overtaken by Mexico. "In an Absolutworld, a company that produces vodka fires itsentire marketing department in a desperate

attempt to win back enraged North Americancustomers after a disastrous ad campaignbackfires," a person using the moniker"SalsaNChips" wrote on Malkin's Web site.

Absolut said the ad was designed for aMexican audience and intended to recall "a timewhich the population of Mexico might feel wasmore ideal." "As a global company, werecognize that people in different parts of theworld may lend different perspectives orinterpret our ads in a different way than wasintended in that market, and for that weapologize."(“Vodka-Maker Absolut Apologizes, Ends AdShowing California, Texas As Part of Mexico,”The Associated Press, April 6, 2008.)

http://www.michellemalkin.com


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EGSG Sponsored Sessions for the2008 AAG Meetings in Boston

EGSG is sponsoring 28 sessions for theAAG meetings in Boston. The following is a listof those sessions:

1469 Exploding Homogeneity I Tuesday, 4/15/08, from 12:00 PM - 1:40 PMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupPopulation Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Priscilla McCutcheon - The University ofGeorgiaBrittany Davis - The University of GeorgiaChair(s):Brittany Davis - The University of GeorgiaAbstract(s):12:00 PM Author(s): *Priscilla McCutcheon -The University of GeorgiaBrittany Davis - University of GeorgiaAbstract Title: Reflecting on Race: LookingBack at Undergraduate Experiences of Colorism12:20 PM Author(s): *Christopher Riley - OhioState University - GeographyAbstract Title: (De)Constructing Homogeneityin Refugee Resettlement: Somali and AfricanAmerican Blacknesses in Columbus, Ohio12:40 PM Author(s): *Steven R. Holloway,PhD - University Of GeorgiaRichard Wright, PhD - Dartmouth CollegeMark Ellis, PhD - University of WashingtonMargaret East, PhD - University of Texas -ArlingtonAbstract Title: Mapping Mixed Cities1:00 PM Author(s): *Karen D. Johnson-Webb,Ph.D. - Bowling Green State UniversityAbstract Title: Inefficient Use of the Land? Race& Ethnicity at Carthagena, OHSession Description: Many studies that look atrace and ethnicity treat identities as monolithsrather than recognizing differences andvariations that exist both within and betweengroups. More recent work has taken up the taskof examining variations within an oft-perceivedhomogeneous racial or ethnic group. The papers

in this session address colorism andmultiracialism among blacks along with mappingmixed-race couples in cities.

1638 Race, Ethnicity and Diversity: USperspectivesTuesday, 4/15/08, from 4:20 PM - 6:00 PMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Wei Li - Arizona State UniversityCarlos Teixeira - University of British ColumbiaOkanaganChair(s):Lawrence Estaville - Texas State UniversityAbstract(s):4:20 PM Author(s): *Ira M. Sheskin -University of MiamiAbstract Title: Geography and the Influence ofthe American Jewish Community on theAmerican Political Process4:40 PM Author(s): *Stavros T. Constantinou,Associate Professor - Ohio State UniversityAbstract Title: Dimensions of ContemporaryGreek American Ethnicity5:00 PM Author(s): *Michael Poulsen -Macquarie UniversityAbstract Title: Education Attainment and Labourand Housing Market Access in Boston5:20 PM Author(s): *Edris J. Montalvo - TexasState University - San MarcosAbstract Title: Recruiting, Retaining, andGraduating Latinos and African Americans inAmerican Higher Education: A GeographicalAnalysis.5:40 PM Author(s): *Lawrence Estaville -Texas State University*Kristine Egan - Texas State UniversityAbstract Title: Visualizing SocioeconomicComparisons the U.S.: Anglos, Hispanics, andAfrican Americans

1669 Exploding Homogeneity IITuesday, 4/15/08, from 4:20 PM - 6:00 PMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty Group


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Population Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Priscilla McCutcheon - The University ofGeorgiaBrittany Davis - The University of GeorgiaChair(s):Brittany Davis - The University of GeorgiaAbstract(s):4:20 PM Author(s): *Jess Bier - CUNY -Graduate CenterAbstract Title: How Niqula Nasrallah BecameJohn Jacob Astor: Arab Emigrants aboard theRMS Titanic and the Linguistic Un-Invention ofAncestry4:40 PM Author(s): *Natalie R Koch - HarvardUniversityAbstract Title: Identity and Inter-EthnicMarriage in Contemporary Kazakhstan5:00 PM Author(s): *Richard A. Wright -Dartmouth CollegeSteven Holloway - U GeorgiaMark Ellis - University Of WashingtonMargaret East - University of Texas at ArlingtonAbstract Title: Do Mixed-Race Households Livein Diverse Neighborhoods? A PreliminaryAnalysis5:20 PM Author(s): *Babette Audant - CUNYGraduate CenterAbstract Title: Creative Destructions: Tracing agenealogy of 'Latino' in New York City5:40 PM Author(s): *R. Tina Catania -Dartmouth CollegeR. Tina Catania - Dartmouth CollegeAbstract Title: Latinos who Choose to be"Other" and the Races that Place MakesSession Description: Many studies that look atrace and ethnicity treat identities as monolithsrather than recognizing differences andvariations that exist both within and betweengroups. More recent work has taken up the taskof examining variations within an oft-perceivedhomogeneous racial or ethnic group. The papersin this session address racial and ethnic identityamong immigrant and emigrant individuals andgroups.

2163 Immigration, integration andsettlement: US and international perspectivesWednesday, 4/16/08, from 8:00 AM - 9:40 AMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Wei Li - Arizona State UniversityCarlos Teixeira - University of British ColumbiaOkanaganChair(s):James Forrest - Macquarie UniversityAbstract(s):8:00 AM Author(s): *Dorris Scott - Kent StateUniversityAbstract Title: Made in Brazil, Consumed inJapan: A Look at the Consumption Places ofJapanese-Brazilian Immigrants and how theyRelate to Identity and Space8:20 AM Author(s): *Lily Y Huang - VassarCollegeAbstract Title: The Politics of an Urban Enclave:Gentrification and Activism in Boston'sChinatown8:40 AM Author(s): *Peter Mandarino -University of OttawaAbstract Title: Experiences of 'work' amonggenerations of Italian men in Toronto9:00 AM Author(s): *Jennifer J. Helzer -California State UniversityAbstract Title: Italian Themes and EthnicBranding: A Comparison of California andAustralia9:20 AM Author(s): *James Forrest, PhD -Macquarie UniversityAbstract Title: Enclaves and Ethnoburbs: Newpatterns of 'dispersed concentration' in Sydney,Australia's foremost immigrant-receiving city.

2263 No place like home? Exploring andconceptualizing contemporary refugeexperiencesWednesday, 4/16/08, from 10:10 AM - 11:50AMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupPopulation Specialty Group


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Organizer(s):Ruth Healey - University of SheffieldChair(s):Ruth Healey - University of SheffieldAbstract(s):10:10 AM Introduction: Ruth Healey -University of Sheffield10:15 AM Author(s): *Ruth L Healey -University of Sheffield Abstract Title: Tamil perceptions of success inemployment: coping with the refugee experience10:30 AM Author(s): *Will Poppe - Universityat BuffaloAbstract Title: Place, Agency and Integration:The Process of Refugee Resettlement in theBuffalo Metro Area10:45 AM Author(s): Gill Valentine -University of Leeds*Deborah Sporton - University of SheffieldAbstract Title: Dr Deborah Sporton11:00 AM Author(s): *Peter E Hopkins -Newcastle University, UKAbstract Title: The contested bodies ofunaccompanied asylum-seeking children andyoung people in Scotland11:15 AM Discussant: Susan Hardwick -University of OregonDiscussant(s):Susan Hardwick - University of OregonIntroducer(s):Ruth Healey - University of SheffieldSession Description: This session criticallyexamines the experiences of contemporaryasylum seekers and refugees within a globalclimate of increasing suspicion andgovernmental repression of the statelessindividual, in doing so it therefore seeks tofacilitate discussion over the diverse politicaland practical issues which arise from suchmultiple experiences. Both asylum seekers andrefugees are all too often socially and politicallymarginalized within host communities as acombination of negative media attention andincreasingly restrictive and hostile governmentpolicies coalesce to not only scapegoat the figureof the refugee, but also to question the very right

of the individual to refuge in the first place.Within such a contested political climate itbecomes vital to examine the varyingexperiences of individual refugees and asylumseekers as a means to not only question thediscursive claims made by those who seek tofurther marginalize new arrivals, but also to openspaces in which to consider the political andpractical imperatives placed upon hostcommunities by refugees and asylum seekers. Tothis end this session engages with a range ofaspects of asylum and refugee studies, from whatit may mean to be a refugee in varyinginternational contexts and the elusive nature ofintegration, through to examinations of theprosaic means via which individuals cope withthe uncertainty, pressure and the changeablenature of their experiences in their newcountries.

2508 Refugee experiences: InternationalperspectivesWednesday, 4/16/08, from 3:10 PM - 4:50 PMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupCanadian Studies Specialty GroupPopulation Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Yu Zhou - Vassar CollegeWei Li - Arizona State UniversityChair(s):Thomas Sydney CarterAbstract(s):3:10 PM Author(s): *Priya N. Kissoon, PhD -University of British ColumbiaAbstract Title: From Persecution to Destitution:An Examination of How Canada and the UKMeet the Housing Needs of Refugee Newcomers3:30 PM Author(s): *Linda S. Fair, Ph.D. -Binghamton UniversityAbstract Title: Integration Paradigms inDenmark - The Refugee Challenge3:50 PM Author(s): *Thomas Sydney Carter,Professor of Geography - University ofWinnipeg


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3326 Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupBusiness Meeting

Boston AAG MeetingsApril 17, 2008

11:55 AM - 12:55 PMGrand Ballroom Salon K, M

Abstract Title: The Housing Trajectories ofRefugees in Winnipeg: Do They Lead toSuccessful Resettlement and Integration?

3126 Population Specialty Group and EthnicGeography Specialty Group Joint PlenarySession: John LoganThursday, 4/17/08, from 8:00 AM - 9:40 AMSponsorship(s):Population Specialty GroupEthnic Geography Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Wei Li - Arizona State UniversityChair(s):Thomas J. Cooke - University of ConnecticutPanelist(s):John Logan - Brown UniversityIntroducer(s):Wei Li - Arizona State UniversitySession Description: Incorporating Immigrantsand Minorities in Cities: New Findings from OldData

3226 The Experiences of Immigrants andRefugees in North American Cities I:racialization, discrimination, and identityThursday, 4/17/08, from 10:10 AM - 11:50 AMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupPopulation Specialty GroupCanadian Studies Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Wei Li - Arizona State UniversityCarlos Teixeira - University of British ColumbiaOkanaganChair(s):Valerie A. Preston - York UniversityAbstract(s):10:10 AM Author(s): *Frans Schrijver -University of SheffieldAbstract Title: Immigration and Scales ofCitizenship10:30 AM Author(s): *Heike Alberts -University of Wisconsin-OshkoshAbstract Title: Ethnic Solidarity in LatinoCommunities in Miami

10:50 AM Author(s): *Jacqueline A. Housel -Abstract Title: Beyond the Traffic Stop: Theimpact of policing on the everyday spaces ofLatino/a immigrants11:10 AM Author(s): *Heather Frost, PhDCandidate - University of British ColumbiaAbstract Title: "Getting By High:" The UntoldStories of Punjabi Youth In Surrey, B.C.11:30 AM Author(s): *Valerie A. Preston -York UniversityBrian Ray - University of OttawaAbstract Title: Geographies of Discrimination:Inter-urban Variations in CanadaSession Description: This session series coverstheoretical underpinning and/or empiricalanalyses surrounding immigrant and refugeeexperiences in North American cities.Specifically, papers focus on the followingissues.

a) migration to North American Cities(push/pull forces, changing internationalmigration dynamics, racialization processand identity);b) issues of settlement (from neighborhoodformation and segregation...) andsuburbanization; andc) economic integration

3462 Geographies of Latin America, theCaribbean, and Hispanics in the USThursday, 4/17/08, from 1:00 PM - 2:40 PMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupLatin America Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):


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Jose R. Diaz-Garayua - Kent State UniversityLuis D. Sanchez - Florida State UniversityChair(s):Luis D. Sanchez - Florida State UniversityAbstract(s):1:00 PM Author(s): *Jose R. Diaz-Garayua -Kent State University Abstract Title: Minority Groups and HousingValues: A Local Variation Approach1:18 PM Author(s): *Carlos J. Guilbe -University of Puerto RicoAbstract Title: New York Yankees vs BostonRed Sox Overseas; Identity and Nationality inthe Caribbean1:36 PM Author(s): *Ramon Luis ConcepcionTorres - Binghamton University (SUNY)Abstract Title: The Examination of the PuertoRican Enclaves and their Personal Responsesabout their Migration, Settlement, andAssimilation in the Orlando MSA1:54 PM Author(s): *Luis D. Sanchez - FloridaState UniversityAbstract Title: Central Florida: the New BattleSite for Puerto Rico's Political Status2:12 PM Author(s): *Mark E Reisinger -Binghamton University SUNYAbstract Title: Valued Citizens or Post-IndustrialUnderclass: The Incorporation of Latinos in U.S.Cities2:30 PM Discussant: Angel David Cruz BáezDiscussant(s):Angel David Cruz BáezSession Description: This session is directed topromote the discussion on current mattersregarding Latin American and the Caribbeanregions as well as the impact of their populationin the U.S. Considering the increasing numberof Latino population in the U.S. and the impactof Latin America in the hemisphere, our aim isto promote discussions that can provides a betterunderstanding of Latin America and Caribbeangeographies. -- For the benefit of a broaderaudience Presentations may be made in Spanishor English.

3426 The Experiences of Immigrants andRefugees in North American Cities II:highly-skilled and low-skilled migrantsThursday, 4/17/08, from 1:00 PM - 2:40 PMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupPopulation Specialty GroupCanadian Studies Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Wei Li - Arizona State UniversityCarlos Teixeira - University of British ColumbiaOkanaganChair(s):Carlos Teixeira - University of British ColumbiaOkanaganAbstract(s):1:00 PM Author(s): *Cheryl Sutherland -Queen's UniversityYang Cheng - Queen's UniversityAbstract Title: Mapping Vulnerability, PicturingPlace: The use of photovoice to explore place1:20 PM Author(s): Cheryl Sutherland - YangChengAbstract Title: Finding Their Place: InternationalStudents in the City1:40 PM Author(s): *Jonathan Clifton -University of British ColumbiaAbstract Title: Deserving citizenship? Canadianimmigration policy and the 'low skilled' worker2:00 PM Author(s): *Susan Lucas, Ph.D. -Edinboro University of PennsylvaniaBandana Purkayastha, Ph.D. - University ofConnecticutAbstract Title: Experiencing a different"difference." Canadian migrants in the US andquestions of integration.2:20 PM Author(s): *John Frazier -Binghamton UniversityAbstract Title: Select Experiences of theImmigrant African Diaspora in Two FloridaCounties, 2007Session Description: This session series coverstheoretical underpinning and/or empiricalanalyses surrounding immigrant and refugeeexperiences in North American cities.


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Specifically, papers focus on the followingissues.


3509 Ethnic Geography Researchers 'GivingBack'Thursday, 4/17/08, from 3:10 PM - 4:50 PMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupPopulation Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Carlos Teixeira - University of British ColumbiaOkanaganLawrence Estaville - Texas State UniversityChair(s):Lawrence Estaville - Texas State UniversityPanelist(s):Ines M. Miyares - Hunter CollegeJoe T. Darden - Michigan State UniversityIra M. Sheskin - University of MiamiJohn Frazier - Binghamton UniversityStavros T. Constantinou - Ohio State UniversitySession Description: Ethnic GeographyResearchers 'Giving Back'

3526 The Experiences of Immigrants andRefugees in North American Cities IV:housing and economic incorporationThursday, 4/17/08, from 3:10 PM - 4:50 PMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupPopulation Specialty GroupCanadian Studies Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Wei Li - Arizona State UniversityCarlos Teixeira - University of British ColumbiaOkanaganChair(s):Barry Halliday - Metropolis Project

Abstract(s):3:10 PM Author(s): *Elizabeth Chacko - TheGeorge Washington University*Marie D. Price - George Washington UniversityAbstract Title: Immigrants andEntrepreneurship: Ethiopian and BolivianDiasporic Networks in Washington3:30 PM Author(s): *Su-Yeul Chung - WesternIllinois UniversitySeokhoi Yim - Daegu UniversityAbstract Title: Spatio-Temporal Dynamics ofEthnic Entrepreneurship: A Case Study ofKorean Immigrants in Chicago IL PMSA, 1990and 20003:50 PM Author(s): *Wei Li, PhD - ArizonaState UniversityLcia L, - York UniversityAbstract Title: Immigrant Financial Integrationin the U.S. and Canada4:10 PM Author(s): *Carlos Teixeira,Associate Professor - University of BritishColumbia OkanaganAbstract Title: Barriers and Outcomes in theHousing Searches of New Immigrants andRefugees: A Case Study of Black Africans inToronto's Rental Market4:30 PM Discussant: Barry Halliday -Metropolis ProjectDiscussant(s):Barry Halliday - Metropolis ProjectSession Description: This session series coverstheoretical underpinning and/or empiricalanalyses surrounding immigrant and refugeeexperiences in North American cities.Specifically, papers focus on the followingissues.


3562 Geographies of Puerto Rico


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Thursday, 4/17/08, from 3:10 PM - 4:50 PMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupLatin America Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Jose R. Diaz-Garayua - Kent State UniversityRamon Luis Concepcion TorresChair(s):Ramon Luis Concepcion TorresAbstract(s):3:10 PM Author(s): *Eliezer Nieves-Rodriguez- Departamento de Geografia, Universidad dePuerto Rico y el Instituto de Ciencias para laConservacion de Puerto Rico (InCiCo)Abstract Title: Building wetland conservationawareness through environmental interpretationin the southwest region of Puerto Rico: the caseof Patillas Community.3:28 PM Author(s): *Evelio Valeiras-Mini -Departmen of Natural and EnvironmetalResources, Coastal Zone DivisionAbstract Title: Underwater corridors as anoption to the fragmentation of marine naturalspaces3:46 PM Author(s): *Rogelio Gonzalez - TheUniversity of AkronAbstract Title: Site Suitability for the PuertoRican Fishing Industry4:04 PM Author(s): *Kevin A. Butler, Ab.D. -The University of AkronAbstract Title: Quantifying the InformalEconomy of Puerto Rico4:22 PM Author(s): *Angel David Cruz Báez,Professor and Chairman - University of PuertoRicoAbstract Title: The Geography of Breast Cancerand the Medical Reform in Puerto Rico4:40 PM Discussant: Carlos J. Guilbe -University of Puerto RicoDiscussant(s):Carlos J. Guilbe - University of Puerto RicoSession Description: This session is directed topromote the discussion on current mattersregarding the island of Puerto Rico. Consideringthat Puerto Rico is a territory of the UnitedStates, but most of the US citizens have a limited

knowledge about the island and its relation withthe United States, our aim is to promotediscussions that can provide us with a betterunderstanding of Puerto Rico's space, place, andsociety. -- For the benefit of a broaderaudience Presentations may be made in Spanishor English.

3618 Latinos in the American South: NewSoutherners in a New South?Thursday, 4/17/08, from 5:20 PM - 7:00 PMSponsorship(s):Study of the American South SGSoutheastern GeographerEthnic Geography Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Derek H. Alderman - East Carolina UniversityRebecca Torres - University of Texas at AustinChair(s):Rebecca Torres - University of Texas at AustinPanelist(s):Sarah A. Blue - Northern Illinois UniversityAltha J. Cravey - University Of North CarolinaAnita Drever - University of TennesseeE Jeffrey Popke - East Carolina UniversityHeather Anne Smith - University of NorthCarolina at CharlotteJamie Winders - Syracuse UniversitySession Description: The panel brings togetherscholars to talk about Latinos in the AmericanSouth and the challenges they face within theregion politically, culturally, and economically. Given the reactionary tone of much of theimmigration debate and growing examples ofsocial injustices, participants comment on theLatino experience in terms of the politics ofinclusion/exclusion and regional citizenship. Towhat extent have Latinos been welcomed (or notwelcomed) into the American South? Whatcritique can be made of the notion of "southernhospitality" and the reluctance of many people tosee Latinos as "new southerners"? To whatextent is the South really that "new" in terms ofpublic reaction to Latino migration? Or do wesee efforts to preserve an "Old" South and


43

perpetuate long-standing patterns of regionalpower and identity?

3626 The Experiences of Immigrants andRefugees in North American Cities III:settlement experiencesThursday, 4/17/08, from 5:20 PM - 7:00 PMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupPopulation Specialty GroupCanadian Studies Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Wei Li - Arizona State UniversityCarlos Teixeira - University of British ColumbiaOkanaganChair(s):Shuguang Wang - Ryerson UniversityAbstract(s):5:20 PM Author(s): *James W. Fonseca, Ph.D -Ohio University-ZanesvilleAbstract Title: Portuguese Immigration andSettlement in New England5:40 PM Author(s): *Alan P. Marcus, ABD -University of Massachusetts, AmherstAbstract Title: Brazilian TransnationalMigration Processes and The Shaping of NewU.S. Ethnic Landscapes6:00 PM Author(s): *Monika Stodolska -University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignKimberly J Shinew - University of Illinois atUrbana-ChampaignJuan Carlos Acevedo - University of Illinois atUrbana-ChampaignAbstract Title: Factors Affecting the Quality ofLife of Latino Residents of Urban ImmigrantGateway Communities6:20 PM Author(s): *Shuguang Wang -Ryerson UniversityAbstract Title: Delineating Ethnoburbs inMetropolitan TorontoSession Description: This session series coverstheoretical underpinning and/or empiricalanalyses surrounding immigrant and refugeeexperiences in North American cities.Specifically, papers focus on the followingissues.


3631 Negotiating race at the borders ofEuropeThursday, 4/17/08, from 5:20 PM - 7:00 PMSponsorship(s):European Specialty GroupEthnic Geography Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Eileen WoodLuna VivesChair(s):Heather Merrill - Dickinson CollegeAbstract(s):5:20 PM Author(s): *Eileen Wood - Universityof MinnesotaAbstract Title: 'New' immigration and theracialized space of the nation5:40 PM Author(s): *Luna Vives - Universityof British ColumbiaAbstract Title: Ordering the "other": Spain'sethno-racial hierarchy of third countryimmigrants.6:00 PM Author(s): *Elisabeth Hicks -University of British ColombiaAbstract Title: The Ambassadors of theAlbayzin: Practical Orientalism and Immigrationin Spain6:20 PM Author(s): *Jorge Malheiros - CentroDe Estudos GeograficosAbstract Title: Second generation Luso-Africansin Lisbon: negotiating local identities in a globalcontext6:40 PM Discussant: Heather Merrill -Dickinson CollegeDiscussant(s):Heather Merrill - Dickinson CollegeSession Description: In this session we willexplore the impact of contemporary


44

non-European migration on the emergence ofracial(izing) discourses inthe peripheries of Europe. Focusing on threeborder countries inNorthern and Southern Europe (Norway, Spain,Portugal), we ask how the arrivalof postcolonial immigrant populations has(re)activated a type ofpublic discourse that establishes a close-knitrelation between raceand the national space, promoting an explicitracialization of theterritory. While the selected countries are verydisparately situatedin relation to non-European migration, theirpublic discourses aroundrace share some striking similarities.Furthermore, these countriesare not usually thought of as central to theEuropean project, and assuch the particular negotiations of race andwhiteness that occurthere have been given comparatively littleattention in academicliterature. In organizing a session on race andmigration at Europe'ssouthern and northern peripheries we seek toprovincialize theEuropean 'center' and to facilitate dialogueamong researchers workingin and on the European peripheries.

4131 Human Geographies of KatrinaFriday, 4/18/08, from 8:00 AM - 9:40 AMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Wei Li - Arizona State UniversityChristopher A. Airriess - Ball State UniversityChair(s):Christopher A. Airriess - Ball State UniversityAbstract(s):8:00 AM Author(s): *A. Case Watkins - TexasState University-San Marcos

Abstract Title: Through the Lens of Katrina: AHistorical Geography of the Social Patterns ofFlood Exposure in New Orleans, 1970-20058:20 AM Author(s): *Alyson L. Greiner -Oklahoma State UniversityThomas A. Wikle - Oklahoma State UniversityAbstract Title: A Geographical Appraisal ofVolunteer Activity after Katrina: Insights fromPass Christian, Mississippi8:40 AM Author(s): *Sarah A. Blue, Ph.D. -Northern Illinois UniversityAnita I Drever, Ph.D. - University of Tennessee,KnoxvilleAbstract Title: Arriving in New Orleans:Post-Katrina Latino Labor Recruitment9:00 AM Author(s): *Anita Drever - Universityof TennesseeSarah A. Blue, Ph.D. - University of NorthernIllinoisAbstract Title: Surviving sin papeles in postKatrina New Orleans: flexibility andvulnerability in the absence of immigrationreform9:20 AM Author(s): *Christopher A. Airriess -Department of Geography, Ball State University,Muncie, IN 37306Wei Li - Asian Pacific American Studies andSchool of Geographical Sciences, Arizona StateUniversity, Tempe, AZKaren J. Leong - Asian Pacific AmericanStudies, Arizona State University,Tempe, AZAngela C Chen - College of Nursing andHealthcare Innovation, Arizona State University,Phoenix, AZVerna M Keith - Sociology and Center forDemography and Population Health, FloridaState University,Tallahassee, FLAbstract Title: Scaling Discourse and Contestinga Post-Katrina Landfill in a New OrleansVietnamese American CommunitySession Description: The session addressesempirical and theoretical research concerning thevarious human impacts of Hurricane Katrina.The human geographies of these impacts includerace, ethnicity, migration, employment, healthcare, and politics.


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4223 The African Diaspora in the U. S. andCanada I

Friday, 4/18/08, from 10:10 AM - 11:50 AMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupAfrica Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):John Frazier - Binghamton UniversityChair(s):Joe T. Darden - Michigan State UniversityPanelist(s):Joe T. Darden - Michigan State UniversityFenda A. Akiwumi - University of South FloridaThomas D. Boswell - University of MiamiEugene Tettey-Fio - SUNY-BinghamtonTerry-Ann Jones - Department of Sociology andAnthropology Fairfield UniversityCarlos Teixeira - University of British ColumbiaOkanaganSession Description: Panlists discuss thehistorical and geographical components of theDiaspora in both nations. Immigartion andmigration processes have been of recentimportance to both. Particular places within eachnation also are discussed, including Toronto andNew York City.

4242 Author Meets the Critics: ArunSaldanha's Psychedelic White: Goa Trance andthe Viscosity of RaceFriday, 4/18/08, from 10:10 AM - 11:50 AMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupSocial and Cultural GeographySocialist and Critical Geography SpecialtyGroupOrganizer(s):Rachel SlocumSusan Smith - Durham UniversityChair(s):Susan Smith - Durham UniversityPanelist(s):David F. Ley - University of British Columbia

Bruce Braun - University of Minnesota -MinneapolisGeraldine J. Pratt - University Of BritishColumbiaAudrey L. Kobayashi - Queen's UniversityArun Saldanha - University of Minnesota -MinneapolisIntroducer(s):Vincent J. Del Casino - California StateUniversity, Long BeachMary Gilmartin - NUI MaynoothSession Description: Psychedelic White: GoaTrance and the Viscosity of Race, proposes amaterialist theory of racial embodiment andwhite tourism in the third world. ArunSaldanha's materialism is derived mainly fromDeleuze and Guattari, augmented withGoffman, Bourdieu, complexity theory andvarious feminists.

4323 The African Diaspora in the U. S. andCanada IIFriday, 4/18/08, from 12:20 PM - 2:00 PMSponsorship(s):Africa Specialty GroupEthnic Geography Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):John Frazier - Binghamton UniversityChair(s):Joe T. Darden - Michigan State UniversityPanelist(s):Lawrence Estaville - Texas State UniversityElizabeth Chacko - The George WashingtonUniversityJohn Frazier - Binghamton UniversityJoe T. Darden - Michigan State UniversityIan Yeboah - Miami UniversitySession Description: This panel discussionfollows the African Diaspora I session andfocuses on expressions of the Diaspora inparticular places. Included in the discussionare Toronto, Maine, New York City,


46

Washington, D. C., Florida, Charlotte, Detriot,and Cincinnati.

4333 Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupDistinguished Scholar Lecture: Ceri PeachFriday, 4/18/08, from 12:20 PM - 2:00 PMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Wei Li - Arizona State UniversityCarlos Teixeira - University of British ColumbiaOkanaganChair(s):Carlos Teixeira - University of British ColumbiaOkanaganGuest Speaker: Ceri PeachDiscussant(s):Ron Johnston - University of BristolDavid F. Ley - University of British ColumbiaIntroducer(s):Carlos Teixeira - University of British ColumbiaOkanagan

4440 Refuge in the City I: "Citizen-others"and Geographies of CitizenshipFriday, 4/18/08, from 2:30 PM - 4:10 PMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):D. James McLeanJulie Young - York UniversityChair(s):Julie Young - York UniversityAbstract(s):2:30 PM Author(s): *Mike Bulthuis, PhDCandidate - University of OttawaAbstract Title: Whose Refuge? Placing Youth inNarratives of Decline and Renewal2:50 PM Author(s): *Robert Lidstone - YorkUniversityAbstract Title: 'Get Thee to a Global City?'Sexual Citizenship, Migration and Refugees inToronto3:10 PM Author(s): *D. James McLean - YorkUniversity

Abstract Title: City-Places and MuslimIdentities: Second Generation Muslim Youthas 'Citizen-Other'3:30 PM Author(s): *Tatiana Matejskova -University of MinnesotaAbstract Title: Becoming Citizens inBerlin-Marzahn: /Integration /and(In)Visibility of Migrant SubjectsSession Description: Our starting point is thenotion of 'city as refuge'. We argue thatcitizenship must be understood as a socialpractice that is not limited to the formal statusof "citizen." There is a pragmatic need forcitizenship to be framed in and through all ofthe sites, places, and spaces through which'citizens' and 'citizen-others' engage, enact, andexperience identity-relations.Guided by the work of Lefebvre (1991) andBourdieu (1984) who describe the distinctionand production of difference, Mitchell (2003)on social justice and claims of 'rights to thecity,' and theories and methods attuned to thepractice(s) of everyday life (de Certeau 1988),we seek to build directly on and contribute toinnovative research in urban, identity, place,and citizenship studies that investigates thespatial practices and politics of citizenship.This session contributes to theoreticaldiscussions of identity constitution,geographies of relational identities, and the"potential geographies of our socialresponsibility"(Massey 2005, 10). We seekpapers that focus on groups that have beenconsidered as "others" within cities; these'citizen-others' have sought refuge in the cityand thereby unsettle normative efforts toclaim the city for 'mainstream' society(heteronormative, patriarchal, meritocratic,Christian, Anglo, white, European).

4508 How many Chinese in a Chinatown?:Reports from Empirical Research onOverseas Chinese SettlementFriday, 4/18/08, from 4:40 PM - 6:20 PMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty Group


47

Cultural Geography Specialty GroupAsian Geography Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Megan Dixon - University of OregonChair(s):Yu Zhou - Vassar CollegePanelist(s):Megan Dixon - University of OregonSin Yih Teo - University of British ColumbiaSerene Tan - York UniversityDeborah L. Che - Kansas State UniversityPierpaolo Mudu - Universita Di RomaGiulio Lucchini - Paris 10Session Description: The issue of overseasChinese migration is one that can intriguegeographers at many levels. This panel addressescomparative questions about the forms thatChinese overseas communities take in variedlocations, including Rome, Italy; St. Petersburg,Russia; Detroit, U.S.A.; Vancouver, Canada; andothers. The panel participants will discusssources of migration streams and their returnflow, questions of enclave formation, means ofentry into local business and economic niches,and formation of "Chinatowns." A crucial pointwill be the interaction of community forms andpractices with available resources andinfrastructure at the host site.As overseas Chinese migration increases, withthe approval of the central government,questions of consistent patterns arise; further, theincreasing influence of Chinese investmentpotential suggests specific trends in the builtenvironment in prominent cities. The panel willinvite comparison of participants' researchprojects and suggest some goals for futureresearch.

4540 Refuge in the City II: "Citizen-others"and Geographies of CitizenshipFriday, 4/18/08, from 4:40 PM - 6:20 PMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):D. James McLeanJulie Young - York University

Chair(s):D. James McLeanAbstract(s):4:40 PM Author(s): *Mary Grace Betsayda,B.A. (Hons), M.A. (Candidate) - RyersonUniversityAbstract Title: Negotiable Civitas: Brand,Clarke, and the Immigrant in the City5:00 PM Author(s): *Robert Davidson, Asst.Professor of Spanish and Catalan Studies -University of TorontoAbstract Title: Detention Hotels5:20 PM Author(s): *Lisa M Freeman -University of TorontoAbstract Title: Regulating the LiminalCitizenship of Toronto's Roomers5:40 PM Author(s): *Jennifer Ridgley, PhDCandidate - University of TorontoAbstract Title: Cities of Refuge andRegulation: The politics and practice ofmunicipal sanctuarySession Description: Our starting point is thenotion of 'city as refuge'. We argue thatcitizenship must be understood as a socialpractice that is not limited to the formal statusof "citizen." There is a pragmatic need forcitizenship to be framed in and through all ofthe sites, places, and spaces through which'citizens' and 'citizen-others' engage, enact, andexperience identity-relations.Guided by the work of Lefebvre (1991) andBourdieu (1984) who describe the distinctionand production of difference, Mitchell (2003)on social justice and claims of 'rights to thecity,' and theories and methods attuned to thepractice(s) of everyday life (de Certeau 1988),we seek to build directly on and contribute toinnovative research in urban, identity, place,and citizenship studies that investigates thespatial practices and politics of citizenship.This session contributes to theoreticaldiscussions of identity constitution,geographies of relational identities, and the"potential geographies of our socialresponsibility"(Massey 2005, 10). We seekpapers that focus on groups that have been


48

considered as "others" within cities; these'citizen-others' have sought refuge in the city andthereby unsettle normative efforts to claim thecity for 'mainstream' society (heteronormative,patriarchal, meritocratic, Christian, Anglo,white, European).

5147 Geographies of International Adoption ISaturday, 4/19/08, from 8:00 AM - 9:40 AMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupPopulation Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Alec Brownlow - DePaul UniversityChair(s):Alec Brownlow - DePaul UniversityAbstract(s):8:00 AM Author(s): *Todd Lindley - IndianaUniversityAbstract Title: Intercountry Adoption in thePhilippines and the United States: GlobalNetworks and Local Processes8:20 AM Author(s): *Shelley Grant - QueenMary College, University of LondonAbstract Title: Savings or Sales? Analysing thePerceived Political-Economies of TransnationalChild Adoption Between Families in the UK andUS8:40 AM Author(s): *Christina Low VonMayrhauser, Ph.D. - California State UniversityNorthridge Department of AnthropologyAbstract Title: Agentic Forces Shaping The Riseof the International Adoption Industry in Chinaand the United States9:00 AM Author(s): *Andréa Cardarello -Chaire MCDAbstract Title: Imposing family patterns: The"legal traffic" of children and internationaladoption in Brazil9:20 AM Discussant: Steven Holloway -University Of GeorgiaDiscussant(s):Steven Holloway - University Of GeorgiaSession Description: International, orintercountry, adoption - that is the adoption ofchildren from one nation by adopting parent(s)

of a different nation - is a phenomenon that israpidly growing both in depth (i.e., thenumber of children adopted annually) andbreadth (i.e., the number of nations involvedon both sides of the process – sending andreceiving). The movement of young children,often by the thousands annually, from –especially – the global south (e.g., Guatemala,Honduras, Ethiopia, Vietnam), newlyindustrialized countries (e.g., Central Asianstates), and emerging economic powers (i.e.,China and India) to – especially – the globalnorth (i.e., western Europe and the UnitedStates) has received little geographic inquiryor theoretical framing. Nor has the recent andstellar growth of the 'international adoptionindustry' over the last decade and a half. Theaim of this session is to begin to develop aconceptual framework through which toexplore and better understand the internationaladoption phenomenon in all of its geographiccomplexity.

5247 Geographies of InternationalAdoption IISaturday, 4/19/08, from 10:10 AM - 11:50AMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupPopulation Specialty GroupCultural Geography Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Alec Brownlow - DePaul UniversityChair(s):Todd LindleyAbstract(s):10:10 AM Author(s): *Elise Marie Prebin -Harvard Korea InstituteAbstract Title: Identity Inside Out: SouthKorea and Its Margins10:30 AM Author(s): *Alix L Little, MACandidate - University of VictoriaAbstract Title: Adoptive Parents and theCreation of Social Networks, Belonging, andCultural Identity in British Columbia


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10:50 AM Author(s): *Linda J Seligmann, Prof- George Mason UniversityAbstract Title: Place-Making and IdentityFormation in Transnational and TransracialAdoption11:10 AM Author(s): *Lynn Horridge, PhDCandidate, Anthropology - City University ofNew York Graduate CenterAbstract Title: Family and Insecure Spaces:Queer Parents and the Adoption ofNon-Biological Children from Guatemala andthe United States11:30 AM Discussant: Caroline Nagel -University of South CarolinaDiscussant(s):Caroline Nagel - University of South CarolinaSession Description: International, orintercountry, adoption - that is the adoption ofchildren from one nation by adopting parent(s)of a different nation - is a phenomenon that israpidly growing both in depth (i.e., the numberof children adopted annually) and breadth (i.e.,the number of nations involved on both sides ofthe process - sending and receiving). Themovement of young children, often by thethousands annually, from – especially – theglobal south (e.g., Guatemala, Honduras,Ethiopia, Vietnam), newly industrializedcountries (e.g., Central Asian states), andemerging economic powers (i.e., China andIndia) to – especially – the global north (i.e.,western Europe and the United States) hasreceived little geographic inquiry or theoreticalframing. Nor has the recent and stellar growth ofthe 'international adoption industry' over the lastdecade and a half. The aim of this session is tobegin to develop a conceptual frameworkthrough which to explore and better understandthe international adoption phenomenon in all ofits geographic complexity.

5447 Geographies of International AdoptionSaturday, 4/19/08, from 2:20 PM - 4:00 PMSponsorship(s):Ethnic Geography Specialty GroupPopulation Specialty Group

Organizer(s):Alec Brownlow - DePaul UniversityChair(s):Alec Brownlow - DePaul UniversityPanelist(s):Lynn Horridge - City University of New YorkGraduate CenterTodd LindleyLinda J Seligmann - George Mason UniversityChristina Von Mayrhauser - California StateUniversity Northridge Department ofAnthropologyElise Prebin - Harvard Korea InstituteAndréa Cardarello - Chaire MCDShelley Grant - Queen Mary College,University of LondonLeslie WangDiscussant(s):Minelle MahtaniIntroducer(s):Alec Brownlow - DePaul University

Information About the Editors:

Thomas D. BoswellDepartment of Geography & Regional

StudiesUniversity of Miami

Coral Gables, Florida 33124-2221(305) 284-6694

[email protected]

Terry-Ann JonesDepartment of Sociology &

AnthropologyFairfield University

Fairfield, Connecticut(207) 502-1007

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

ethnic geography specialty group new sletter volume 14 ... · 14.05.2016 · ethnic geography...

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