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French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy called for a special Ministry of Immigration to be set up as he pledged to pursue a tough line on illegal arrivals.
Sarkozy, the likely right-wing candidate in next year's presidential election, has made a name for himself as a law-and-order hardliner and underlined his approach in a review of immigration policy this week.
Prime Minister John Howard is feeling pressured to explain the new Australian citizenship exams proposed by his government. Of current concern is how a potential citizen's "mateship" will be tested.
Mr. Howard has refused to say how he would assess migrants' knowledge of mateship, which he insisted was an Australian concept of "everybody pulling together..."
Improvements to the delivery of the Foreign Worker Program in Ontario were announced on 08 December by Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Canada, and Michael Colle, Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. A Regional List of Occupations Under Pressure for Ontario will make the process easier, faster, and less expensive for Canadian employers in the province to hire foreign workers where there are no qualified Canadian citizens or permanent residents available to fill the position.
Setting a significant precedent by an over-whelming 8-1 vote, the United States Supreme Court last week ruled strongly in favor of an immigrant's right not to be deported when charged with minor crimes.
Palestinians are increasingly leaving their home to live abroad in such places as Canada and Cuba. Factories are closing down, mostly because of increasing violence and economic uncertainty. 20 factories have relocated out of Gaza in recent months, about the same as in the previous six years, taking 12% of already scarce jobs with them.