Immigration news

Two of the United States Senate's most important politicians have urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to pass immigration reform legislation. Their Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act (SAOIA) was introduced in the Senate earlier this year. The bill has remained under Senate Judiciary Committee consideration since early May. Another version of SAOIA is also under consideration in the House of Representatives.

Women of "marriageable age" are moving to New Zealand at rates of up to one-third higher than men. A new study has found that New Zealand has a higher ratio of women to men in the peak childbearing ages of 30 to 34 than any other industrialised country, with 9 per cent more women than men. The surplus of women is as high as 32 per cent among Asian women aged 30 to 34, and even higher among certain Asian nationalities such as Thais and Filipinos.

The number of Australia's skilled workers has increased by almost 78,000 in the past year in an effort to solve the country's skills shortage. This is the largest intake of skilled migrants since the late 1980s.

A total of 18,700 migrants took advantage of the state-specific and regional migration program, with 7,100 settling in Victoria and almost 5,000 calling South Australia home - an increase of almost 140 per cent in SA on 2003-04 figures.

A published report says that US President George Bush will attempt to gain Hispanic voters for the 2006 elections by "relaxing immigration policies."

Strategists told the Los Angeles Times that the plan will attempt to bring Hispanic businesses and immigration advocates into the Republican party, while marginalizing hard-liners in the party.

The Americans for Border and Economic Security is a public relations campaign led by former Republican National Committee chairman turned lobbyist Ed Gillespie and former Democratic Congressman Cal Dooley and former Republican Congressman Dick Armey.

A report released on 25 July found that immigrants are not swamping the U.S. health care system and use it far less than native-born Americans. The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, found that immigrants accounted for 10.4 percent of the U.S. population but only 7.9 percent of total health spending and 8 percent of government health spending.

The latest Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill released by the UK Home Office has potential negative consequences, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants announced last week.

The Bill proposes to remove the rights of work permit holders, among others, to appeal. This will apply to those who apply from within the UK and outside the UK. It would also affect foreign students in the UK. It is unclear at present whether the Secretary of State will introduce new appeal rights for certain persons.