Monday 27 August 2012

Immigration settles on settlement book

A new publication has been launched in Canberra by the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Senator Kate Lundy to help new migrants build their new lives in Australia.
 
Senator Lundy said The Settlement Journey: Strengthening Australia through migration outlined the Government’s settlement policy and a suite of services available to new migrants.

“The Australian Government’s settlement policy is calibrated to capitalise on the economic, social, and humanitarian benefits of migration services so that new migrants can flourish and Australia can prosper,” Senator Lundy said.

“Australia’s settlement services aim to address the needs of new arrivals to help them develop the knowledge and skills they need to become full participants in Australian society.”

She said the settlement journey was a shared experience for many Australians and the new publication highlighted the importance of government and settlement services working effectively together to strengthen settlement outcomes.
 
“Australia’s settlement policy is an important element of the government’s vision of a socially inclusive society in which all Australians are valued and have the opportunity to participate fully,” Senator Lundy said.
 
“Migrants and refugees contribute to Australia’s prosperity and success through their ingenuity, drive and determination and our settlement services are an investment in Australia’s future.”
 
The Minister said the new settlement publication outlined key principles such as providing support based on needs and maximising opportunities for new arrivals.
 
She said it would be distributed to libraries, migrant resource centres, councils and other community organisations.

Thursday 23 August 2012

Recruitment days to highlight vacancies

Aberdeenshire Council is holding a number of recruitment days across the area, including Banchory, to help attract local people to fill frontline posts and highlight a range of career opportunities across council services.
Inverurie and Stonehaven will hold mini-recruitment days aimed at increasing the number of homecarers in Aberdeenshire, with career opportunities currently available in Inverurie, Ellon, Huntly, Westhill, Deeside, Stonehaven, Aboyne, Laurencekirk, Peterhead, Fraserburgh, Mintlaw and elsewhere. 

Homecare staff will be on hand to help with any queries.

Banchory will host a corporate recruitment day, with vacancies available across a range of services such as homecarers, school crossing patrollers, cleaners, catering assistants, school caretakers, waste operatives, landscape operatives and road workers.

The event will give local residents with an interest in working for Aberdeenshire Council the opportunity to find out about the jobs on offer and have an informal discussion with representatives from services as well as HR.
Leader of Aberdeenshire Council, Councillor Jim Gifford, said: “The council hopes to make applying for jobs easier and more accessible at a local level. 

“These events will help to raise the profile of the council as an employer of choice as well as a provider of services in the area.”

Deputy Leader, Councillor Martin Kitts-Hayes, said: “These events are good news, both for the council and for local residents, in the current economic climate. 

“It is vitally important to get the right people for the right roles in order to enable Aberdeenshire Council to continue providing the best services it can, and these recruitment days allow residents to find out in detail about the jobs available, what they involve and the skills required.”

Independents’ Co-ordinator Councillor Norman Smith said: “Frontline services are the lifeblood of the council and it would be great to see a really positive response from the community to these recruitment days.”

Events will be held at:The Kintore Arms, Inverurie on Friday, August 31, 10am to 4pm; Stonehaven Town Hall on Thursday, September 6, 10am to 4pm and Banchory Town Hall on Thursday, September 13, 9am to 4pm.

To find out more about the latest job vacancies at Aberdeenshire Council, visit www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/vacancies/index.asp

Tuesday 14 August 2012

DHS launches new immigration program

The Obama administration on Tuesday directed young illegal immigrants to fill out new forms and pay $465 if they want to apply under a new program that would let them avoid deportation and obtain a U.S. work permit.

The government renewed warnings that the process wouldn't lead to citizenship or give them permission to travel internationally. It will begin accepting immigrants' applications Wednesday.

The paperwork for the program, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, can be downloaded from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, said the agency's director, Alejandro Mayorkas. Applicants must pay a $465 fee and provide proof of identity and eligibility.

Under guidelines that the administration announced Tuesday, the agency said proof of identity and eligibility under the program could include a passport or birth certificate, school transcripts, medical and financial records and military service records. DHS said that in some instances, multiple sworn affidavits, signed by a third party under penalty of perjury, could also be used.

With the start of the program nearing, immigrants have been working on getting their paperwork in order. Tuesday morning, 23-year-old Evelyn Medina, from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, was in line at that country's consulate in Washington about 6:30 a.m. to secure a passport. With her passport in hand, Medina was all smiles as she walked out of the building just before 2 p.m., saying "finally" as she clutched the document.
Medina said she has been in the United States for about 10 years and is currently a student at a Maryland college, hoping to eventually earn a master's degree and become a social worker.

She wasn't alone. Leonardo Irias Navas, head of the consular section at the Embassy of Honduras, said the number of people applying for passports has more than doubled in the last week.

A decision on each application could take several months, and immigrants have been warned not to leave the country while their application is pending. If they are allowed to stay in the United States and want to travel internationally, they will need to apply for permission to come back into the country, a request that would cost $360 more.

The administration announced the plan in June to stop deporting many illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. To be eligible, immigrants must prove they arrived in the United States before they turned 16, are 30 or younger, have been living here at least five years, and are in school or graduated or served in the military. They also cannot have been convicted of certain crimes or otherwise pose a safety threat.

Mayorkas said being approved to avoid deportation "does not provide lawful status or a path to citizenship."
The announcement came just months before what is shaping up to be a tight contest for the White House. President Barack Obama has come under fire by Hispanic voters and others who have say he hasn't fulfilled a previous campaign promise to reform the nation's immigration laws. The policy change could stop deportations for more than a million young illegal immigrants who would have qualified for the failed DREAM Act, which Obama has supported in the past.

Critics of the program, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, have called the policy backdoor amnesty and say they worry about fraud.

"While potentially millions of illegal immigrants will be permitted to compete with American workers for scarce jobs, there seems to be little if any mechanism in place for vetting fraudulent applications and documentation submitted by illegal immigrants," Smith said Tuesday.

DHS said anyone found to have committed fraud will be referred to federal immigration agents.
The Migration Policy Institute estimated last week that as many as 1.7 million people could be eligible to stay in the U.S. and legally work under the new policy.

DHS officials have repeatedly said the department doesn't have an estimate on how many people may apply. In an internal document outlining the program's implementation officials estimated about 1.04 million people would apply in the first year, and about 890,000 would be eligible.

The document, obtained by The Associated Press, estimated that the program could cost between $467.7 million and $585.4 million. The department anticipated collecting about $484.2 million in fees.

Monday 13 August 2012

Asylum seekers: what other countries do

There are 144 states that are signatories to the 1951 Refugee Convention and 145 to the 1967 Protocol, which extended the scope of the Convention. 

So how does Australia's asylum policies compare to other countries? Here is a brief rundown of the policies in some countries: 

United States 

Number of applications in 2011: 74,020 

Application: The US has been the top receiving country for asylum seekers in the past five years. Applicants have to apply for asylum within one year of arriving in the United States under the "Affirmative Asylum Process". They can also apply for "Defensive Asylum Processing" against being removed from the US. Once the application form is received by the US Citizenship and migration Services (USCIS), asylum seekers will receive and receipt and be asked to visit their nearest Application Service Centre for fingerprinting. 

Waiting period: An interview notice is then sent to the asylum seeker within 21 days after the application is received by the USCIS. Interviews for applications are required to take place within 45 days from the date they are filed. A decision on the case has to be made within 180 days of the application being filed. An asylum officer reviews the applicant's case and their decision is further reviewed by a supervisor. Added reviews may be undertaken by other senior staff. Most applicants should expect to receive a decision on their case within 60 days of submitting their form. According to the USCIS, applicants are "rarely detained" by the immigration service, but are mostly not allowed to work. 

If the application is rejected: If the application is not approved by the USCIS, the asylum seeker starts undergoing removal proceedings as the case is referred to an immigration judge for review. If the application is rejected after the review, the asylum seeker is sent a "Notice of Intent to Deny" and is given 16 days to respond to the court. A final denial is then issued if no new evidence is submitted and the applicant is removed from the US. 

United Kingdom 

Number of applications in 2011: 25,420 

Application: Asylum seekers who submit an application are assigned a "case owner". Their application is expected to be completed within six months, by which time the asylum seeker will be allowed to stay in the UK or returned home voluntarily or forcibly. 

Waiting period: The UK hosts an asylum seeking unit in Croydon. Asylum seekers who make their claim there will be "screened". The asylum seeker's biometrics are recorded, a series of question have to be answered and the case owner retains identity papers until the application is accepted or rejected. While asylum seekers wait for their applications to be processed, they have supply their residential addresses and could be eligible for housing and living support. 

If the application is rejected: Asylum seekers who are denied refugee status may be detained at centres prior to their removal. Failed asylum seekers can appeal to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. Children have not been detained at these centres since May 2011 following a change in government policy. But the UK's Refugee Council said child asylum seekers continue to be detained as they are wrongly classified as adults, The Observer newspaper reported in May. 

Canada 

Number of applications in 2011: 25,350 

Application: Asylum seeker applications are made via an immigration officer at a port of entry or at an immigration centre. Claims that are deemed to be eligible are then referred to the Refugee Protection Division under the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada. 

Waiting period: Asylum seekers' cases are heard before the IRB. Priority is given to unaccompanied minors, people who have been detained, those who are a danger to public health or safety, and others. According to the board, some cases are decided within six months, while more complex cases have a longer processing period. Some asylum seekers are detained. The decision is made by the Canada Border Services Agency and is made if the asylum seeker is deemed to be unlikely to appear for a hearing or for deportation, is considered a danger to the public, is unable to identify him or herself sufficiently to authorities. The detained person is brought within 48 hours to the Immigration Division for review. If the detention is extended, there is another review within seven days. Reviews are then conducted every 30 days after that. 

If the application is rejected: If a "removal order" is issued, the asylum seeker has to apply for a certificate of departure and leave Canada within 30 days. Some asylum seekers are also banned from returning to Canada for one or two years. Others are deported and not allowed to set foot in Canada again without written permission. Appeals against the "removal order" can be made to the Immigration Appeal Division under the IRB. 

Denmark 

Number of applications in 2011: 3810 

Application: In the Scandinavian country, people who enter Denmark and apply for asylum are called "spontaneous asylum seekers". They are required to contact the police's National Aliens Division, who will fingerprint and photograph them. 

Waiting period: The asylum seekers are assigned to an accommodation centre, most of which are run by the Danish Red Cross. Some asylum seekers are also allowed to reside in private accommodation. 

If the application is rejected: Cases that are found to be "manifestly unfounded" by the Immigration Service are referred to the Danish Refugee Council for assessment. If the council disagrees with the Immigration Service's ruling, the applicant's case is referred to the Refugee Appeals Board for a final ruling. Asylum seekers who are rejected are given seven days to leave Denmark voluntarily or forcibly. They can be banned from entering Denmark for two years if they do not leave voluntarily. 

Signatories to the Refugee Convention and/or the Protocol are expected to adhere to the principle of non-refoulement, where a person is not allowed to be returned to a country if their safety or security is threatened, even if their asylum seeker application is rejected. 

(Information was collated from websites of the UK Border Agency, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Danish Immigration Service and the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.)
Further reading: Reader on international asylum and refugee law The 1951 Refugee Convention The 1967 Protocol List of signatories to the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol UNHCR - data on asylum levels and trends for 2011 Australia's asylum policy via the Department of Immigration 

Thursday 9 August 2012

Russia fears Chinese immigration threatens its Far East

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev raised alarm Thursday over immigration to the remote Far East from giant neighbors such as China, saying the region risked falling into foreign hands.

“The objective of defending our Far Eastern territory from an excessive expansion of citizen from neighboring countries remains,” Medvedev told ministers in comments posted on the government’s website.

“The Far East really is far away. Not too many people live there, unfortunately.”

Russian officials and regional governors have long expressed fears that a population drain in the Far East following the collapse of the Soviet Union could see the region one day fall under Chinese control.

This concern and tough government policies against immigrants have resulted in ethnic conflicts in hubs such as the port city of Vladivostok.

Medvedev, President Vladimir Putin’s predecessor and current premier, appeared to be referring to those tensions by urging officials to break up the enclaves of foreigners he said are fast forming in the region.

“It is important to avoid negative manifestations of all types. These include the creation of foreign citizen enclaves,” he said. “This is a negative development.”

Russia is hoping the region will get a long-term economic boost thanks to billions of dollars spent on basic infrastructure for September’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit outside Vladivostok.

The city’s population is estimated to have fallen by about 50,000 since 1991, to just under 600,000 residents in 2010.

Russia’s migration service does not report foreign worker numbers in the region.

But local officials and media reports often say the region faces a looming threat from a Chinese population that outnumbers Russians along the Far East border by a factor of more than 10.

Medvedev said eight million foreigners had arrived in Russia in the first half of the year alone and that 10 million migrants were now working in the country.

“We mostly get the poorly qualified workers who can barely express themselves in Russian,” said Medvedev. “We have lots of very serious work to do in this respect.”

Wednesday 8 August 2012

Migration institute adds 360,000 to estimate of those eligible for deferred deportation

About 350,000 more illegal immigrants than previously thought could earn an extra two years in the U.S. when President Barack Obama’s new policy takes effect next week, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

Under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, students age 30 or younger who are enrolled in school on the day they apply will now be eligible for a two-year reprieve from deportation if they demonstrate that they came to the U.S. before their 16th birthday; lived there for the past five years; and have not been convicted of certain crimes or pose a national security threat.

Before the new rule was announced last week, the program was slated to be open to students enrolled in school as of June 15, 2012, or those who have graduated high school, received a GED or honorably left the armed services, including the Coast Guard.

Obama’s policy takes effect Aug. 15, and the government will begin accepting applications for deferral that same day. The application includes a fee of $465 used to fund the program, though exemptions will be provided for minors, homeless youth and youth with chronic disabilities that fall below 150 percent of the U.S. poverty level.

Applicants who are denied deferral will not have the option to appeal. Those approved will be able to separately apply for work authorization in the U.S.

The institute estimated in June that 1.4 million unauthorized immigrants could benefit from the program. Those estimates only included students who were enrolled in school as of that date. Speaking Tuesday at a panel at the Carnegie Institution for Science, Doris Meissner, Director of the institute’s U.S. Immigration Policy Program, said as many as 1.76 million people could be eligible, based on new guidance the Homeland Security Department released Friday.

Jeanne Batalova, an author of the report, said the program is “a powerful incentive to go back to school” for young people who previously were not continuing their education.

Alejandro Mayorkas, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, emphasized that the program only serves to delay deportation for successful applicants, without excusing “past unlawful presence.”
“It does not provide a pathway to permanent residence or citizenship,” Mayorkas said.

The Homeland Security Department previously said that it could need to hire more than 1,400 full-time employees, as well as contractors, to handle the requests coming in. Mayorkas said both the number of applications and the pace at which they come in will determine how long it takes service centers throughout the U.S. to process them.

“In other words, will the agency experience a steady flow of volume from August 15th forward,” Mayorkas said. “Will people who wish to request deferred action, will they file very quickly,” or will they wait to see the outcome for other applicants.

Muzaffar Chishti, director of the institute’s office at New York University’s School of Law, said applicants’ early reaction to the program and confidentiality for them, their families and their employers would be “very critical” for building confidence among potential beneficiaries.