Friday, 29 March 2024 11:35

While the debate over immigration reform often appears to revolve around politics, the root of the issue is economics.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As congressional Republicans weigh whether to file a lawsuit against President Barack Obama for his executive actions on immigration, 60% of Americans say they are dissatisfied with the level of immigration into the country today.

Thursday, 29 January 2015 11:47

Demographics Rule Europe’s Likely Future

Without immigration, Europe’s population would be plummeting because Europeans, by and large, have stopped procreating.

The Obama administration has ordered immigration agents to ask immigrants they encounter living in the country illegally whether they might qualify under President Obama's plans to avoid deporting them, according to internal training materials obtained by The Associated Press.

Thursday, 29 January 2015 11:44

Gallup -IOM Poll: How the world sees migration

Switzerland - "How the World Views Migration," a report the IOM will publish in spring, provides interesting information on the behavior of the general public vis-à-vis migration across the world.

The election in Greece has jolted Europe’s political landscape: as a response to years of vicious austerity measures, the decisive victory of the radical left party Syriza has shaken up a country and a region long mired in economic and social despair.

Members of the public, lawyers, and showbiz celebs in Vietnam have frowned on the national performing department’s proposal to ban models and beauties who have competed in other countries without seeking prior permission from going abroad.

Recent federal policies to limit deportations and state programs to expand financial aid have benefited college students who entered the country illegally, but those young people still face emotional, educational and money problems, according to a new national study by UCLA researchers.

Decision 'inconsistent' with intention of international law, according to Human Rights Watch.

Thursday, 29 January 2015 11:24

Cameron admits failure to control immigration

The Prime Minister has admitted that the issue of immigration, which for years all political parties bar UKIP avoided speaking about, has not been “controlled properly”.

WASHINGTON—The Justice Department has a special date reserved for thousands of immigrants awaiting their day in court: the day after Thanksgiving in 2019.

The former NDP candidate Samira Laouni pleaded in committee Wednesday for a more positive representation of Muslims in the Quebec news media. An idea supported by the Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil.

Amsterdam — Something snapped. I was 13 years old, dreaming of books and girls and nothing else — a healthy Dutch kid with a Moroccan background who freewheeled through life. Then something happened that made me feel different from the pack.

Wednesday, 28 January 2015 13:13

UK Jews and Muslims team up against hate

As religious tensions escalate in Europe, Muslims and Jews in North London band together to negate hate.

We call them asylum seekers, refugees, migrants. They come from various countries and have lived through different experiences but all look for the same: a peaceful life.

HAVANA — President Obama’s opening to Cuba has accelerated a surge in Cuban migration to the United States, the latest U.S. statistics show, as many on the island grow worried that America’s long-standing immigration benefits for Cubans are now in jeopardy.

House Republicans are weighing a possible lawsuit against President Obama over his executive actions on immigration, in what could be another legal standoff with the administration.

A powerful face off was hosted by the Commission on political issues and democracy in the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg, between Moroccan researcher in sociology Driss Ajbali and French journalist Caroline Fourest, who had previously collaborated with satirical weekly ' Charlie Hebdo'. While Carolyn tried to come up with justifications for the editorial line taken by ' Charlie Hebdo , and the fact that freedom of expression has no limits even when it comes to religions, prophets, the Moroccan researcher took to defend Islam and Muslims in France who found themselves, suddenly, condemned.

French paradox

In his address before the members of the Council of Europe, Driss Ajbali, who is also a member of the CCME, highlighted what he called " the French paradox in dealing with Muslims after the Charlie Hebdo events," On one hand, France is talking about the concept of citizenship, and that all citizens are equal before the State which does not exercise any bias  towards them because of their religion, but on the other hand, after the Charlie Hebdo events, there were increased calls for Muslims to condemn the incident, as if they were a distinct group, not like the rest of the French people” . said Ajbali

He also warned from being misled by an emotional speech, "Because we are faced with a big event which hindered the concepts of freedom of expression and co-existence, the discussion of these concepts should not involve an emotional speech," says the researcher before calling on all members of the European Council to consider the dimensions of "the events of Charlie Hebdo" in lieu of indictment of Islam or Muslims .. "These are not terrorists, but lately, it has been so that most terrorists claim to be Muslims, thus the confusion among European societies."

Ajbali further expressed his surprise at the fact that the whole world came together to condemn what happened in France offset by the absence of this solidarity in the year 2005, which was marked by confrontations in the Parisian suburbs, among the population, the majority of Muslims in France, and the security forces .. reminding that in those events, more than 9,000 cars were burned and fire was set even in kindergartens .. "It was not the same reaction because some people considered that the problem concerned the Muslims alone,"

"European Islams"

After distancing himself from the emotional rhetoric to deal with the "Paris events", the Moroccan researcher went on to dissect the status of Islam in Europe generally, and in France in particular. Ajbali believes that there is no "one Islam" in Europe, but "multiple Islams" .. And he explained this saying: "Islam is not the same Islam in France, Belgium, or Spain ". In contrast, he believes we should talk more about Muslims in Europe rather than a  European Islam, because there are" multiple Islams "taking place in the old continent.

However, common denominators exist amid all of this, as identified by Driss Ajbali in five. The first is that Islam in Europe is "the Islam of the poor, on the grounds that it remained present in European societies because of poor Muslim workers", while the second common denominator is reflected in the "Islam is uncultured" because it isn’t framed with a true theological science, and the third denominator looms between each of Europe’s Islams considering that in a European country, you'll find the Turkish Islam and the Moroccan and Algerian Islams and even the Iranian Islam.

As to the fourth common denominator that brings together all the "Islams of European countries," it waves from the fact that "Islam is still urban", ie it is in the cities and suburbs and is completely absent from the European villages, while the last common denominator is the «Islam of municipalities "that makes each municipality or city practice its own version of Islam.. To put it all in a nutshell, Ajbali believes that Islam in Europe cannot be molded into one frame and that we can’t make a final judgment on it because it’s originally varied and therefore, any judgment made about Islam must remain relative.

Historic opportunity for Islam

As he has spent several decades in Europe, Driss Ajbali stressed that "this is the first time in the history of Islam in which it’s faced with a set of concepts like secularism, freedom and democracy…It’s a historic opportunity for Islam in order to think of all these concepts because the spirit of this religion can be compatible with all of these universal principles ".. Ajbali calls the Muslims of Europe, to think about the future of Islam and its development, adding:" If we do not do this it will leave Islam in the hands of terrorists who want to monopolize religion. "

He also hold European officials responsible for imposing on the Muslims, people who do not represent them, just as they do not represent even the Islamic religion .. He advanced the ideals of Imam Hassan Chalghoumi, President of the Forum leaders of France, known as controversial to the point of making him undesirable in the sphere of Muslim scholars, however, the French government is still determined to assume he’s a representative of the Muslims of France.. "This insistence makes Muslims feel cheated, because they have no one to talk on their behalf openly,".

Numeric Islam

Driss Ajbali stresses the importance to conduct a pedagogical work together with children and young people to learn about the principles of true Islam.. "We have become a numeric Islam, and the Imam is nowadays Google" says Ajbali to express the way most of the young people become acquainted to Islam and its teachings.. He then goes on saying: «European countries must rely on its Muslims, if they don’t integrate successful models of Muslims in Europe, but also make them leaders, they will find themselves forced to fight drug dealers  ... It’s politics based on pedagogical work and follow-up and integration in the community so that mental delusion does not stay fresh in the minds of the Muslim European Youth ".

Absolute freedom.. But

French journalist Caroline Fourest poured her anger on the American and British media, criticizing their decision not to republish Charlie Hebdo’s caricatures, offensive to the Prophet of Islam .. Caroline considered that "This is shameful for the Western media."

She added saying that: "Freedom of expression is absolute and cannot be restricted under any pretext," but she backed away from this saying when talking about the case of French humorist Dieudonné as she approved his judicial trial for mocking Jews and the "Holocaust." "I am with the prosecution in the case of Dieudonné because he made fun of Jews but he denied the Holocaust," as she puts it...

This article was originally published in Hespress in Arabic.

The Ministry of Interior of Algeria and the Moroccan Consulate in Algiers deny any change in the issuing of residence cards.

The activities of the Spanish-Moroccan Cultural Day started on Tuesday in Madrid on the theme "a vision from both sides."

Belgian Muslim organizations signatory of the declaration "against radicalization and for citizenship" will soon meet to set a list of actions, said on Tuesday El Hajjaji Hajib, spokesman of the initiative and also Vice President of the Collectif against Islamophobia in Belgium.

Nearly a quarter of a million undocumented undergraduates, who largely come from low-income families and work their way through college, are experiencing unique challenges and high levels of stress as they struggle to succeed in higher education, according to a UCLA study.

Puerto Rico governer Alejandro Garcia Padilla has announced plans for legislation that would grant the right to vote to all of its estimated 200,000-400,000 undocumented immigrants. The statements came at a recent public meeting with the president of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina, during which the two politicians signed various agreements to tackle economics, education, security, and environmental issues together.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that Tennessee and Nevada have officially joined the multi-state coalition led by Texas to block President Barack Obama’s recent executive action on immigration according to a news release sent out Monday.

The total number of immigration offenders (IOs) arrested by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) of Singapore decreased 19 percent on-year in 2014, ICA said in its annual report on Tuesday.

Belgian-Moroccan Zakia Khattabi is well positioned to take the co-chairmanship of the Belgian Green Party "Ecolo". She currently officiates as advisor to the Brussels municipality of Ixelles and MP, and together with the Walloon Patrick Dupriez, they are the only duo in the running to take the reins of the party.

Morocco's ambassador in Lisbon, Karima Benyaich, met Saturday in Faro, members of the Moroccan community in the Algarve (south), with the aim to develop close relationships with Moroccans living in this region.

At only 31-year-old, Chokri Moussaoui managed to get his name propelled in the world of cleantech. Originally from the region of Al Hoceima and graduate of Delft University of Technology (the Netherlands), he co-founded with his classmate Stefan Roest, the company Eternal Sun which will revolutionize the solar industry in the world.

Rokan Mondal, who says he spent six months walking from his native Bangladesh to Greece in 2008, believes Alexis Tspiras will ensure that he doesn’t have to go back.

DRESDEN, Germany — German leaders are struggling with how, and how much, to engage with supporters of a protest movement formed around fears of an “Islamization” of their country.

Quebec is preparing for a major reform of its immigration policy, with proposed changes partly inspired by Ottawa, says the province's immigration minister.

What does the Japanese media have to say about the recent events in France? Do you want straight news, analysis or opinion editorials? The weeklies have got something for everyone.

WASHINGTON, January 24 (Sputnik) — Mayors of over 30 American cities, including Bill de Blasio of New York and Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles intend to submit an amicus brief in the lawsuit filed by 24 states challenging US President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration, to show support of the presidential plan, New York City Mayor’s Office said in a statement Friday.

Hundreds of Moroccan immigrants in Spain, who work in agriculture, took to the street to protest various forms of exploitation in an event organized by the Union of Spanish Workers' Commissions, one of the largest unions in Spain.

The Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) organizes this Monday, January 26, 2015 in Strasbourg, a parliamentary hearing entitled "Terrorist attacks in Paris: together for a democratic response" .

A new collective work entitled "Brussels, the Moroccan,"  by its author Adnan Taha, has just been published by Editions Fennec (Casablanca 2015), with support from the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME) and the Moroccan ministry of culture.

With support from the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME), the Farhat Doukkala troupe guided by the Moroccan choreographer Lahcen Zinoun will be having this upcoming Sunday January 25, a showcase in Amsterdam.

This month, after attackers killed four people in a kosher supermarket in Paris, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on French Jews to immigrate to Israel. More than 6,000 already had last year through November — a greater number than in the three previous years combined.

Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on Thursday the risk of acts of terrorism from illegal immigration to Italy was high amid reports that several suspected foreign nationals have been expelled from the country in recent days.

Quebec’s minister of immigration, diversity and inclusiveness says her government is still mulling over how to confront religious radicalism in the province, but that Quebecers can expect an announcement in the coming week.

WASHINGTON(AP) — The House is moving toward a vote on a bill aimed at securing the border with Mexico as majority Republicans try to show they can chart their own course on immigration, not just oppose President Obama's.

The boss of Western Union says it's much harder being an immigrant in Europe than in the U.S.

Quebec’s minister of immigration, diversity and inclusiveness says her government is still mulling over how to confront religious radicalism in the province, but that Quebecers can expect an announcement in the coming week.

Technology companies, industry groups, and trade associations are enthusiastically supporting a new Senate bill that would make it easier for foreign nationals working in the technology sector to stay and work in the United States.

Sokoto — Sokoto State Comptroller of Immigration Service, Alhaji Yunusa Aliyu, yesterday warned foreigners in the state to steer clear of Nigerian politics.

The Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME) and the Department of African integration and Ivoirians Abroad are determined to strengthen their cooperation in Diaspora management.

The House of Representatives passed by a majority, on Wednesday at a plenary session, a bill relating to assets and cash held abroad by the MRE transferring their residence to Morocco.

The office installed in the British Embassy in Cairo for the registration operation on the electoral lists was highly attended by members of the Moroccan community in Egypt since the operation began last December.

The leader of the fast-growing German anti-Muslim movement PEGIDA has resigned after a photo of him posing as Hitler, as well as reports that he called refugees "scumbags", prompted prosecutors to investigate him for inciting hatred.

Germany’s latest immigration statistics show 1.23 million persons moved to Germany in 2013, a rate the country has not seen since 1993, causing Social Democrats and Greens to call for better regulation of immigration. EurActiv Germany reports.

In the first round of historic talks between the two countries, the US vowed to continue giving Cubans safe haven, despite Cuba's objections.

Wednesday, 21 January 2015 12:12

How has press coverage of immigration changed?

The way the UK media reported the immigration debate has shifted over time and is becoming increasingly “dehumanised”.

Scattered reports that Islamic State group sympathizer Amedy Coulibaly spent time in Madrid with wife and purported accomplice Hayat Boumeddiene just days prior to his deadly assault on a Paris kosher supermarket this month have raised new questions regarding Spain’s anti-terror efforts. The nation devoted massive resources to combat radical elements after the 2004 Madrid train bombings that left nearly 200 people dead, and it has largely avoided the rash of “lone wolf” attacks that have plagued Western Europe in recent years.

Tunis, — Some 814 illegal immigration attempts by sea were thwarted by the border police last year, the Interior Ministry announced, Tuesday, in a statement.

Wednesday, 21 January 2015 12:04

Hungary wants strict EU policy on immigration

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's government spokesman says the European Union should adopt strict rules regarding immigration and that asylum seekers should return to their countries of origin after the crises there have passed.

TV show set in 2062 presents Africa as an oasis which desperate Europeans are risking their lives to reach.

Through continuous intelligence collection and exchange, the above-mentioned authorities detected an active cross-boundary human smuggling syndicate that specialized in arranging for Vietnamese nationals to seek illegal entry into Hong Kong via the land border.

President Obama delivered his 6th State of the Union address in front of a new GOP dominated Congress. Here are 3 big take aways.

It was put on hold since the end of 2011. 10% of investment subsidies offered in four sectors. Only 19 projects were funded in the first version.

His Majesty King Mohammed VI, accompanied by HRH Prince Moulay Rachid and the president of the Republic of Ivory Coast His Excellency Mr. Hassan Dramane Ouattara, presided Tuesday at the Royal Palace of Marrakech, the signing ceremony of several bilateral cooperation agreements in various fields.

Tuesday, 20 January 2015 17:42

France: Islamophobic acts up by 110%

According to the National Observatory against Islamophobia, “One hundred and sixteen anti-Muslim acts were recorded in France since the Paris attacks that took place between 7 to 9 January, 110% higher than those reported for the entire month of January 2014".

Tuesday, 20 January 2015 12:24

Sweden by far EU's most pro-immigrant nation

Swedes are much more positive towards immigration than the citizens of any other country in the European Union, according to figures from the latest Eurobarometer survey.

Matteo Renzi says defensive attitude in debate about freedom of movement opens the door to right-wing nationalism.

Swiss attempts to limit EU immigration may succeed but, as UK Eurosceptics should note, reneging on a bargain can bring dire consequences.

Around 150 demonstrators gathered in central Budapest on Monday to protest against recent remarks about economic migrants made by Hungary’s prime minister.

Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right National Front, ended two weeks of restraint on the terror attacks that left 17 people dead in Paris as she lashed out at the government and political establishment for “20 years of mistakes” on immigration and Europe.

A new survey has revealed that the number of Britons claiming benefits across European Union countries currently outweighs the number of immigrants from those respective countries that are receiving welfare in the UK - a stark contrast to government figures.

Immigration issues will be on the agenda at two key meetings in London tomorrow, with a Boston councillor hoping to use the opportunity to get some answers.

President Barack Obama has broad popular support for his plans to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba and grant legal status to four million more undocumented immigrants, according to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll out Tuesday.

Fifty-six percent of Americans want Congress to defund President Obama’s November executive action on immigration, according to a new poll conducted by ABC news.

2015 is going to be a year with a very high demand for immigration to Canada due to a large number of attractive migration programs that exist in Canada, and especially because of the new Express Entry application management system that the government of Canada designed and inaugurated earlier this year in order to help more foreigners with skills get to Canada much faster.

Cairo (Map) - Moroccan barrister Abdellatif Bouachrine was elected, on Friday in Cairo, as Secretary General of the Arab Lawyers Union (ALU), during a meeting of the ALU Executive Board.

The airline company of the Spanish group Globalia “Air Europa” opened the air route Madrid-Ouarzazate with first direct flight on Thursday night at the airport of the Moroccan city Ouarzazate.

France and the rest of Western Europe have never honestly confronted the issues raised by Muslim immigration.

The National Museum of Immigration History in Paris is a fascinating place to visit at the moment, against the backdrop of fierce debates over whether to clamp down on new arrivals.

Bright Blue said that being aggressive towards migrants coming to the UK risks putting off ethnic minority Tories who '"will be an important part of the Conservative Party's support base in the years ahead'.

On Friday, Moran (R-Kan.) and Warner (D-Va.) introduced the fourth version of their Startup Act — a piece of legislation they have been lobbying for and tinkering with for more than four years, and one that, in its latest iteration, would tweak the nation’s tax code, immigration laws and regulatory system in ways intended to help revive America’s entrepreneurial economy.

Immigration reform has stalled because of ugly Republican politics and an insistence by the Democrats that it be all or nothing.

BUDAPEST—Hungary’s prime minister on Sunday urged the European Union to limit immigration into the bloc, saying that some people abuse the rules of political asylum in the bloc while their real purpose is employment.

EDINBURGH– The debate over immigration into the UK has become "toxic" because the UK government is afraid of losing seats to the UK Independence Party (UKIP), leader of Respect Party George Galloway told Sputnik on Friday.

Prepared in 2012-2013 in the framework of a Master Thesis in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University Ibn Zuhr Agadir, the following report is by Abdelhamid Jbari made under the following title "Moroccan immigration from the Souss region to France."

Talks between Morocco and the European Union are scheduled Monday and Tuesday in Rabat for the implementation of the agreement signed in June 2013, to facilitate the movement of people and goods between the two sides.

Baroness Anelay of St John’s, Minister of State in charge of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, praised, on Thursday, Morocco’s “exemplary” migration policy based on a humanistic approach.

The flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) reached 28.5 billion dirhams in 2014, against 27.7 billion dirhams a year earlier, an increase of 2.6 pc, according to the Exchange Office.

A Malian Muslim who hid shoppers from an Islamist gunman during an attack on a Jewish supermarket in Paris will be given French nationality, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

New official study charts how population growth from immigration has surged twelvefold in a generation.

Immigration has soared by 1,200% since 1983, adding the equivalent of a city to Britain annually, say official figures.

Previously, Mexicans had to go home to get birth certificate for applications

Now they will be able to retrieve the documents from US-based consulates

It will radically speed up the process for seeking protection from deportation

It comes amid Republican attempts to overturn Obama's immigration order

Mexican immigrants can now obtain birth certificates from their government's consulates in the United States, fast-tracking their applications for American work permits and driver's licenses. 

The debate about immigration, which polls suggest could dominate the General Election campaign, has descended into “jingoistic nonsense”, the Archbishop of York has warned.

HERSHEY, Pennsylvania - US Republican lawmakers acknowledged on Thursday it will be difficult for the Senate to pass a House of Representatives bill blocking President Barack Obama's immigration initiatives, and vowed not to put security funding at risk in the process.

“Paddington,” out Friday, is about an undocumented South American immigrant who arrives in Britain to take advantage of its generous welfare system, particularly when it comes to marmalade. He should feel right at home with these characters who left theirs to make a new one.

This book assumes optimistically a series of theoretical propositions that will not only break with all essentialist reading of identity, but also helps to better understand the reality that it covers.

It presents an overview of the issue of identity in a critical perspective. The author proposes to rethink "what is the identity on the basis of our historical conditions" to reconcile with the term, "thus preventing it to take us to the ordinary mediocrity of racism."

Online ReadOnline Read

Republicans in the House of Representatives voted Wednesday to overturn President Barack Obama's immigration policies and remove protections for immigrants brought illegally to America as kids.

A fresh clash between the House of Representatives and the White House over immigration reform has thrown future funding for the Department of Homeland Security into doubt, including funding for counter-terrorism programs.

(Reuters) - The Swiss government hopes to negotiate for a right to cap immigration from the European Union so as to keep its access to EU markets when it writes into law a popular vote requiring strict limits on migration.

Government wants input from Quebecers on how to make province more welcoming for immigrants.

Thursday, 15 January 2015 10:46

"Islam is going through a great tragedy"

Rachid Benzine is now part of the new thinkers of Islam, on which he has written a book. The French Moroccan philosopher, author of "The Qur'an explained to the youth" (Seuil, 2013), advocates a critical work on Islam, historical in particular. A way to avoid religious texts being established as an absolute truth.

Big Question: Anders Behring Breivik was motivated by a similar far-Right ideology and perceived threats, such as Islamification and multiculturalism, as held by the Pegida protesters

What are the Pegida protests?

U.S. President Barack Obama’s decision to restore diplomatic ties with Cuba may have altered the course for the historically frozen relationship, but for now the change still doesn’t amount to much for Cuban immigration to the U.S. Still, that hasn’t stopped rumors that preferential treatment for immigrants from Cuba might soon end -- leading to desperate attempts by some to reach American soil by boat.

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