Immigrants Defend Office for Mexicans Abroad

The Coalition of Political Rights for Mexicans Abroad urged the government not to eliminate the President’s Office for Mexicans Abroad. The speakers gathered at the Chamber of Deputies to warn that turning the office over to another institution or secretariat would spell its doom and seriously affect millions of Mexican citizens, government news agency Notimex reported. Coalition leader Primitivo Rodriguez said the office, currently headed by Juan Hernandez, admittedly had its faults in coordination with other institutions but was “an achievement of the current government.”

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Argentines Fleeing Country’s Economic Woes

The middle class in Argentina is leaving the country in droves to escape the nation’s worsening economic crisis. Those with claims to a passport have the best chance to escape, and they find help through agencies, often with Europe as the preferred destination. One such agency in downtown Buenos Aires has placed a banner with “European Nationality” advertised in large letters, along with a number to call.

As waiting lines at the Spanish and Italian embassies grow longer, and even with little promise of finding relief elsewhere, the desperate and impoverished middle class keeps applying to leave. A land formerly of immigrants has become a country of emigrants.

Argentine newspaper La Nacion estimates that 140,000 have departed in the past two years alone. It is estimated that thousands more are living illegally in North America and Europe. Spain is now considering the introduction of visas for Argentines, a country where most emigrants want to go to live and work.

Argentina’s 200,000 Jews have it somewhat easier, as Israel recruits migrants as a matter of policy. New arrivals are offered free accommodation and  financial assistance in the first six months. Each week, about 100 Argentine Jews fly from Buenos Aires to Tel Aviv – three times as many as in 2001.

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France Rejects British Funds For Tunnel Security

In a move which has infuriated Britain’s freight industry, the French government turned down an offer of up to £5 million from the strategic rail authority to beef up security around the entrance to the Channel tunnel.

Speaking before the Commons transport select committee, French ambassador Daniel Bernard refused to offer an assurance that tunnel traffic would be normalized by September, saying the problem was Britain’s “attractivity.” As long as it is, “people will continue to come from all parts of the world,” Bernard said.

The funds would have paid for a fence around the freight yard near Calais, where there is a refugee camp; it is an area where security has repeatedly been breached and has slowed tunnel traffic to a trickle.

The SNCF, France’s state-owned railway network, refused the money and said it would rather have cross-channel help in installing x-ray machines to find stowaways inside the wagons.

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Italian Parliament Passes New Anti-Immigration Law

Italy’s Senate ratified legislation, passed by the lower house last month, tightening immigration policy and increasing punishment. The law includes mandatory fingerprinting and quicker expulsions. Immigrants convicted of forgery will face punishment of up to six years in jail. Citizens of other EU countries are not affected by the new law.

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Saudi Arabia Limits Foreign Workforce in 22 Professions

As part of a plan to employ 817,300 Saudis by 2005, Saudi Arabia has suspended work permits of foreigners in 22 professions as part of a plan to boost native manpower in areas of the private sector where Saudis make up only four percent of the total workforce. The move will force thousands of immigrants, many of them Filipino, to go back to their home country. Still, a recent study shows that the country will still need to hire expatriate labor for decades to come, given the Saudi workforce’s lack of English language ability and reluctance to accept lower salaries and fewer incentives.