International Roundup

The Telegraph of U.K. reports that the rapid influx of immigrants into the U.K. will make the shortage of homes in England worse over the next couple of decades, according to figures by the U.K Department of Communities and Local Government.  The Department estimates that 4.8 million new households formed in England between 2004 and 2006, requiring 223,000 new homes a year to accommodate them.  This is an increase of 24,000 a year on previous estimates.  The increase is attributed to the unexpectedly high immigration from the rest of Europe .

Yvette Cooper, the Housing Minister, said: “These figures show why it’s right to build more homes to meet the needs of the next generation.  We have a growing population with people living longer and more of us are living alone.”

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The Korean government is set to introduce a program designed to assist undocumented immigrants wanting to return home.  The Korea Times reports that South Korea will set up travel arrangements and fund the cost.  The move came after Justice Minister Kim Sung-ho met with Brunson McKinley, the director general of the Helsinki-based International Organization for Migration last week. The program is called Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR), a program familiar to European countries such as Germany, Belgium , and the U.K.

The program comes at a critical time for immigration in Korea.  According to government estimates, there are over 200,000 undocumented immigrants living in the country. 

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