Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department To Absorb Office For Migrant Affairs
Deputy Foreign Relations Secretary Enrique Berruga confirmed in an interview Tuesday that he will take over the job currently held by Juan Hernandez, as the Foreign Relations Department gains control over President Vicente Fox’s office for migrant affairs. The takeover will end a struggle over who will represent the more than 20 million Mexicans living in the United States.
Hernandez was a supporter of Fox’s presidential campaign to defeat the former ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, but had since angered members of the President’s Cabinet by making decisions not in line with policy, specifically Foreign Relations Secretary Jorge Castaneda.
Hernandez’s ideas included the launching of a so-called godfather program to encourage both U.S. businesses and Mexicans living in the United States to invest in poor communities with high migration rates. To date, the program has been unable to attract an adequate amount of money and support.
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Zambian Immigration Officer Attacked by Illegal Immigrants
A Zambian immigration officer was beaten up in Kitwe during a round up of prohibited immigrants Tuesday.
Immigration Department public relations officer Ibvuta Lungu said the officer, Victor Kayoba, sustained a deep cut in the head during a sweep through the townships of Bulangililo, Twatasha and Riverside residential areas.
Twenty-three Congolese, five Malians and three Senegalese nationals were arrested and detained by the Kitwe immigration office during the raid. Lungu said those arrested would soon appear in court.
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Single Day Rush For New Zealand Visas Doubles Processing Times In India
Indians applying for New Zealand permanent residency will now wait twice as long, as a result of a one-day rush of applications. New Zealand Immigration Services, New Delhi branch was inundated with over 1,500 residence applications June 17, by those hoping to beat the pass-mark change that came into effect the next day. This volume has extended normal application processing from one year to two years.
New Zealand has remained a favorite destination for immigrants due to the traditionally short waiting period for applicants.
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Malaysian Government Warns: Amnesty Period To End July 31
Malaysia’s new immigration laws are effective next month, ending an amnesty period open to appeals and increasing punishment both for illegal immigrants and those harboring them.
The Sarawak Immigration Department warns those who violate the law will face serious punishment. Department director Robert Lian warned illegal immigrants that after the amnesty period for illegal immigrants ends on July 31, any appeal would not be entertained and strict punishment under the new immigration laws would be meted out.
Under the new laws, anyone found guilty of illegal entry or harboring illegal immigrants would face a mandatory six months in jail and/or receive up to six strokes of the cane.
The Government aims to deport about 10,000 Indonesian illegals every month, and in January launched an offensive against illegal immigrants with almost daily arrests.
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Detention Centers Breeding Problems In Australia, Experts Say
Australia’s detention centers are creating a generation of damaged children who would be a burden on society, according to a study by NSW Institute of Psychiatry.
Many children in detention centers will have ongoing mental health problems that could drain the community. “We are looking at a generation of bitter, angry young people,” said NSW representative Louise Newman.
Dr Newman said often it was too late for psychiatrists to reverse the damage once the child had been exposed to long-term trauma in a detention center.
Young children in detention centers have problems forming healthy attachments to their parents, who are often too traumatized to care for them adequately. Dr Newman said both State and Federal Governments were reluctant to take responsibility for the protection of these children.
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