Page 36 - Latest Updates on Immigration

Rishi Sunak's Rwanda migration bill suffers blow in Britain's Parliament

The upper house of Britain's Parliament has urged the Conservative government not to ratify a migration treaty with Rwanda. It's a largely symbolic move, but signals more opposition to come for the stalled and contentious plan to send some asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to the African nation. The House of Lords voted by 214 to 171 on Monday evening to delay the treaty that paves the way for the deportation plan. The treaty and an accompanying bill are the pillars of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak 's bid to overcome a block on the deportations by the UK Supreme Court. Members of the Lords, who are appointed rather than elected, backed a motion saying Parliament should not ratify the pact until ministers can show Rwanda is safe. John Kerr, a former diplomat who sits in the Lords, said the Rwanda plan was incompatible with our responsibilities under international human rights law. The considerations of international law and national reputation... convince me that it wouldn't be right to

Canadian govt announces two-year cap on number of student visas: Report

For 2024, the federal government aims to approve 3,60,000 undergraduate study permits, reducing the number by 35 per cent from 2023

Gujarat police to coordinate with passengers who returned from France

The Gujarat Police have formed teams to unearth a suspected illegal immigration network involving "agents" and will coordinate with the passengers of a plane that has landed in Mumbai from France, a senior official said. Many passengers of the plane hail from Gujarat, he said. The aircraft, an Airbus A340, carrying 276 passengers, mostly Indians, was grounded in France for four days over suspected human trafficking. It landed in Mumbai in the wee hours on Tuesday. "The CID crime wants to take action against agents who had promised help to the victims to enter the US and other countries (illegally). We have formed four teams which will get information from the victims regarding promises made to them by these agents," Superintendent of Police, CID (Crime), Sanjay Kharat said. He said most of the passengers on the chartered plane that returned from France were from Banaskantha, Patan, Mehsana and Anand districts in Gujarat. "Police will coordinate with the passengers when they reach

Macron defends divisive immigration bill, denies govt's tilt to far right

French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that a contentious immigration bill backed by the far right is imperfect and needs some fixes but is what the French wanted," and is not a victory for the far right. The president on a much-listened-to talk show explained and defended the divisive immigration bill that critics claim plays into the hands of Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Rally group at the National Assembly. It's the fruit of a compromise, Macron said. Critics claim the bill in part mimics the far-right party's long-standing demand for national preference by which the French, not foreigners, must profit from the riches of the land. The bill strengthens France's ability to deport foreigners considered undesirable and makes it tougher for foreigners to take advantage of social welfare, among other measures. Some decried it as a betrayal of French values. It passed the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, with a 349-186 vote late Tuesday

Macron's govt faces heat as France approves divisive immigration bill

French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist government faced an uproar on Wednesday after parliament approved a divisive immigration bill backed by the far right. The bill, meant to strengthen France's ability to deport foreigners considered undesirable, passed the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, with a 349-186 vote late Tuesday. It had been adopted by the Senate. Macron's health minister resigned to show his opposition to the draft legislation, and some left-leaning lawmakers in the centrist alliance decided to abstain or vote against it. Interior Minister Grald Darmanin, who championed the bill, said the government wants greater firmness against foreign offenders. Who here can say that we must allow criminals, people on our land, who attack us, attack our professors, and who attack our police forces and who attack the youth on the cafe terraces, without reacting? he said in a speech at the National Assembly. He singled out the recent school attack where a teach

Talks on border security grind on as Trump invokes Nazi-era blood rhetoric

Negotiators rushed to reach a US border security deal on Sunday that would unlock President Joe Biden's request for billions of dollars worth of military aid for Ukraine and other national security needs before senators leave town for the holiday recess. The Biden administration, which is becoming more deeply involved in the talks, is facing pressure from all sides over any deal. The administration and Senate negotiators had hoped to reach a framework by the weekend, but that's deeply uncertain. The talks come as Donald Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner in 2024, delivered alarming anti-immigrant remarks about blood purity over the weekend, echoing Nazi slogans of World War II to cheers at a political rally. They're poisoning the blood of our country, Trump said about the record numbers of immigrants coming to the US without immediate legal status. Speaking in the early-voting state of New Hampshire, Trump, drew on words similar to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kempf as the forme

Centre boosts CISF personnel headcount to avoid congestion at airports

Steps up efforts to ensure smooth passenger flow during Christmas and New Year

Dunki explained: What is the donkey flight illegal immigration method?

The Punjabi idiom 'dunki' refers to hopping from place to place before crossing illegally into a nation. Here is a closer look into the method and what it entails

Australia plans to halve migrant intake, impose tougher tests for students

Australia on Monday said it would slash the annual migrant intake from a record high of 510,000 by 50 per cent within two years by imposing tougher tests on overseas students and turning away workers with low skills. The move could affect Indian students who are planning to go to Australia for higher studies. The Indian-born group recorded the largest increase in population in the country since 2012, according to a recent report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The new migration strategy will demand students pass a stronger English-language test and will require them to prove they are genuine students before they enter the country while making it harder for them to stay if they do not find jobs that help fix the nation's skills shortages, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Australia's net migration will be halved within two years in a dramatic move to slash the annual intake from a record high of 510,000 by imposing tougher tests on overseas students and turning away workers

Australian govt to announce its strategy for slowing immigration next week

"The new strategy we'll announce will bring immigration back to sustainable levels," he told reporters Saturday in Sydney

Canada stricts measures for int'l students, financial requirements raised

The changes, set to take effect from January 1, 2024, include a substantial increase in the cost-of-living financial requirement for study permit applicants

UK PM Sunak announces steps to crack down on soaring immigration rate

Sunak described the new measures as the government's 'radical action' to bring down the immigration rate, adding the steps would ensure that immigration benefits the UK

Assam immigration: SC hears pleas to examine validity of Citizenship Act

A five-judge Supreme Court bench on Tuesday commenced hearing on 17 petitions to examine the constitutional validity of section 6A of the Citizenship Act relating to illegal immigrants in Assam. The Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud is hearing submissions advanced by senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for petitioners, in the matter. Besides the CJI, Justices Surya Kant, M M Sundresh, J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra are part of the bench. Divan is presently referring to the historical background of the litigation and the 2014 judgement of the apex court by which the pleas were referred to the larger Constitution bench. Section 6A in the Citizenship Act was inserted as a special provision to deal with the citizenship of people covered by the Assam Accord. The provision provides that those who have come to Assam on or after January 1, 1966 but before March 25, 1971 from specified territories, including Bangladesh, as per the Citizenship Act amended in 1985,

Assam illegal immigrants: SC to examine Citizenship Act's validity on Dec 5

The Supreme Court is scheduled to commence hearing on December 5 to examine the constitutional validity of section 6A of the Citizenship Act relating to illegal immigrants in Assam. Section 6A in the Citizenship Act was inserted as a special provision to deal with the citizenship of people covered by the Assam Accord. The provision provides that those who have come to Assam on or after January 1, 1966 but before March 25, 1971 from specified territories, including Bangladesh, as per the Citizenship Act amended in 1985, and since then are residents of Assam must register themselves under section 18 for citizenship. As a result, the provision fixes March 25, 1971 as the cut-off date for granting citizenship to Bangladeshi migrants in Assam. As per the cause list uploaded on the apex court website, a five-judge constitution bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justices Surya Kant, M M Sundresh, J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra would take up the matter for hearing on ...

Pakistan sends back around 402,312 'illegal' Afghans to their homeland

"Thousands of Afghans are returning to their homeland on a daily basis through Chaman and Torkham borders, thanking Pakistan for its generosity," Radio Pakistan reported

Modi govt to continue with its approach towards illegal immigration: Shah

The Narendra Modi government will continue with its zero-tolerance approach towards illegal immigration and is committed to shielding Bharat from this menace, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday. Shah said that pursuing Prime Minister Modi's "vision of a secured Bharat," the National Investigation Agency has busted five international human trafficking modules. The operation, carried out simultaneously across ten states, resulted in 44 arrests, he said. "Congratulations to team NIA. The Modi government will continue with its zero-tolerance approach toward illegal immigration and is committed to shielding the nation from this menace," Shah wrote on 'X'. Five modules engaged in human trafficking were busted and 44 operatives arrested by the NIA in nationwide raids on Wednesday. The raids were conducted in coordination with the Border Security Force and state police forces at 55 locations in eight states and two Union territories to dismantle human trafficking support netwo

Biden will host Americas summit that focuses on supply chains, investment

President Joe Biden is gathering leaders from countries across the Americas on Friday in the US capital to discuss the tightening of supply chains and addressing migration issues. In a preview of the first Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity Leaders' Summit, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Thursday that the two-day event would be a once in a generation opportunity to shift more of the global supply chains to the Western Hemisphere. Kirby said the summit would also involve the shared migration challenge and the building of meaningful economic opportunity among the countries in the region. Friday's event was announced last year at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles. The focus on trade comes as competition has intensified between the United States and China, the world's two largest economies. Biden has provided government incentives to build US infrastructure and for companies to construct new factories. But after the pandemic .

Canada plans to maintain immigration levels at 500,000 per year in 2026

Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller said that the target is meant to support the labour supply while easing pressures on housing and health care

Indians top the list of those seeking citizenship in wealthy OECD nations

Out of those Indians who moved to OECD countries, 133,000 were granted nationality, the highest among all countries

NZ immigration hits all-time high as movement surges after pandemic lull

New Zealand's immigration numbers have hit an all-time high, enabling employers to fill jobs but also putting pressure on the housing market, according to economists. The net number of immigrants was 110,000 in the year ending August, beating the previous high of 103,000 set a month earlier, according to figures released Wednesday by Statistics New Zealand. The numbers represent a big turnaround after more people left New Zealand than arrived during much of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are talking very, very big numbers for a small economy like ours, said Jarrod Kerr, chief economist at Kiwibank. Kerr said the surge likely reflected pent-up demand that had built during the pandemic. He said it had come as a relief to employers, who last year were having great difficulty finding skilled workers to fill vacant roles. New Zealand's unemployment rate remains at a relatively low 3.6 per cent. But Kerr also cautioned the migrants would need a lot of resources, including tens of thousands o