Introduction To Swan’s Special Issue On Immigration

Posted by admin on Oct 4th, 2010

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(Swans – October 4, 2010) A predictable consequence of the dire economic crisis has been a spectacular rise in anti-immigrant sentiment in North America and Western Europe, which, combined with religious xenophobia against Muslim residents, has led to a significant growth of right-wing populism. In the U.S., former pro-immigration Republican leaders openly advocate reconsidering the 14th Amendment to the Constitution to strip it of its provision that provides automatic citizenship to any child born in the country whether or not the parents are citizens. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is quietly presiding over a much higher rate of deportations than the preceding Bush administration oversaw. Anti-immigrant rhetoric is particularly virulent among Tea Partiers and the candidates they support for the coming mid-term elections. In Europe, populist right-wing parties have been scoring substantial electoral gains by scapegoating immigrants of Muslim background. In Italy, Umberto Bossi’s Lega Nord (“Northern League”), a xenophobic party, is a member of the Berlusconi governmental coalition. In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, the leader of the Party of Freedom (and a favorite of the American Tea Party), openly advocates banning new mosques — as the Swiss did in a recent referendum — and the Koran, stopping all immigration from Muslim countries, and deporting immigrants. In Germany, a controversial book written by Thilo Sarrazin, a forced-to-resign member of the board at the Bundesbank and former finance minister of the Berlin city-state government, and often called a mini German Wilders, has fanned a harsh debate on immigration. In France, the Sarkozy government is emulating the policies long advocated by the far-right National Front, shamelessly deporting Romas and targeting immigrants from Northern Africa. The beast is raising its ugly head (Brecht) once again — and the phenomenon repeats itself in Austria, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Hungary, etc. Even tiny Sweden, a model of social democracy, has just elected to its parliament 20 members of the anti-immigration, far-right Sweden Democrats led by Jimmie Ã…kesson.

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Canada Jails Refugees

Posted by admin on Sep 18th, 2010

Written by Devon Ridge, MayDay Magazine

This May, The MV Sun Sea departed from Sri Lanka carrying 492 men, women, and children, giving up their sovereign identities for a dangerous and uncertain journey. After being denied permission to dock in Thailand and Australia, the Tamil refugees approached British Columbia, hoping to find asylum. Instead of being welcomed, the boat was met by the force of armed RCMP and naval officers and unfounded accusations of terrorism. Instead of finding refuge after a three month long journey risking death, the refugees are currently experiencing the dehumanizing treatment of incarceration. Mainstream media and government officials have taken up what seems like a moral debate about what to do with the boatload of refugees. This discussion fuels fear and confusion, distracting people from asking the most important questions. Questions like, is there really any justification for prison as a humane response to encountering people fleeing for their lives?

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Past spy chief named special envoy on human smuggling

Posted by admin on Sep 9th, 2010

By: The Canadian Press. Date: Thursday Sep. 9, 2010 2:45 PM PT

The federal government is dispatching a former spy chief to Asia as a special envoy on human smuggling to help prevent more migrant ships from arriving on Canadian shores. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says former Canadian Security Intelligence Service director Ward Elcock will visit Sri Lanka, Thailand and other countries to improve co-operation and information sharing. Kenney, in the middle of an Asian tour of his own, plans to tack an Australian stop onto his trip to meet officials in Canberra and see an asylum processing centre. The Conservatives are putting together a package for this fall that would aim at putting a stop to — or at least seriously deter — ships full of migrants heading to Canada’s shores.

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Project Samosa Anti Terror Arrests: A spiced up and deep fried narrative

Posted by admin on Aug 29th, 2010

No One is Illegal-Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories is a grassroots anti-colonial migrant justice group with leadership from members of migrant and/or racialized backgrounds. As a movement for self-determination, we challenge the racist ideology inherent to the War on Terror that is intrinsically linked to repressive immigration controls. This past week four men were arrested, three in Ottawa, as part of a 2-year investigation entitled “Project Samosa” (cultural sensitivity training seems to have missed the fact that not many Pakistanis and Indians actually like samosas). According to reports, Misbahuddin Ahmed, Hiva Alizadeh, and Dr. Khurram Syed Sher have been charged; a fourth person has been arrested but not yet charged; while three to four others are overseas suspects and co-conspirators.

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My interrogation at the U.S. border

Posted by admin on Aug 24th, 2010

By Stefan Christoff | August 24, 2010, rabble.ca

Under fluorescent lights at the U.S./Canada border, south of Montreal, questions on the war in Iraq and the Palestinian Intifada were fired towards me by officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It quickly became clear after arriving at the border and presenting my passport to U.S. customs officials that crossing into the U.S. would include an unwanted inquiry. After scanning my Canadian passport, gruff American officials hastily directed me to sit in the waiting area. Shortly after, an armed U.S. official called my name, directing me toward another section of the border crossing station.

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