The Media Roundup provides links to recent and archived articles, in both English and French, on immigration and diversity appearing in the national and local news. Some international content is also included. Articles are updated weekly.
CTV News – U.S. Halts Free One-Way Flights to Mexico for Illegal Immigrants
The U.S. government has halted flights home for Mexicans caught entering the country illegally in the deadly summer heat of Arizona’s deserts, a money-saving move that ends a seven-year experiment that cost taxpayers nearly $100 million. More than 125,000 passengers were flown deep into Mexico for free since 2004 in an effort that initially met with skepticism from Mexican government officials and migrants, but was gradually embraced as a way to help people back on their feet and save lives. […] But with Border Patrol arrests at 40-year lows and fresh evidence suggesting more people may be heading south of the border than north, officials struggled to fill the planes and found the costs increasingly difficult to justify.
Updated News – Australia to Send Asylum Seekers to Nauru This Week
Australia will send the first group of asylum seekers to an offshore processing centre in Nauru this week, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen says. […] In recent months the number of arrivals has increased and several boats have either sunk or got into trouble. In a statement, Mr. Bowen said he had “signed the legislative instrument designating the Republic of Nauru as a regional processing country.”
Globe and Mail – Immigrant Children Excel in School
Children of the second generation – the offspring of immigrants – outperform other Canadian-born children in school. And the first generation does just as well as the native-born. Both of those accomplishments are pretty rare in the world. But because it is unseemly to gush about ourselves, we’ll let the OECD study known as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which tests 15-year-olds in mostly affluent countries, do it for us.
Toronto Star – Ontario Lawyers Stop Taking Refugee Clients on Legal Aid
Some Ontario lawyers have stopped accepting refugee clients on legal aid fearing they won’t get paid under new cutbacks that took effect Thursday. Under the old payment scheme by Legal Aid Ontario (LAO), lawyers were paid for the work they did preparing refugees’ appeals at the federal court and drafting opinion letters for the clients’ legal aid application, even if LAO ended up rejecting the request. However, under the new system, LAO won’t reimburse the legal service already invested if it disapproves the legal aid at the end, either because the client earns more than $12,000 a year or the case is deemed unlikely to succeed. As a result, critics say, refugees must now first fork out the legal fees from their own pockets just to get help in applying for legal aid — unless the lawyer is willing to take a chance and do the preparatory work for free.
Globe and Mail – Canada’s “Anchor Babies”: Journey “Home” is Tough for Children Deported with Their Parents
Children born in Canada to non-status migrants are Canadian citizens by birth but that doesn’t prevent their non-status parents, often failed refugee claimants, from being removed from the country. […] While immigration and border officials consider the child’s interests in deciding whether to let parents stay on humanitarian grounds, critics say such decisions are arbitrary. […] Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is contemplating changing the Citizenship Act by removing the right to automatic citizenship by birth — a policy unique to Canada and the United States. In most other countries, citizenship is based on blood and requires one parent to be a citizen.
The Guardian – Sun Praised for Undercover Work Exposing Illegal Immigration
The Sun has won plaudits from a [British] crown court judge who praised the paper’s journalists after an undercover filming operation exposed an illegal immigration racket. […]Undercover reporters posed as potential customers and filmed Shah explaining how he would fix college places to obtain student visas and provide certificates showing proficiency in the English language.
