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.
Times Colonist – Immigration Wheels Turning After Office Closed, Files Moved
Files of Vancouver Islanders applying to become Canadian citizens and permanent residents have been shipped to Vancouver after the closing of Citizenship and Immigration offices here in June. […] The government announced in April that regional offices across the country would close this summer as part of a federal budget measure to axe 19,200 jobs over three years for a $5.2-billion cut in total federal spending. The closure of the Citizenship and Immigration offices and Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada offices will save $71.2 million and $13.1 million, respectively, by 2014-15, according to the department.
Chicago Tribune – Hundreds in Phoenix March Against Arizona Immigration Law
A few hundred protesters, some toting placards reading “Migration is a Human Right,” marched in Phoenix on Saturday to protest Arizona’s two-year-old crackdown on illegal immigration. State law SB-1070, signed by Republican Governor Jan Brewer in April 2010, seeks to drive illegal immigrants out of Arizona. A federal judge blocked parts of the law before it took effect, but the U.S. Supreme Court late last month upheld its most controversial provision requiring police to check the immigration status of people they stop if they suspect they are in the country illegally.
Winnipeg Free Press – Syrian Refugees Seek Canadian Asylum, Support
An increasing number of Syrian asylum seekers have been fleeing to Canada to escape the civil war that continues to cut a bloody swath across their homeland. At the same time, Syrian-Canadians are asking the federal government to open the doors to friends and relatives facing what they say is extreme risk of torture or death at the hands of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. […] From October to June, the Immigration and Refugee Board received 213 claims for refugee status from Syrian nationals inside Canada, and 320 since protests against Assad’s rule began in January 2011.
Moving from a refugee camp to a rental property isn’t easy, especially when you don’t know the language or the rules, say advocates helping the Bhutanese community learn the ropes. […] In Winnipeg, there are about 500 Bhutanese people, said Dahal. He attended a rental workshop Wednesday for Bhutanese people put on by New Journey Housing. It was an eye-opener, he said, especially for people having problems.
Winnipeg Free Press – Health-Care Cuts Start to Sting
Since cuts to the interim federal health program took effect in June, there have been contradictory statements from officials as to whether prenatal care would be covered. Blue Cross, which administers the program for the federal government, says prenatal care isn’t covered, while Citizenship and Immigration Canada is telling people it is.
New York Times – [U.S.] Hospitals Fear Cuts in Aid to Illegal Immigrants
President Obama’s health care law is putting new strains on some of the nation’s most hard-pressed hospitals, by cutting aid they use to pay for emergency care for illegal immigrants, which they have long been required to provide. […] Its sponsors, seeking to sidestep the contentious debate over immigration, excluded them from the law’s benefits.
