Immigration policy

Thousands of demonstrators marched in cities across the United States on Saturday against President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policy and to demand the immediate reunification of families separated at the border with Mexico. Directly across from the White House, demonstrators filled Lafayette Square park in an atmosphere of both indignation and sadness, before marching toward the Capitol. Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Portland also saw crowds of protesters turn out, with celebrities including Alicia Keys and Lin-Manuel Miranda present in Washington and John Legend in Los Angeles. "We don't believe in borders, we don't believe in walls," Sebastian Medina-Tayac, of the Piscataway Indian Nation, declared in English and Spanish at the start of the rally dubbed "Families Belong Together." Loudspeakers broadcast the cries of a child split from relatives, as a Brazilian mother told of being separated from her own son. "I missed nine months of his life and it should never … [Read more...] about Thousands march against US immigration policy

Democratic lawmakers joined hundreds of protesters outside an immigration detention facility in New Jersey on Sunday for a Father’s Day demonstration against the Trump administration’s practice of separating children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. “This must not be who we are as a nation,” said Representative Jerrold Nadler, one of seven members of Congress from New York and New Jersey who met with five detainees inside the facility, including three who said they had young relatives removed from their care after seeking asylum at the border. The event in the city of Elizabeth came as news stories highlighting the family separations intensified political pressure on the White House, even from some of President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans. U.S. officials said on Friday that nearly 2,000 children were separated from adults at the border between mid-April and the end of May. In May, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a … [Read more...] about Democrats, activists rally against Trump’s family separation policy

Shinichiro Tsukada says his small plastering company in Tokyo wouldn’t survive without the 22 Chinese and Vietnamese workers who make up half his payroll. “They’re treasures, real treasures,” he said. “Workers are disappearing as our population ages. Buildings cannot be built because there aren’t enough workers. We have no choice but to allow them into the country.” Across Japan, hotels, farms and construction sites are feeling an intensifying labor crunch as the worker pool shrinks and demand rises ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. That is prying open the country’s restrictive immigration policies, which until now have only allowed a trickle of so-called unskilled foreign workers into the country. But authorities are treading carefully because immigration is a delicate subject in Japan. Although public attitudes are slowly shifting, there is widespread concern that an influx of foreigners will upset the social order, increase job … [Read more...] about Demand for foreign workers may soften Japan’s immigration rules

U.S. President Donald Trump urged lawmakers on Tuesday to work toward bipartisan compromises, but pushed a hard line on immigration, insisting on a border wall and other concessions from Democrats as part of any deal to protect the children of illegal immigrants. Trump, in his first State of the Union speech, gave no ground on the contentious issue of whether to shield young immigrants known as "Dreamers" from deportation. Aiming to keep conservative supporters happy as he looks to November congressional elections, Trump stood by a set of principles opposed by Democrats, including the border wall with Mexico and new restrictions on how many family members that legal immigrants can bring into the United States. "Tonight, I call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common ground, and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people we were elected to serve," Trump said in his address. Trump used the hour-and-20-minute speech, given annually by presidents to … [Read more...] about Trump pushes hardline immigration policies even as he urges unity