Page 3 - Migration

El Salvador slaps $1,130 fee on African, Indian travelers to curb migration

El Salvador's government has begun slapping a USD 1,130 fee on travellers from dozens of countries connecting through the nation's main airport, amid US pressure to help control migration flows to its southern border. Since the end of October, citizens of 57 largely African countries and India have had to pay the fee, according to El Salvador's aviation authority. Aviation officials did not say whether the measure was aimed at reducing migration and have described the tariff as an airport improvement fee, but El Salvador's government acknowledged an uptick in travellers from those countries this year. Also, the US has been pressuring Central American countries to curb migration flows to its border with Mexico. US authorities say they stopped migrants there more than 2 million times during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. El Salvador's aviation authority said most passengers who have to pay the fee are headed to Nicaragua on the commercial airline Avianca. Because of its lax vis

US officials will meet with counterparts in Mexico to talk drugs, migration

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top American officials are visiting Mexico on Wednesday to discuss shared security issues, foremost among them trafficking of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, but also arms trafficking and increasing migration. The latest round of the High-Level Security Dialogue brings Blinken, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, among others, together with their Mexican counterparts for two days of talks. Heightened migration is expected to be discussed as President Joe Biden's administration comes under increasing pressure from Republicans and mayors from the president's own party to do more to slow migrant arrivals. Blinken was scheduled to discuss migration Wednesday with Mexico's Foreign Affairs Secretary Alicia Barcena, as well as the foreign ministers of Colombia and Panama. New York City Mayor Eric Adams took a separate trip through Latin America aimed at learning more about asylum seekers'

US Embassy in India surpasses goal of processing 1 mn non-immigrant visas

The US Mission to India on Thursday surpassed its goal to process one million non-immigrant visa applications this year with Ambassador Eric Garcetti personally handing over the one millionth visa to a couple, who will be heading to the United States to attend their son's graduation at MIT. Dr Ranju Singh, senior consultant, Lady Hardinge College was elated at receiving an email from the US Embassy about hers being the one millionth visa this year. Her husband Puneet Dargan, was granted the next visa. The couple will be travelling to the US in May, 2024. Greeting the couple as "Mr and Mrs One million", Ambassador Garcetti enquired about their travel plans to the US and made suggestions about what not to miss in the country as a tourist. "I couldn't be happier today, happy for India, Indians and the United States. Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and President (Joe) Biden had said lets do a better job in moving faster on the visas and so the Ministry of External Affairs here approved .

Assam's unsettled legacy

In the decades since Independence, Assam's relationship with India, its neighbouring regions, and its political dynamics has been shaped by the enduring aftermath of World War II

G20: Skill-based migration pathways to spur formalisation of workforce

To prepare for the future of work, the leaders of the world's top economies at the G20 summit on Saturday recognised that the movement of skilled professionals benefits both the origin and destination

UK PM Rishi Sunak's Illegal Migration Bill clears Parliament hurdle

The British government's Illegal Migration Bill, instrumental to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's pledge to stop the boats of illegal migrants entering the country's shores, has cleared its long-drawn parliamentary hurdle and will soon become law after Royal Assent from King Charles III. Under the bill, the UK's Home Secretary will have a legal duty to detain and remove anyone entering the UK illegally. In a late-night debate in the House of Lords on Monday, further amendments to the bill were dismissed and it passed after a standoff between both Houses over the issue. In the last few weeks, the bill passed between the House of Commons and House of Lords a number of times in a process often dubbed as parliamentary ping-pong in British politics until a consensus is reached. In the Commons, former prime minister Theresa May led a series of backbench rebellions over plans to restrict access to the UK asylum system for victims of modern slavery. May, who as home secretary introduced the ...

Netherlands' coalition govt collapses over disagreement on asylum policy

The government was formed a year-and-a-half ago, but parties have been diametrically opposed to migration policy, said the report

Felt like 'home': Migration to UK at record high, Indians dominate

They also made up the largest group of students granted visas under the new Graduate post-study work route, representing 41% of grants

UK to soon disallow international students to bring dependants along

The move comes ahead of the official data, which is expected to show that legal migration has hit a record high of 700,000 this year

Statsguru: Is migration good for the economy? Here's what data shows

Demographic changes in recent decades have meant that there are fewer working age people to support the social security needs of elderly populations in rich countries

Decline in rate of migration from Uttarakhand over the last 5 years: Report

The rate of migration from Uttarakhand villages to places outside the state has recorded a significant decline over the last five years, the Rural Development and Migration Prevention Commission has said in its latest report. In the 10-year period from 2008 to 2018, 1,18,981 people migrated "permanently" from Uttarakhand villages while the number was 28,531 between January 2018 and September 2022, the report, submitted to the state government, said. Permanent migration is when people move from one place to another with no plans to return. Vice Chairman of the Commission, SS Negi, who submitted the second interim report of the commission to its Chairman Pushkar Singh Dhami recently, attributed the decline to increasing inclination among locals towards availing self-employment avenues available at home rather than going outside the state to earn a living. "Traditional agriculture scenario is almost as bleak as five years ago but people are preferring to make a living out of ...

1% women migrated in search of job, 87% shifted due to marriage: NSSO

Almost 50% men in India migrated from their hometowns to other places in search of employment within the country during 2020-21

British PM Rishi Sunak vows to halve inflation, tackle illegal migration

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in his first major speech of 2023 on Wednesday, pledged to halve inflation, grow the UK economy and stop illegal immigration. In a speech setting out the Conservative government's priorities for the year ahead, Sunak focused on tackling the UK's slowing economy and made promises to reduce national debt. He also vowed to pass new laws to stop migrants from arriving on UK shores in small boats, as well as cut massive backlogs in Britain's public health service. "Those are the people's priorities. They are your government's priorities. And we will either have achieved them or not," Sunak said. "No trick, no ambiguity, we're either delivering for you or we're not. We will rebuild trust in politics through action, or not at all, he added. Sunak, who came to office in October after a tumultuous year in UK politics that saw the resignation of two other prime ministers, stressed that he would deliver stability. He said his first priority was to halve ...

100 mn people displaced globally in 2022; UN efforts underway to assist

Outbreaks of violence, or protracted conflicts, were key migration factors in many parts of the world, including Ukraine, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Syria and Myanmar

Plan for asylum seekers' deportation to Rwanda lawful, says British court

A British court has ruled that the government's plan to send asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda is lawful

Six states report fewer formal jobs for youth in Sept qtr, shows EPFO data

Experts attribute drop to large-scale of migration; young from these states stand to earn significantly more, post migration, than they do by staying back

In 2020, Indians accounted for over 6 per cent of global emigrants

The total number of Indians living outside of the country touched 17.9 million that year

IOM seeks over $50 mn for assistance to 2.5 mn Somalis as famine looms

The UN migration agency, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), has said it requires more than $50 million to reach 2.5 million people affected by the drought by the end of 2023

Visa creates 100 mn card-on-file tokens following RBI norms last week

The landmark has been achieved in line with RBI's guidelines focusing on security and enhanced checkout experience, said Visa

Tackling migration, US VP Harris backs investment in Latin America

Vice President Kamala Harris said that the Biden administration's work to attract investment to Central America, part of the US effort to reduce migration, has generated $3.2 billion in private-sector