Diaspora & Immigrantion News, Views

NEW JERSEY, APR 30, 11:30 AM EST - Bangladeshis and Pakistanis are suffering from the worst poverty rates in Britain, a new report said Monday.

The reports published by the academic think-tank, Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), found that 65 per cent of Bangladeshis, 55 per cent of Pakistanis, and 30 per cent of Indians live in poverty compared with 20 per cent of white Britons.

A staggering 74 per cent of Bangladeshi youngsters, and 60 percent of Pakistani children are growing up poor. Even for children of Indian parents, a group thought to be doing well economically, the rate was higher than for whites.

Despite improving academic performance and qualifications, ethnic minorities in UK still face prejudice in job interviews and are paid lower wages than their white counterparts, the report added. There were also disproportionate numbers of ethnic minority workers in low-paid jobs, including half of Bangladeshi staff and one-third of Pakistanis earning less than a pound an hour over the minimum wage.

Majority Americans support citizenship for illegal immigrants

NEW JERSEY, APR 28, 3:00 PM, EST - A whopping seventy-eight percent of Americans polled in a survey said they believe illegal immigrants living in the U.S. should be allowed to pursue citizenship. The poll results fly in the face of ultra-right and anti-immigrant organizations� claims that the American people reject such a solution. According to a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted recently, 78 percent of the U.S. public favor giving all or most of the 12 million undocumented immigrants a chance to legalize and eventually become U.S. citizens.

President George W. Bush says he wants a ``comprehensive'' approach to immigration that would besides securing America's borders, create a temporary worker program, foster assimilation and resolve the status of illegal immigrants already in the U.S. He said he is gaining new support as his administration works with lawmakers in both political parties to try to tackle the issue this year. ``I am pleased that some of those who had doubts about comprehensive reform last year are now open to supporting it,'' Bush said in his weekly radio address, without naming who his new supporters are. ``There is a desire on the part of Republicans and Democrats alike to get this problem solved.''

Ten Reasons Undocumented Should File Income Taxes

APR 14 - It�s better for immigrants � documented or not -- to pay income taxes. By law the IRS can�t give the information to other agencies and record of tax payment may come in handy should immigration law change to allow for legalization...

Yale students charged after American flag is set ablaze

APR 4 - Three Yale University students including a Pakistan born US citizen Said Hyder Akbar have been arrested after an American flag was set ablaze on the porch of a city home in Stamford, Connecticut, AP reported. They were arrested on charges ranging from reckless endangerment to arson. They were not charged with flag burning, the report said. Akbar, 23, worked as an informal translator for U.S. forces during the invasion of Afghanistan and later published a memoir, "Come Back to Afghanistan." "He's an incredibly articulate, mature, sweet, smart guy," said Gillian Blake, Akbar's editor. "It's an amazing book." Akbar - whose father was a spokesman for the Afghan president and served as governor - also testified at the trial of David Passaro, a former CIA contractor charged in the death of an Afghan citizen in U.S. custody.

India comes to rescue of British Indian medicos

APR 4 - The Indian government has assured assistance to doctors of Indian origin who are unable to find work in UK due to changes in immigration rules. Thousands of Indian doctors have been affected by the changes that make it difficult for non-European Union doctors to find employment in the National Health Service (NHS). The changes were made in April 2006, and have since been the subject of litigation.

New York Police hires Imam

APR 3, 11:45 AM EST - The New York Police Department (NYPD) has hired a young Pakistani-American Imam as its newest chaplain to counsel thousands of its Muslim members on faith and other matters. Khalid Latif, 24, a resident of Edison in New Jersey, has served as a chaplain and adviser at Princeton University and New York University. "It is my hope that I can use this (part time) position as a means to educate not only the members of the New York City Police about truly what Islam stands for, but also the New York City community as a whole,'' Latif said, according to 1010 Wins. He is a member of the Sunni Muslim sect, reported the Associated Press. He was hired after an "extensive search" process, said NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Test of Britishness as Foreign Requirement (TOBFR)!

APR 3, 4:30 AM EST - The days when UK's border control started at the Heathrow airport are over. Immigration control needs to start well before (Desi/Deshi, Arabs, Muslims) people come anywhere near British shores, said Minister Liam Byrne. As a result, Britain is requiring people wanting to live permanently in the country to pass a test. The 45-minute test called �Life in the UK� is composed of 24 questions. Sample questions: "If you were the first visitor of the new year to a Scottish home, what might you be expected to bring?" Answer: Coal, bread and whisky to ensure prosperity. "Name three countries that Jewish people immigrated from to escape persecution during the period 1880-1910?" Answer: Belarus, Poland and Ukraine.

NRI kills wife in Arizona, flees, held in Delhi

APR 1 - 32-year-old Avtar Singh Grewal, a manager with a firm in Vancouver, Canada, who allegedly murdered his "estranged" wife at her home in Phoenix in Arizona, US, on March 29 was arrested at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi on Saturday. After the alleged murder, Grewal stayed one step ahead of the Arizona police and took a Continental Airlines flight to India from New Jersey on March 30. According to the police, the couple was to come to India together but before leaving they had a fight, which led to Grewal killing his wife. "He claims that his wife kicked and slapped him and in a fit of anger he strangulated her. He also says that he felt sorry and left a note saying that he has killed his wife. After killing her, he claims to have tried to commit suicide by slashing his wrist and then trying to hang himself from the ceiling, the police said. The murder was detected when the victim Navneet Kaur didn't show up for work on Friday morning. Her co-workers at Assist Technologies, where Navneet was a project manager, went to her house to check on her and found blood and signs of a struggle, the Phoenix police said.

2 Indians held in US

APR 1 - Two Indians have been arrested in the US on charges of exporting sensitive dual-use items to India. FBI said two unidentified Indian government officials, including one posted at the Indian embassy in Washington, are part of the conspiracy. Parthasarthy Sudarshan, founder of Singapore-based Cirrus Electronics, and Mythili Gopal, top executive of the company were exporting to India some heat-resistant computer chips which can be used in missiles, light combat aircraft or some other defense-related project. These items were allegedly exported for use by India's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Aeronautics Development Establishment and Bharat Dynamics Limited.

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