Immigrants improved UK’s public finances, study

According to a new study, immigrants to the UK have contributed to the improvement of the UK’s public finances as they have given more to the state than they have received.

The international study showed that the net fiscal impact of immigrants was at the level of 0.46 per cent of GDP on an average from 2007-09. Paris-based think tank the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development or OECD conducted the study to form an opinion on immigration in various countries in the western world.

“According to recent opinion polls, about 50 per cent of citizens in European countries and in Canada believe that immigrants contribute less in taxes than they receive. are a big burden on the public purse,” the study said.

The study pointed out that immigrants were the like the rest of the population in the country and were neither draining the public finances nor representing a significant gain. In the UK, the households with immigrants made higher contribution than others to the public finances.

Data has shown that UK has received the highest number of people fleeing countries most affected by the economic slodown as their numbers rose 45 per cent between 2009 and 2011.

Immigrant award for Bruce Springsteen

London, April 24 (ANI): U.S. born singer Bruce Springsteen, who has European immigrant roots, was honoured with the ”Ellis Island Family Heritage Award.

The 60-year-old from New Jersey received the award at a glittering event where he was accompanied by his mother and aunts – the women who he said “provided me with place” and “filled my family and all of my work with great meaning”.

The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation presented Springsteen with the Ellis Island Family Heritage Award. These awards are given to immigrants or their descendants “who have made a major contribution to the American experience,” reports The Mirror.

“You can”t really know who you are and where you”re going unless you know where you came from,” Springsteen said. (ANI)

President to Meet With Key Senators Next Week About Immigration

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama plans to focus attention on immigration next week by meeting at the White House with two senators crafting a bill on the issue.

White House spokesman Nicholas Shapiro said Obama will meet with Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Monday.

The president is “looking forward to hearing more about their efforts toward producing a bipartisan bill,” Shapiro said Friday.

The meeting will be the first Obama has had with Schumer and Graham on the proposal they are developing since they began focusing on it last year.

Immigration has taken a back seat to the economy and health care on Obama’s agenda since he took office just over a year ago. Immigrants and their advocates — promised by then-candidate Obama that he would tackle the issue in his first year as president — have been growing frustrated by the inaction.

Several community groups planned to vent some of that frustration in a news conference Monday in Washington. The groups also are trying to organize tens of thousands of people from around the country for a March 21 demonstration in Washington.

“The president’s commitment to fixing our broken immigration system remains unwavering,” Shapiro said.

1,650 immigrants per day wrecking the quality of life in UK: Poll

London, July 14(ANI): A major poll has found that almost half of all Brits consider the record 1,650 immigrants settling in every day are wrecking the quality of life in UK.

The YouGov poll, commissioned by Optimum Population Trust, also found that two-thirds of the 2,000 people demanded a limit imposed to stem the flow of immigrants to stop population explosion, The Daily Star reports.

Further, the poll revealed that almost 74 per cent blamed Britain’s open-door policies for clogged roads and crowded trains and buses.

Migrants were also blamed for the lack of affordable housing and were regarded as a strain on public services like school and hospitals.

“The poll demonstrates public unhappiness at the pressure on public services,” Shadow Immigration Minister Damian Green said.

“It shows why we badly need an annual limit on immigration,” he added.Meanwhile, Immigration Minister Phil Woolas has said that UK’s new points-based system would ensure that only the people Britain needs would be allowed to work and study. (ANI)

Shiv Sena wants houses in Mumbai for only for locals

Mumbai, July 14 (ANI): In turf battle ahead of state polls in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena has promised houses in Mumbai to state’s bona-fide residents.

Having lost ground to its faction, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, over hardline political posturing, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray led a bunch of party activists and supporters to the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) head office demanding that non-Maharashtrians should be barred in that allotment of shelters.

“In another two to three months, Shiv Sena is confident of coming to power and then our government will provide 500 square feet area houses to Marathi ‘manoos’ (bona-fide residents of Maharashtra) to ensure that they need not go out of Mumbai to reside.

Marathi manoos is entitled to shelter and none else. This is our stand,” said Thackeray.

“In Mumbai, the houses are built by the MMRDA for the poor. These houses are also grabbed by builders. Immigrants from Bihar and Bangladesh are begging for accommodation whereas what we are demanding is proper accommodation from government which is our right,” he added.

The MMRDA last month announced that it would provide 43,000 homes at a rent starting as low as Rupees 800 per month.

The project is aimed at reducing the number of slums in Mumbai.

Shiv Sena members feel that the housing scheme doesn’t give preference to Maharashtrians and would encourage outsiders to settle in Mumbai.

Maharashtra will hold elections to state assembly by October and the migrants’ issue could swing votes. (ANI)

One in every 3 Pakistani visa to Britain fake: Report

London, June 21 (ANI): Massive irregularities have been unearthed in Britain’s immigration system with a shocking disclosure that more than one in every three successful visa applications from Pakistani citizens “lacked credibility”.

According to a secret internal report, which has been now leaked to The Sunday Times, travel permits were given to thousands of Pakistanis to visit Britain without even the most basic checks and investigations.

The UK Border Agency official, who made the report public, claimed that it (report) was prepared two years ago, but was ‘effectively shelved’ by senior officials.

He also claimed that senior managers ignored the concerns raised by Chris Taylor, an official who was sent to Pakistan to investigate the issue.

Bogus bank accounts and letters of introduction from non-existent British companies were being used for the large scale forgery, the report said.

Hinting at a massive scam, Taylor had said in his report that there was an immediate need of a thorough enquiry into the issue.

“More checks and interviews could have been undertaken,” said Taylor.

Expressing concern over the issue, Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, termed the report as ‘profoundly disturbing’

“It reveals the chaos in our immigration system. Given the much publicized terrorism issue in relation to Pakistan, it raises the question that has the government left a gaping loophole in our security?” The Times quoted Grayling, as saying.

The disclosure has once again raised fears about probable terror threats to Britain from illegal Pakistani immigrants. Every year about 10,000 Pakistan civilians are granted student visas to Britain, and thousands more visit the United Kingdom as tourists or business travelers. (ANI)

Imran Khan criticizes Sindh govt. for Swat immigrant ban

Lahore, May 24 (ANI): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chief Imran Khan has criticized the Sindh government for its decision to ban the entry of Swat immigrants to the province.

Terming the government’s decision as ‘unconstitutional’,Khan said no one can deny the entry of civilians into any part of their country, nor can they be asked to register themselves before entering another province.

He blamed the MQM for pressuring the government to take such an unlawful move.

“It is shameful that the MQM is not ready to shoulder the responsibility alongside its partner the PPP of the fallout from this ill-timed and ill-planned military operation,” Khan said.

The cricketer-turned-politician said the response of the MQM-PPP coalition in Sindh, in this time of tragedy, was turning the crisis into a potential ethnic conflict.

Khan urged the country’s leadership to allow all the immigrants to move freely across the country without any need of registration or anything such similar barriers. (ANI)

Muslims and police clash in Athens over Koran destruction

Muslims and police clash in Athens over Koran destruction Athens – Hundreds of Muslims clashed with riot police in central Athens on Friday who retaliated by spraying tear gas into crowds protesting what they said was the destruction of a Koran by police.

Hundreds of immigrants, many from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria marched towards the Interior Ministry in central Athens, clashing with riot police by throwing rocks and sticks.

Riot police retaliated by spraying tear gas to disperse the crowds.

The immigrants said that during a police check on a cafe late on Thursday in central Athens an officer took a customer’s Koran, ripped it apart, threw it on the floor and stomped on it.

Muslims, many who cross into the country illegally in an attempt to seek a better life, have complained of police brutality and poor treatment by officials in the past.

The majority of immigrants live in horrible conditions in central Athens, are not allowed to work and face arrest for minor crimes. (dpa)

US blaming Pakistan to hide own failure in Afghanistan, says minister

Islamabad, April 20 (IANS) The US is blaming Pakistan in order to hide the failure of its own anti-terror operations in Afghanistan, says Pakistan’s Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions Najam-ud-Din Khan.

‘The eyes of the whole world are on the Pakistani tribal areas, but the Pakistani Taliban is different from foreign Taliban. The Afghan immigrants living there illegally are increasing hardships for Pakistan,’ the minister said in an interview with the Online news agency Sunday.

‘President Asif Ali Zardari took all political forces into confidence for bringing peace in Swat. Now let the democratic process take roots there. All political forces can resolve their issues together,’ the minister said.

The security of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border is also the responsibility of the US forces on the other side of the border, he said.

Khan said: ‘The US is blaming Pakistan to hide its failure in Afghanistan. Innocent people are being killed in drone attacks in the country and the US should tell how many terrorists it killed in the attacks.’

‘The three million illegal Afghans (majority of them living in the North West Frontier Province), have increased problems for Pakistan,’ the minister said.
Indo Asian News Service

FBI to add millions to DNA databases

Law enforcement officials are vastly expanding their collection of DNA to include millions more people who have been arrested or detained but not
yet convicted. The move, intended to help solve more crimes, is raising concerns about the privacy of petty offenders and people who are presumed innocent.

Until now, the federal government
genetically tracked only convicts. But starting this month, the FBI will join 15 states that collect DNA samples from those awaiting trial and will collect DNA from detained immigrants — the vanguard of a growing class of genetic registrants.

The FBI, with a DNA database of 6.7 million profiles, expects to accelerate its growth rate to 1.2 million a year by 2012. Criminal justice experts cite Fourth Amendment privacy concerns and worry that the nation is becoming a genetic surveillance society.

Courts have generally upheld laws authorizing DNA collection from convicts, on the grounds that criminal acts diminish privacy rights. DNA extraction upon arrest potentially erodes that argument.

Over 300 would-be migrants arrive on Italian islet

Lampedusa, Italy – More than 300 would-be migrants landed Thursday on the Italian islet of Lampedusa when three vessels carrying them were escorted to shore by authorities.

The first and largest group – 239 people including 45 women and two children – arrived at dawn after their vessel was intercepted by a Italian coastguard patrol, officials said.

Authorities are planning to transfer the migrants to a reception centre in Porto Empedocle in Sicily.

According to Italian government figures, a total of 36,900 would- be immigrants arrived in Italy by sea in 2008, a 75-per-cent increase over the previous year. Of these some
31,000 landed on Lampedusa, an islet situated south of Sicily.

Italian officials say they hope to see a decrease in such hazardous sea-journeys in May when an agreement between Rome and Tripoli involving stepped up patrols of Libya’s coastline, comes into effect.

Earlier in April, over 230 would-be immigrants are feared to have drowned in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya.(dpa)

Indian American faces 49 years in jail for bribe

Washington, April 14 (IANS) An Indian American who earlier worked with immigration services has been convicted of conspiring to encourage immigrants to enter the country illegally and accepting a bribe, according to a report.

A federal jury Monday found 54-year-old Hasmukh Patel of McDonough in Georgia guilty of taking actions to bring an Indian couple to this country with fraudulent work visas, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported citing prosecutors.

Patel faces up to 49 years in prison and a $1.175 million fine when he is sentenced June 23 by US District Judge Clarence Cooper, the report said.

A witness testified he paid Patel, an immigration adjudicator with the Department of Homeland Security, $100,000 to bring his brother and sister-in-law into the US.

Witnesses from the US Consulate in Mumbai, India, testified Patel called the consulate to vouch for the visa application.

Visa rules hinder US firms from hiring the best

MOUNTAIN VIEW (CALIFORNIA): Where’s Sanjay? The question comes from one of dozens of engineers around a crowded conference table at Google. They
have gathered to discuss how to build easy-to-use maps that could turn hundreds of millions of mobile phones into digital Sherpas — guiding travelers to businesses, restaurants and landmarks. “His plane gets in at 9.30,” the group’s manager responds.

Google is based here in Silicon Valley. But Sanjay Mavinkurve, one of the key engineers on this project, is not. Mavinkurve, a 28-year-old Indian immigrant who helped lay the foundation for Facebook while a student at Harvard, instead works out of a Google sales office in Toronto, a lone engineer among marketers. He has a visa to work in US, but his wife, Samvita Padukone, does not. So he moved to Canada. “Every American I’ve talked to says: ‘Dude, it’s ridiculous that we’re not doing everything we can to keep you in the country. We need people like you!’ ” he said.

Immigrants like Mavinkurve are the lifeblood of Google and Silicon Valley, where half the engineers were born overseas, up from 10% in 1970. Google and other big companies say the Chinese, Indian, Russian and other immigrant technologists have transformed the industry, creating wealth and jobs. Just over half the companies founded in Silicon Valley from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s had founders born abroad.

But executives say that byzantine and increasingly restrictive visa and immigration rules have imperiled their ability to hire more of the world’s best engineers. Mavinkurve’s case exemplifies how immigration policies can chase away a potential entrepreneur who aspires to create wealth here. His case highlights the technology industry’s point that the US will struggle to compete if it cannot more easily hire foreign-born engineers.

New York shooter’s note: “Have a nice day”

The gunman who killed 13 people and himself in a New York state immigrant center sent a letter to a television station before his shooting spree that ended with the words “And you have a nice day.”

Jiverly Wong, a 41-year-old Vietnamese immigrant, wore body armor into the Binghamton building where he had been studying English and opened fire on immigrants taking an exam to become U.S. citizens.

“I am Jiverly Wong shooting the people,” began the letter sent to News 10 Now of Syracuse, New York.

He included photos of himself with two handguns — possibly the two he used in the attack.

Wong apologized for his poor English in the rambling, hand-written letter of two pages.

“Of course you need to know why I shooting?” he wrote, but then never fully explained the reason. He made some unclear references to police harassment he received in New York and California before ending with the salutation, “And you have a nice day.”

Binghamton Police Chief Joseph Zikuski said on Saturday no motive for the shooting had been determined but he confirmed reports that Wong had felt degraded by his inability to speak English and by a recent job loss.

The letter was dated March 18, more than two weeks before the attack.

Other killers who have randomly fired on unarmed civilians have also left notes.

A man who killed 32 people at the campus of Virginia Tech University two years ago in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history mailed a package to NBC television in New York containing photos of him brandishing guns and a video of him delivering an angry, profanity-laced tirade. He also left a long written note in his dorm room.

Binghamton is a city of 45,000 people about 240 km northwest of New York City.

Thirteen victims of New York shooting came from eight countries

Washington – The 13 victims of Friday’s shooting at a service center for immigrants in a New York town included two US citizens and people from seven other countries.

The largest number of victims – four – were from China, ranging in age from 22 to 54, the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin reported online Monday.

The information was released by city officials in Binghamton, where the shootings took place at the American Civic Association, which provides services to refugees and immigrants and classes to prepare them for US citizenship naturalization.

Among the victims of the killer, himself a Vietnamese immigrant, were a married couple from Haiti, who left behind a daughter, age 6, and a son, age 12.

The couple, Marc Henry Bernard, 44, and Maria Sonia Bernard, 46, worked in entry-level jobs at McDonalds, the Sun Bulletin reported.

The other victims came one each from Vietnam, Iraq, the Philippines, Pakistan and Brazil.

The two dead Americans were Roberta King, who was teaching the English class where most of the killings took place, and Maria Zobniw, a receptionist in the lobby. The alleged shooter, Jiverly Wong, 42, blazed into the centre firing two hand guns.

A second receptionist survived her wounds, as did three others who suffered gunshots.

Immigrants who aspire to US citizenship must pass a test in English on American civic life, and learning the language is the first step on the path.

The Press and Sun-Bulletin quoted from an e-mail sent by one of Zobniw’s relatives, who wrote that the victims were “simply all representative of (the) aspiration for the realization of the American dream.”

Victims of New York shooting came from eight countries

Washington, April 7 (DPA) The 13 victims of Friday’s shooting at a service centre for immigrants in a New York town included two US citizens and people from seven other countries.

The largest number of victims – four – were from China, the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin reported online Monday.

The information was released by city officials in Binghamton, where the shootings took place at the American Civic Association, which provides services to refugees and immigrants and classes to prepare them for US citizenship naturalisation.

Among the victims of the killer, himself a Vietnamese immigrant, were a married couple from Haiti, who left behind a daughter, 6, and a son, 12.

The couple, Marc Henry Bernard, 44, and Maria Sonia Bernard, 46, worked in entry-level jobs at McDonalds, the Sun Bulletin reported.

The other victims came one each from Vietnam, Iraq, the Philippines, Pakistan and Brazil.

The two dead Americans were Roberta King, who was teaching the English class where most of the killings took place, and Maria Zobniw, a receptionist in the lobby. The alleged shooter, Jiverly Wong, 42, blazed into the centre firing two hand guns.

A second receptionist survived her wounds, as did three others who suffered gunshots.

Immigrants who aspire to US citizenship must pass a test in English on American civic life, and learning the language is the first step on the path.

The Press and Sun-Bulletin quoted from an e-mail sent by one of Zobniw’s relatives, who wrote that the victims were ‘simply all representative of (the) aspiration for the realization of the American dream’.

US rejects Taliban claim for NYK attack

Washington, April 4 (IANS) The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has dismissed claims made by the Pakistan Taliban that it was responsible for an attack in New York State in which a lone gunman killed 13 people.

‘Based on the evidence, we can firmly discount that claim,’ Richard Kolko, an FBI spokesman, said Saturday.

Pakistan’s top Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud had claimed in phone calls to some media outlets that he had ordered the shooting in a direct response to the drone attacks carried out by US forces on Pakistani tribal areas and a second attacker had managed to escape.

A lone gunman took more than 40 immigrants hostage Friday when they were taking a citizenship class at the American Civic Association building in Binghamton, located around 225 km northwest of New York City.

The attacker, identified as Vietnamese immigrant Jiverly Wong, 42, killed 13 people before shooting himself in the head. Four people were also critically wounded.

New York shooter identified

New York, April 4 (IANS) The lone gunman who killed at least 12 people and then shot himself inside a New York civic association building that caters to immigrants has been identified as Jiverly Voong, 42, from upstate New York, media reports said.

ABC News reported citing police that Voong, also known as Linh Phat Voong, was from

Johnson City, New York. He burst into the one-story American Civic Association in downtown Binghamton centre wearing a bright green nylon jacket and dark-rimmed glasses.

Voong’s body was found on first floor with a hunting knife jammed into the waistband of his pants.

The gunman carried identification that said he was 42 and from upstate New York, CNN said citing a government official who has been briefed on the situation.

Officials said Voong backed his car up to the rear door of the building to block any escape before he went to the front of the building and started to execute people.

Police officials said two weapons have been found. According to one police report a 9 mm pistol was recovered as SWAT team officers entered the building

Gunman kills 13 in New York immigrant center

A gunman killed 12 or 13 people in an immigration services center in Binghamton, New York, on Friday, Governor David Paterson said.

The gunman then killed himself, ABC News reported.

ABC News, citing federal and state authorities, said 26 people were also wounded in the incident at Binghamton, about 150 miles (240 km) northwest of New York City.

“An individual went into an American civic services center …. and has killed 12 or 13 people,” Paterson said. There was no immediate word on a motive for the shooting.

The area was surrounded by police with rifles, some carrying shields. Some local media reports said the suspected shooter was Asian and that authorities requested a Vietnamese translator to speak with him.

As many as 41 people were inside the building when a man entered and started shooting, local television WBNG said, citing police scanners. It said some fled to a basement and more than a dozen were hiding in a closet, adding that emergency dispatchers had been in contact with people inside.

Four people were removed from the American Civic Association building on stretchers and taken to hospitals, the Press and Sun-Bulletin newspaper reported on its website.

Others came out on foot.

“About 15 or so employees of the Civic Association came out crying with their hands behind their heads and they were escorted by the police and they took them to ambulances and took them away,” a witness told WNBF radio.

The American Civic Association building is used to teach English and provide other services to recent immigrants to the United States who are preparing for U.S. citizenship.

Gunman kills 13 in NY immigrant center – ABC News

A man opened fire in a building where services are provided to immigrants in the New York town of Binghamton on Friday and killed 13 people before killing himself, ABC News reported.

New York Governor David Paterson confirmed that a number of people had been killed. ABC News, citing federal and state authorities, said 26 people were also wounded.

There was no official confirmation of the death toll or the gunman’s fate.

Other local media earlier reported between four and 13 dead in the incident in Binghamton, about 150 miles (240 km) northwest of New York City.

“This is a tragic day for New York. While the situation is still developing and details are being gathered, we do know that a gunman entered the American Civic Association in Binghamton this morning and that there are fatalities,” Paterson said in a statement.

The area was surrounded by police with rifles, some carrying shields. Some local media reports said the suspected shooter was Asian and that authorities requested a Vietnamese translator to speak with him.

As many as 41 people were inside the building when a man entered and started shooting, WBNG television news said, citing police scanners. It said some fled to a basement and more than a dozen were hiding in a closet, adding that emergency dispatchers had been in contact with people inside.

Four people were removed from the American Civic Association building on stretchers and taken to hospitals, the Press and Sun-Bulletin newspaper reported on its website.

Others came out on foot.

“About 15 or so employees of the Civic Association came out crying with their hands behind their heads and they were escorted by the police and they took them to ambulances and took them away,” a witness told WNBF radio.

The American Civic Association building is used to teach English and provide other services to recent immigrants to the United States who are preparing for U.S. citizenship.