Archive for the ‘Migrant Crisis’ Category

Inflation crisis is tied to decline in migrant labor an issue agriculturalists know too well – AGDAILY

The United States is experiencing the highest inflation in 40 years. One of the few causes that has dominoed into hikes in inflation is the decrease in migrant labor in the U.S.

According to a source from Fortune Magazine, there are 2 million fewer immigrant laborers in the United States.

These 2 million missing immigrants are part of the reason we have a labor shortage, shares Giovanni Peri, an economist at the University of California, Davis.

Peri notes, too, that consumers will meet these labor shortages by paying higher prices for goods. Peri predicts that we will see an increase in wages to attract folks to traditionally low-paying, high-laborious jobs.

For every 100 immigrant workers in the U.S, there are 2.7 immigrants employed in agriculture, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is more than double the amount of people in agriculture that are native born. And the numbers have decreased as a result of COVID-19 and increased immigration policies.

Its an unfortunate outcome, in and out of our control as a country. I say out of our control because the last two years of COVID has alerted the country to invasive antigens and variants from people coming into the country. The U.S. has put in extensive measures to prevent immigrants from entering the country and, almost over a year later, adding new expectations for testing to be allowed in. This has slowed the labor force and brought the number of laborers down hundreds of thousands of people.

Whats in our control? Policies that allow immigrant laborers to work in the country.

This decline [in immigrant labor] reflects both tougher immigration policies and the pandemic which reduced legal immigration and caused some recent immigrants to return to their native countries, David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Funds.

President Joe Biden addressed the lack of incentive for immigrant workers to jump back into the U.S. labor force in his May 31, 2022, statement:

My Administration is committed to ensuring that our immigration system is accessible and humane. I have called on the Congress to pass long-overdue legislation to comprehensively reform our immigration system. Through multiple Executive Orders, I have also directed agencies across the Federal Government to remove barriers that improperly impede access to immigration benefits and to assure fair and timely adjudication of those benefits.

The White House can look into increasing benefits for immigrants seeking work in the U.S., and we can increase wages but does that really solve the issue?

There is still a decrease in birth rates in the U.S., which will lead to a huge fight between industries to secure laborers native or immigrant in the future. Most laborious fields, like agriculture, rarely see a growth in employee numbers with an increase in wages as the task is still daunting for many native workers. And many jobs require more than a high school diploma, but the cost of attending school is egregiously high.

The U.S, especially industries like agriculture that are very laborious, has two paths forward. One, partially or fully atomizing the industry. Two, lobbying alongside immigrant labor unions to amend immigration policies and immigrant labor policies that allow easier access to our country and the hundreds of thousands of jobs that are going unfilled; stalling our national supply of goods across industries (such as textile, food, etc.).

So, what are those immigration policies halting immigration labor and amnesty?

The entirety of the policies arent the issue. In fact, policies such as the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952 or the clause within the act speaking specifically to special agriculture workers have taken many years and many edits to arrive where the legislation stands today. However, there are still places within the legislation that can be amended to allow easier access to our country and its labor to help us as a nation get back on track and to see more of our prices at the store decrease.

As everyday citizens, consumers, and/or agriculturalists, we can engage in this work. We dont need to be the people in the game, shuffling through legislatures offices and having meetings. We can support, monetarily or in our own meetings with lobbying organizations, to share our perspectives either for or against some immigration policies. Why? This because conversations around these issues from all our varying perspectives is what will springboard us all to a more inclusive, equitable, and positive space. It takes all kinds of kinds in an argument or an issue to arrive at a better tomorrow.

Where will you be in these next few months to help resolve the growing labor shortage in our country that is contributing to a rise in inflation? Is there something we can be doing, rather than watching as the price for goods rises? Where do we fall in the challenges that a decrease in labor has caused our country?

Bre Holbert is a past National FFA President and studies agriculture science and education at California State-Chico. Two ears to listen is better than one mouth to speak. Two ears allow us to affirm more people, rather than letting our mouth loose to damage peoples story by speaking on behalf of others.

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Inflation crisis is tied to decline in migrant labor an issue agriculturalists know too well - AGDAILY

Consultant for Continuity in Crisis – Ensuring continuity of NCD care for crisis-affected populations in East Africa Feasibility Assessment -…

Danish Red Cross is looking for a consultant to conduct a feasibility assessment to explore the potential to integrate NCD interventions into existing interventions in Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia with a focus on areas such as disaster preparedness and response, health, resilience, mental health and psychosocial support and migrant/refugee projects.

Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, respiratory diseases, diabetes and mental health conditions currently represent the fastest growing disease burden in Africa adding to the existing high burden of communicable diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS[1]. It is estimated that 34% of all deaths in Africa are caused by NCDs (WHO 2015). By 2030, NCDs will be the leading cause of death in Sub-Saharan Africa increasing from 28 to 46 percent of the total disease burden. In the Eastern African countries of Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda, 40% of all deaths on average are attributable to NCDs. Most of these deaths occur when people are in the productive age, causing economic hardship to families and countries. Furthermore, every year 703 000people take their own life and there are many more people who attempt suicide. Every suicide is a tragedy that affects families, communities and entire countries and has long-lasting effects on the people left behind. Suicide occurs throughout the lifespan and was the fourth leading cause of death among 1529-year-olds globally in 2019. (WHO, 2021) In the Sub Saharan African, Cases of suicide and other Mental Health conditions have been on the rise and have become a major of grave concern.

Migrants, refugees and internally displaced people (IDP) may face additional risks as they often do lack or have limited access to basic services including health and NCD care. It is estimated that East Africa and the Great Lakes Region currently hosts more than 4.7 million refugees and asylum seekers with almost 4 million residing in Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Sudan (2021).2 The region thus hosts some 67 percent of the refugees on the African continent and 20 percent of the global refugee population. The largest number come from South Sudan, with significant arrivals from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan. Most governments have generally continued to maintain open-door asylum policies by adopting progressive national refugee frameworks and promoting the inclusion of refugees into national health, education, and social protection/security systems.

Disasters, particularly those associated with weather related hazards such as floods, storms and drought triggered 2.6 million new displacements during the year(2018). Conflict and disaster events caused by climate change in 2019 suggest that the number of displacements is likely to continue rising. Risks and vulnerabilities linked to disasters and conflict, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic-, have highlighted the importance of addressing health risks holistically while integrating comprehensive NCD care, both in humanitarian response and in efforts to strengthen health systems and reduce risks especially in contexts affected by crisis and disaster. There is an urgent need to ensure continuity of NCD care for vulnerable and marginalized crisis-affected populations without access to NCD care in Africa.

The Danish Red Cross with funding from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, plans to implement a project that seeks to replicate NCD project experiences from Kenya and integrate them into relevant NCD interventions into DRC supported programmes in the East and Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia RC (ERCS) South Sudan RC (SSRC), Sudan RC (SRCS) and Somalia RC (SRCS). The unique access and mandate of RC/RC National Societies to provide lifesaving assistance to migrant and displaced populations and health care and MHPSS in emergencies will form the basis for integration, but the specific target groups and interventions will depend on needs and opportunities in the country contexts selected.

Based on the feasibility assessment conducted, this project will support the four countries in the East and Horn of Africa in planning, designing and integrating NCD activities into ongoing DRC supported programs. This will entail providing technical support, capacity building of staff and the National Society as well as resources for implementation of pilot interventions for 1-2 years. As part of the evaluation, DRC will support the development of case studies of the pilots, which will feed into the documentation and learning objectives of the projects.

The assignment will entail compilation and desk review of existing documents and information about existing services for the target group, review of real time programme data from health facilities, and review of programme documents from Sudan Red Crescent, South Sudan Red Cross, Ethiopia Red Cross and Somalia Red Crescent on services offered so far on the ongoing Health facilities and other relevant documents. The desk review will focus on Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia health care systems and access to NCD care and MHPSS services in these Countries. More data and information will be collected from Focus group discussions, Key Informant interviews and Household/ Individual questionnaires.

We expect that you apply as a firm or as team of consultants with the following areas of Expertise: Public Health with additional training/experience in NCD management, Counselling Psychology and Social Science with additional training/experience in Migration/ population movement/displacements. The team should also have relevant knowledge about the African region. Be familiar with the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement. Full proficiency in English is a requirement for this consultancy.

The consultancy is expected to take place in July and August 2022.

[1] Fighting non-communicable diseases in East Africa: assessing progress and identifying the next steps | BMJ Global Health

You can apply through this link: Rde Kors - Consultant for Continuity in Crisis - Ensuring continuity of NCD care for crisis-affected populations in East Africa Feasibility Assessment (easycruit.com)

Please reach out to Sylvia Khamati Anekha, sykma@rodekors.dk, if you need more information about the consultancy.

Application deadline is 15th July 2022.

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Consultant for Continuity in Crisis - Ensuring continuity of NCD care for crisis-affected populations in East Africa Feasibility Assessment -...

Operation Lone Star Ramps Up Mass Migration Response Efforts In Preparation For Caravans – Office of the Texas Governor

June 17, 2022 | Austin, Texas | Press Release

Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard are continuing to work together to secure the border, stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas, and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal behavior between ports of entry.

Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to more than 263,900 migrant apprehensions and more than 16,240 criminal arrests, with more than 13,500 felony charges reported. More than 5,400 weapons and over $41.5 million in currency have been seized.

Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps left by the Biden Administration's refusal to secure the border. Every individual who is apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Biden's open border policies.

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS FROM OPERATION LONE STAR:

READ: Migrant Caravan Runs Face-First Into Texas Governor Greg Abbott

When Mexico last week granted federal humanitarian travel permits to 15,000 U.S.-bound third-country migrants whodformed the largest caravanin Mexican history, most planned to head straight to the border to cross illegally into the Texas towns of Del Rio and Eagle Pass, writes Todd Bensman with the Center for Immigration Studies. Few, if any, of those thousands are finding their way over the Rio Grande into the Border Patrols Del Rio Sector. Mexican state police areblocking northbound commercial busesat the bus station in the Coahuila state capital of Saltillo, and at many other stations, and emptying migrants from trucks and vans at checkpoints on all roads leading into that states border cities of Piedras Negras, across from Eagle Pass, and Acuna, across from Del Rio, according toMexican press reporting.

The Mexican state police response comes after Governor Abbott reminded Coahuila Governor Miguel Angel Solis of his security obligations under the memorandum of understanding the governors signed in April.

WATCH: National Guard, DPS Perform Mass-Migration Exercise Along Texas-Mexico Border

Texas Army National Guard soldiers and DPS state troopers rehearsed mass-migration response capabilities on Saturday, June 11. The soldiers and state troopers are able to rapidly respond to incidents of mass migration at any point along the Texas-Mexico border.

WATCH: Texas National Guard Soldiers Establish Command-And-Control Post To Prepare For Mass Migrations

Last Saturday, a command-and-control post was established by the Texas National Guard at the Anzalduas International Bridge in preparation for a mass-migration response. The post will allow effective coordination of partner agencies on the ground by directing joint and multi-agency operations during a mass-migration event.

So long as there is a threat that exists here, our job is to remain proficient, competent, capable, and ready to respond, day or night, said MAJ Jason Cordaway, Task Force East Commanding Officer.

WATCH: Fox News Exclusive On Crisis In Eagle Pass

DPS Lieutenant Christopher Olivarez gives a border tour to Fox News Rachel Campos-Duffy to shed light on the ongoing crisis along the Texas-Mexico border. Campos-Duffy and Lt. Olivarez view groups of migrants along the Rio Grande in a helicopter tour, followed by interviews with interdicted migrants.

Texas National Guard Seize Transnationally Trafficked Narcotics

Texas Army National Guard soldiers assisted law enforcement in seizing transnationally trafficked narcotics. The guardsmen detected a group of men illegally crossing the Texas-Mexico border and interdicted the group, who dropped the packages of narcotics and fled the scene. The narcotics were seized by law enforcement as the men returned to the Mexico side of the border.

VIDEO: High-Speed Pursuit Through Multiple Counties Leads To Arrest Of Smuggler

DPS engaged in a high-speed pursuit of a smuggler through several counties. The smuggler eventually came to a stop and was charged with the smuggling of persons and evading arrest.

Criminal Trespassers Apprehended By National Guard Soldiers, DPS On Privately Owned Ranch

Texas Army National Guard soldiers assisted DPS state troopers in apprehending a group of illegal migrants last week. The illegal migrants were spotted by federal agencies, which called the soldiers and state troopers to track the group within a large stretch of privately owned ranch land. The Guard notes it is common for illegal migrants to avoid detection by border patrol agents by trespassing into ranch lands on foot.

VIDEO: DPS Troopers Traffic Stop Results In Arrest Of Driver For Smuggling Illegal Migrants

A traffic stop by DPS troopers on a passenger car resulted in the arrest of the driver for the smuggling of persons. All of the illegal migrants were referred to the U.S. Border Patrol.

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Operation Lone Star Ramps Up Mass Migration Response Efforts In Preparation For Caravans - Office of the Texas Governor

Summit of the Americas: Biden’s attempt to unite the region on migration gets off to a shaky start – The Conversation

The ninth Summit of the Americas, hosted by the Joe Biden in Los Angeles from June 6 to 10, was overshadowed by US presidents decision not to invite the presidents of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. The reason given for this was antidemocratic leadership and disrespect for human rights in those countries. But you might question this exclusion if you believe that the main democratic principles include freedom of association, speech and inclusiveness.

In his remarks at the opening plenary of the summit, Biden emphasised on various occasions the importance of working together and collaboration between the North, Central and South America when tackling regional issues, such as economic, climate and migration crises, among others. But the decision to exclude the three countries led several other leaders to boycott the event in solidarity. Mexican president Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador (AMLO), as well as the presidents of El Salvador (Nayib Bukele), Honduras (Xiomara Castro), and Guatemala (Alejandro Giammattei), also skipped the event.

Mexico is an interesting case. After a rocky start, AMLO managed to build a friendly relationship with Donald Trump during his time in the White House. But he hasnt struck up such an easy relationship with Biden. This might seem counter-intuitive when you consider that while Trump had a zero-tolerance migration policy, Biden is looking to introduce a more humane immigration system.

AMLOs respect for Trump was reflected by Latino voters in the 2020 presidential election in which he won the border state of Texas and in Florida, the US states with the high population of Latinos, predominantly Mexican-American and Cuban and Venezuelan-American, respectively.

Biden used the summit to launch a new economic partnership plan, Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity. This, he said, would aim to grow economies from the bottom up: developing innovation, strengthening supply chains and aiming to prioritise the growth of the green economy, with jobs in producing clean energy and protecting biodiversity.

Biden also announced his plans to combat corruption in the region and promote the rule of law, forging a partnership with Latin American countries to fight the powerful transnational criminal organisations, drug traffickers and the illegal weapons trade. Cooperation would also aim to improve healthcare provision across the region and increase food production. The idea, in a nutshell, is to improve the quality of life and security in Latin America to the extent that illegal migration to America would fall as people enjoy better conditions in their own countries.

At face value, so far, so positive. But the director of the Center for the United States and Mexico at Rice University in Texas, Tony Payan, thinks the plans outlined at the summit have little chance of having the desired impact, especially when it comes to migration. He believes the western hemisphere is too politically divided and chaotic to make any real progress in these areas. Payan told me: For now, no matter how well intentioned the declarations may be, their words will fade away with little to no accomplishments.

On the other hand, the president of the Migration Policy Institute, Andrew Selee, believes that a declaration signed by 20 nations at the end of the summit, the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection marks a significant step forward in creating a common language and a coherent set of ideas for more cooperatively managing migration movements across the Americas.

The goal of The Los Angeles Declaration is to control and regularise an unauthorised migration through the American continent by shared responsibility among all countries. It suggests some concrete metrics as targets for the programme. For example, the US will invest US$314 million (260 million) of humanitarian help for vulnerable refugees and migrants. In addition the US has pledged to accept a further 20,000 refugees in the next two years. An additional US$65 million will be used to promote temporary work among Haitian and Central American temporary workers.

The Los Angeles Declaration not only talks about possible solutions to migration to the US, but also between Latin American countries. Mexico, whose secretary of foreign affairs Marcelo Ebrard attended, has pledged to include 20,000 refugees from Central America and Haiti in its labour market. By the end of August 2022, Colombia will assign regularisation permits to 1.5 million of refugees and migrants from Venezuela.

But the declaration also has its limitations. The executive director of the pro-migrant foundation Amrica Sin Muros (America Without Walls), Bernardo Mndez-Lugo, told me he thinks US money and increased working visas will simply not be enough for millions of needy migrants who take the illegal road towards a better life. He also pointed out that the agreement doesnt specify how the US will legalise the status of the 5 million irregular Mexican migrants or the 2 million irregular migrants from Central American countries already in the US. Nothing has been settled to resolve the status of the 600,000 dreamers the children of illegal migrants who have grown up in the US or the hundreds of thousands of Guatemalans, Hondurans and Salvadorans with temporary protected status in the US.

So while the declaration is no doubt a stepping stone to solving the migration crisis in the Americas, the commitment will need to be followed up with concrete actions from the whole region. It will bear fruit only if all countries are united. And, of course, the absence of significant players in this issue from the summit is not a good sign that the Americas are on the same page when it comes to solving the irregular migration crisis.

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Summit of the Americas: Biden's attempt to unite the region on migration gets off to a shaky start - The Conversation

Migrant crisis: Linton-on-Ouse residents’ fury at Home Office asylum centre branding it the ‘wrong plan, wrong place’ – Sky News

Angry protests aren't something you'd associate with the pretty North Yorkshire village of Linton-on-Ouse - until now.

Residents are frustrated and furious with the Home Office's announcement that the former RAF base there will soon become an asylum reception centre for up to 1,500 people.

Representatives from the Home Office came to the village this week to attend a parish council meeting, and face questions from the residents.

They were greeted with boos, and chants of "wrong plan, wrong place", the phrase that has become the campaign slogan for those opposed to the scheme.

The village has a population of between six and seven hundred, with just four buses a day passing through it.

The RAF base has been here since 1937.

Originally home to part of Bomber Command, it became a training centre for all the RAF's fast-jet pilots, including Prince William.

But in 2014 the base began to be wound down, as training was moved to RAF Valley in Anglesey.

Then in 2020 it closed altogether, with the MoD originally planning to sell the site in 2023.

But Home Secretary Priti Patel had other plans and last month it was announced that it was to become the temporary home of hundreds of asylum seekers.

They will be processed there before being moved on, potentially to Rwanda under controversial plans.

During the, at times, rowdy meeting in the village hall the Home Office representatives told villagers they wanted to "hear their concerns" and "work with them for the best outcome".

The villagers were less than impressed, having suffered what they described as the "bombshell" of finding out about the plans via the media.

"Don't treat us like idiots," said one.

"We don't want to work with you, we want this stopped," said another.

The local district council, Hambleton, says it is exploring the possibility of a legal challenge to the Home Office decision, and so are several individuals.

Local Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake, is also bitterly opposed to the plan.

He raised the issue in prime minister's questions earlier in the week.

"What I was trying to do is keep the matter in the parliamentary eyeline," he explained.

"To make sure the people who are responsible for this decision - which does include the prime minister - think about what they're doing because this is catastrophic."

'Lots of us are working class people who happen to live in a rural area'

Dr Olga Matthias, the daughter of an immigrant father who fled the former Yugoslavia after the war, is one of those leading the protest campaign.

"It's not about nimbyism," she said.

"It's about a totally inappropriate plan being forced on a tiny village.

"A plan that Priti Patel has now made sure isn't going to happen in her own constituency."

"We're not privileged middle class people moaning about property prices," said another protestor.

"Lots of us here are working class people who happen to live in a rural area."

Another tells me they are concerned about the impact on the local community, and that the government should look to protect its own citizens before worrying about others.

Centre will help end taxpayer funded 'reliance on expensive hotels'

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The asylum reception centre at Linton-on-Ouse will help end our reliance on expensive hotels which are costing the taxpayer almost 5m a day.

"We are engaging with local stakeholders about the use of the site.

"The New Plan for Immigration will fix this broken asylum system, allowing us to support those in genuine need while preventing abuse of the system and deterring illegal entry to the UK."

A number of charities that work with refugees and asylum seekers also oppose the plans.

Mary Brandon, from the group Asylum Matters, says: "We know accommodation centres like these are extremely harmful for the people who are placed in them.

"They are destructive to people's mental health, they end up very isolated and feeling like they are stuck in limbo and separated from the rest of society."

Another charity, Ripon City of Sanctuary, also works to support refugees.

Now they are also providing advice to the Linton Action campaign group, which may result in further legal challenges.

Critics of the scheme maintain that nobody seems to want it, other than the Home Office.

Unless the government can be convinced, or made to backtrack, the first tranche of asylum seekers will arrive in Linton-on-Ouse by the end of this month.

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Migrant crisis: Linton-on-Ouse residents' fury at Home Office asylum centre branding it the 'wrong plan, wrong place' - Sky News