New York Times -  March 13, 2017

Congressman King of Iowa stirs controversy
with remark supporting white nationalism

By MATTHEW HAAG

Representative Steve King, a Republican from Iowa who has a history of making inflammatory statements viewed by many as insensitive or outright racist, was roundly criticized on Sunday for his apparent endorsement of white nationalism.

Mr. King made the remark on Twitter when he shared a story by the Voice of Europe website about the far right Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who wants to end Muslim immigration and ban the Quran and who has called Moroccan immigrants “scum.”

Self proclaimed white nationalists emerged as a small but vocal group during the candidacy of Donald J. Trump, celebrating his promises to crack down on illegal immigration and ban Muslims from entering the United States, as well as heralding his presidential victory as a chance to preserve white culture. David Duke, the white nationalist and former Ku Klux Klansman who called Mr. Trump “by far the best candidate” during the campaign, celebrated Mr. King’s comments…….

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/12/us/steve-king-white-nationalism-racism.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

Reuters – March 16, 2017

In Trump era, some Mexican migrants head north - to Canada

By Gabriel Stargardter, Lizbeth Diaz and Anna Mehler Paperny

Shortly after crossing the Rio Grande into the gang-infested border city of Reynosa, dozens of Mexicans deported during U.S President Donald Trump's first days in office said they would soon try to head north again - but this time to Canada.

In a Reynosa migrant shelter, just yards from the U.S. border, 26-year-old Cenobio Rita said he had earned about $3,000 a month installing playgrounds in Richmond, Virginia, before he was deported on Feb. 15 after police found marijuana in his car.

Having left Mexico as a 14-year-old, he fretted about returning to his violent home state of Michoacan. With Trump taking a tough stance on undocumented immigrants, he ruled out a common path for many deportees - back into the United States.

"I want to go to Canada with my passport," he said. "For those without documents, I think (the United States) is over. Now it's Canada's turn."

As Trump seeks to crack down on undocumented immigrants in the United States, about half of whom are Mexican, there are some nascent signs that more Mexican migrants see a future in Canada, which in December eased travel for visitors from Mexico.

Canadian government data shows a tripling of Mexicans seeking to travel to Canada in the three months since the visa requirement was shelved.

It is not a firm indicator as many people could be genuine tourists. But tie it to a surge in calls and emails to immigration lawyers from recently arrived Mexicans looking for work permits, as well as the accounts of deportees like Rita and Mexicans already in Canada, and it suggests a new migration pattern may be emerging.

Seven immigration lawyers, consultants and activists told Reuters that requests for legal advice from Mexicans who had entered Canada since Dec. 1 had roughly tripled compared with the same period in 2015-2016.

Between December and late February, Canada has granted more than 61,500 eTAs (Electronic Travel Authorization forms) to Mexicans, about triple the number of quarterly tourist applications received in the year before the visa requirement was scrapped, official Canadian data shows. The true scale of Mexican immigration will only become fully apparent in June, when early arrivals on these eTAs are due to leave.

Flight bookings from Mexico to Canada also swelled 90 percent in January and February versus the same period in 2016, according to travel analysis company ForwardKeys, which reviews all major travel agency bookings. It is unclear what percentage of those bookings were made by people looking to work illegally in Canada.

Marcela Gonzalez's telephone and Facebook page may be a good indicator. The immigration paralegal in Toronto used to receive four calls a month from Mexicans in Canada, before Trump's election and the new visa-free travel.

"Now I get four in less than 10 minutes," from people wanting to know how to get work permits and permanent residency, she said.

Gonzalez said 200 Mexicans looking for immigration advice wrote to her on Facebook on a recent day, including parents already in Canada asking her how to enroll their children in local schools.

The Mexican government did not respond to requests for comment for this story. The Mexican embassy in Canada said both countries would work together to "promote secure and lawful travel between our two nations."

"We will carefully monitor migration trends regarding Mexican travelers to Canada, including asylum claim rates," said Camielle Edwards, spokeswoman for Immigration and Refugee Minister Ahmed Hussen, when asked if Canada had noted a rise in Mexican migration.

Reuters spoke to about 30 Mexicans in Reynosa who had been deported the previous night. More than half said they wanted to head to Canada. While it is unclear how many will succeed, almost nobody envisaged a future in the United States.

But tough border checks, hard-to-find jobs and fine-tuned enforcement policies mean it can be hard to enter and harder to stay.

In 2015, Victor Avila, a 37-year-old architect from Oaxaca, returned home voluntarily from the United States after five years working illegally in Freehold, New Jersey. Shocked by the low wages in Mexico and traumatized by the local murder of his brother, he applied for an eTA.

Avila arrived in Toronto a few weeks ago and found work in a restaurant. He was in the process of applying for a work visa, but said he would stay on illegally for a year if it wasn't granted.

"I think for many of us in Canada, there's no other option but to stay and work illegally," he said………..

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-mexico-canada-insight-idUSKBN16N15A?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MB&utm_term=%2AMorning%20Brief

AFP – March 14, 2017

Workplace headscarf ban not discriminatory, rules top EU court

Private businesses in Europe can forbid Muslim women in their employ from wearing headscarves if the ban is part of a policy of neutrality within the company and not a sign of prejudice against a particular religion, the European Union Court of Justice said on March 14, 2017. Such a ban doesn't constitute what the court calls "direct discrimination."

The conclusion by the highest court in the 28-nation European Union was in response to two cases brought by a Belgian and a French woman, both fired for refusing to remove their headscarves.

It clarifies a long-standing question about whether bans by some countries on religious symbols, in classrooms, for example, can be extended to the workplace.

The court's response fed right into the French presidential campaign, bolstering the platforms of far-right leader Marine Le Pen, a leading contender in the spring election who wants to do away with all "ostentatious" religious symbols in the name of secularism, and conservative Francois Fillon, who hailed the court's decisions.

France already bans headscarves and other religious symbols in classrooms as well as face-covering veils in streets.

However, critics quickly voiced fears that the decision risks becoming a setback to all working Muslim women.

"Today's disappointing rulings... give greater leeway to employers to discriminate against women and men on the grounds of religious belief," said a statement by Amnesty International.

"At a time when identity and appearance has become a political battleground, people need more protection against prejudice, not less."

Georgina Siklossy of the European Network Against Racism in Brussels expressed concern it could have dastardly effects on Muslim women like making them choose between working and wearing religious garments and other minority populations in Europe, like Sikhs with turbans or Jews with kippahs.

The Open Society Justice Initiative, which submitted a brief supporting the women, expressed disappointment.

The group's policy officer, Maryam Hmadoum, contended that the decision "weakens the guarantee of equality that is at the heart of the EU's antidiscrimination directive," which the Court of Justice cited in weighing the cases.

"Certainly, many employees who are asking themselves questions about religious signs in their companies will look at these decisions and probably put in place internal regulations," said lawyer Claire Waquet, who represents the French woman in question. "Some will certainly do this."

Turkey says ruling to 'strengthen anti-Muslim trend'

Turkey attacked the ruling by the EU's top court, saying it would intensify anti-Muslim sentiment.

"The European Court of Justice decision on the headscarf today will only strengthen anti-Muslim and xenophobic trends," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said in a tweet

"Quo vadis Europa? (Where is Europe going?)", he added.

The response came as Turkey is locked in a mighty row with Germany, the Netherlands and other EU states over the blocking of Turkish officials from holding rallies abroad in the campaign for a referendum on expanding Erdogan's powers.

Turkey last month said it was lifting a historic ban on female officers wearing the Islamic headscarf in the country's officially secular armed forces, the last institution where the wearing of the garment was forbidden.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1320504
 

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