Immigration newsletter 01 Feb 2006

As workpermit.com readers know, Australia is currently concentrating on attracting skilled immigrants, and has substantially raised its immigration numbers this year. Australia, however, may have to accept tens of thousands of unskilled migrants to save its smaller Pacific island neighbours from economic ruin, a report commissioned by the Federal Government has found. The report argues that the plight of the island nations has become so dire that urgent remedies are necessary to keep them viable. The tiny states of Nauru, Kiribati and Tuvalu are cited as the economies most in need of a migration fix. But the report also points to Melanesian nations like Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, with their larger populations.

Two films examining immigrant life in America, the Hispanic teen drama "Quinceanera" and the Sudanese refugee documentary "God Grew Tired of Us," won top honors January 28 at the Sundance Film Festival. "Quinceanera," is a film about a girl ostracized by her family after she becomes pregnant shortly before her 15th birthday. "Quinceanera" offers a culture-clash portrait of Los Angeles' Echo Park area, traditionally a Hispanic neighborhood that has become a trendy enclave. "God Grew Tired of Us" follows three Sudanese boys adjusting to life in the United States after the bloody civil war in their homeland, and received both the jury prize and audience award for U.S. documentaries.

Earlier this week, Mexico announced plans to give US maps to would-be illegal immigrants, detailing where to find water and help in the desert as they attempt to reach the United States. Mexico announced later, however, that it would not go through with the plan. After the plan drew strong condemnation from the U.S. government, Mexico's National Human Rights Commission said it had suspended the program, which was drawn up to reduce deaths from thirst and exhaustion.