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Immigration
Swiss people are voting in a referendum on measures aimed at severely restricting immigration.
The ballot marks the second time this year that the non-EU country has held a referendum on immigration.
Last February voters narrowly backed the reintroduction of quotas, effectively opting out of a free movement agreement with Brussels.
The new proposal, known as Ecopop, goes much further, limiting net immigration to just 0.2% of the overall population.
Switzerland’s population is just 8.2 million – but that is still more than a million more than it was 20 years ago.
While unemployment is low and living standards are high, many Swiss worry about overcrowding and environmental degradation.
Supporters of the Ecopop initiative say restricting immigration will safeguard Switzerland’s environment by reducing the need for new transport links and new housing.
Ecopop also aims to limit overpopulation abroad, by devoting 10% of Switzerland’s overseas aid to family planning in developing countries.
Opponents, among them all the major political parties, say the proposals will be bad for the economy – 25% of the Swiss workforce is foreign, and business leaders want to be able to recruit skilled labor from across Europe.
Meanwhile, many environmental groups argue that if the Swiss really want to protect their environment, they should start by adjusting their own lifestyles.
Opinion polls show a close vote, with latest indications suggesting that while many Swiss are worried about immigration, the Ecopop measures may be a step too far.
Texas Governor Rick Perry is sending 1,000 National Guard troops to the US border with Mexico to protect against what he described as criminals, human traffickers and drug cartels.
Republican Rick Perry said he had to act because the federal government had failed to secure the border.
He said the troops would work alongside law enforcement.
The move comes after a surge of unaccompanied Central American children crossed the border illegally.
More than 57,000 children, many fleeing gang violence and extreme poverty at home, have crossed the border since October.
In a news conference, Rick Perry said criminals would see the influx of children as an opportunity to be exploited. And he said that more than 203,000 “criminal aliens” had been held in Texas jails since 2008.
Texas Governor Rick Perry is sending 1,000 National Guard troops to the US border with Mexico
“There can be no national security without border security, and Texans have paid too high a price for the federal government’s failure to secure our border,” said Rick Perry, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 and has been named as a possible contender in 2016.
“The action I am ordering today will tackle this crisis head-on by multiplying our efforts to combat the cartel activity, human traffickers and individual criminals who threaten the safety of people across Texas and America.”
The Texas National Guard deployment will cost the state of Texas as much as $12 million per month.
President Barack Obama, a Democrat, has called for comprehensive immigration reform that would provide some path to legal status for the millions of undocumented immigrants living in the US as well as strengthen security at the border.
In response to the recent flood of illegal-immigrant children, Barack Obama has asked Congress for $3.7 billion to hire extra immigration judges, provide drone surveillance of the border, and fund medical services. Republicans in Congress rejected the request.
In Texas, a spokesman for the Texas Democratic Party accused Rick Perry of “photo-op politics” that ignored the need for comprehensive immigration reform.
“Local law enforcement, elected officials, and faith and community leaders in the Rio Grande Valley have expressed concerned about militarizing the border, the need to create a short-term humanitarian solution, and solving the long-term need for comprehensive immigration reform,” Emmanuel Garcia said.
“Today, Governor Rick Perry ignored those voices.”
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President Barack Obama was interrupted by two people while delivering a speech on the economy on Thursday at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas.
The two Hispanic hecklers interrupted the president’s speech with shouts about illegal immigration.
“I’m sorry, what are you yelling about now?” Barack Obama said amid the sudden yelling.
“Sit down, guys. I’m almost done.
Barack Obama was interrupted by two people while delivering a speech on the economy at the Paramount Theater in Austin (photo Daily Texas)
“Come on, sit down. I’ll talk to you afterwards, I promise. I’ll bring you back. I’m wrapping things up here.”
The White House’s transcript of Barack Obama’s remarks in Austin omits what the protesters said, but the president replied: “I understand. See, everybody is going to start – I’m on your side, man. Sit down, guys, we’ll talk about it later, I promise.”
They were invited after the event to meet with Barack Obama about their concerns on immigration reform.
According to a White House press pool report, its staff escorted the protesters behind the stage immediately after Barack Obama’s speech was over and he “began glad-handing with folks in front”.
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Zeituni Onyango, President Barack Obama’s aunt who stayed in the US illegally for years, died Tuesday at age 61.
Zeituni Onyango had been treated in recent months for cancer and respiratory problems, Cleveland attorney Margaret Wong said.
She died in a Boston rehabilitation center, said Margaret Wong, who represented her in her immigration case.
Zeituni Onyango, a half-sister of Barack Obama’s late father, moved from Kenya to the US in 2000 and was denied asylum by an immigration judge in 2004.
She remained in the country illegally, living in Boston public housing.
Zeituni Onyango was a half-sister of Barack Obama’s late father (photo AP)
She finally was granted asylum in 2010 by a judge who said she could be in danger if she returned to Kenya because of her relationship with Barack Obama.
Zeituni Onyango was born in Kenya in May 1952 under a mango tree and was delivered by a midwife, Margaret Wong said.
She raised a family in Kenya and worked in the computer department of Kenya Breweries, she said.
“She was an awesome, funny, shrewd, smart lady born at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Margaret Wong said.
“If she was only born in America or born in more Western open society instead of being bogged down by tribes, lineage and being a woman in Kenya, she could have been anything she wanted to be.”
Margaret Wong said Zeituni Onyango had become ill in January and died early Tuesday morning in her sleep.
The White House, which had no immediate reaction to Zeituni Onyango’s death on Tuesday, had said previously that Barack Obama did not intervene in her immigration case.
Barack Obama, in his memoir Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, affectionately referred to Zeituni Onyango as Auntie Zeituni and described meeting her during his 1988 trip to Kenya.
Zeituni Onyanogo helped care for his half-brothers and sister while living with his father, Barack Obama Sr., in Kenya.
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Voters in Switzerland have narrowly backed a referendum proposal to bring back strict quotas for immigration from EU countries.
Final results showed 50.3% voted in favor. The vote invalidates the Swiss-EU agreement on freedom of movement.
Fiercely independent Switzerland is not a member of the EU, but has adopted large sections of EU policy.
Brussels said it regretted the outcome of the vote and would examine its implications.
A Yes vote of more than 50% was needed for the referendum to pass.
The vote has shown up traditional divisions, with French-speaking areas against the quotas, German-speaking regions divided, and the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino firmly in favor.
In a statement, the European Commission said it regretted that an “initiative for the introduction of quantitative limits to immigration has been passed by this vote.
Voters in Switzerland have narrowly backed a referendum proposal to bring back strict quotas for immigration from EU countries
“This goes against the principle of free movement of persons between the EU and Switzerland. The EU will examine the implications of this initiative on EU-Swiss relations as a whole. In this context, the Federal Council’s position on the result will also be taken into account.”
The vote comes amid increasing debate across Europe about migration and the impact of free movement of people.
Switzerland’s economy is booming at the moment, and unemployment is low, but many Swiss worry about immigration.
A quarter of the eight million-strong population is foreign, and last year 80,000 new immigrants arrived.
Since 2007, most of the EU’s 500 million residents have been on an equal footing with locals in the Swiss job market – the result of a policy voted into law in a 2000 referendum.
But a coalition led by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party now wants to reverse this deal, saying it was a huge mistake.
Supporters of quotas believe free movement has put pressure on housing, health, education, and transport. They also argue that foreign workers drive salaries down.
But the Swiss government and business leaders say free movement is key to Switzerland’s economic success, allowing employers to choose skilled staff from across Europe.
Switzerland’s bilateral agreements with the EU took years of negotiation to achieve.
Abandoning free movement could limit Switzerland’s access to Europe’s single market, where over half its exports are sold.
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1,123 migrants from North Africa have been rescued by Italian navy from inflatable boats in the space of 24 hours.
The latest migrants were found in eight boats and a barge about 120 miles south-east of Lampedusa.
They included 47 women, four of them pregnant, and 50 children, all probably from sub-Saharan Africa, the navy said.
Meanwhile, at least seven migrants have drowned trying to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa.
Local officials say the bodies of six men and a woman were found on a beach in neighboring Morocco. The dead migrants were among hundreds of people who tried to enter Spanish territory on Thursday.
Italy’s navy has rescued 1,123 people from inflatable boats in the space of 24 hours
The Moroccan coastguard said it had picked up 150 of the migrants, while the rest swam back to shore.
All of the victims were reportedly from sub-Saharan Africa.
Some 2,000 migrants landed on Italian shores last month, nearly 10 times the number recorded in January 2013.
Once in Italy, the migrants will be assessed to see if they have legitimate grounds for claiming asylum.
They have to satisfy the authorities that they are fleeing persecution and would face harm or even death if sent back to their country of origin.
Nearly three out of four asylum applications in EU states were rejected in 2012.
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