Week of November 1–7, 2022

The Governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, has called on the federal government to provide additional support to refugees and immigrants in the state. Baker has requested more aid for refugees, faster and more streamlined processing of work authorisation and re-evaluation of the level and scope of services provided by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. In the letter, the governor acknowledges that the state is far from the only one struggling to cope with a high influx of new arrivals but calls on federal officials to step up. Massachusetts has seen a significant increase in the number of immigrant families looking for shelter this year. However, officials have been criticised for giving local-level leaders little notice before placing migrant and homeless families at hotels in their communities.

The global economy must adapt to demographic changes driven by the aging of the world's population and declining birth rates, according to Canadian journalist John Ibbitson. Speaking at the FreightWaves F3: Future of Freight Festival in Tennessee, Ibbitson argued that Canada and the US have differing attitudes to immigration, with the former's point system designed to bring in skilled workers to address job shortages. Ibbitson believes that more countries will face labor shortages as the population ages, and called for the adoption of immigration policies to bring in more workers. He said the US was likely to be better placed than India and China, which both have declining populations. Demographic changes will affect economic growth, prosperity, resource demand and labor, according to Ibbitson.

A coalition of Republican-led states in the US is asking a district court to hold the Biden administration in contempt of court for violating an order that requires the expulsion of undocumented immigrants at the US-Mexico border. The states are alleging that allowing Haitian immigrants to enter the country legally violates this order. However, this effort is not an attempt to solve illegal immigration, but rather to keep immigrants out of the country altogether. By attempting to stop the legal flow of immigrants, the states are explicitly asking the Biden administration to intentionally sabotage the border in a way that would increase illegal immigration. The graph of Haitian border crossings shows that illegal immigration is a policy choice, not a natural phenomenon. To create order at the border, legal immigration is needed, not attempts to stop it.

As the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme faces uncertainty in the US, voters in Colorado are being reminded of the importance of immigration reform. Advocates are trying to encourage Latino voters to engage in the issue and vote in support of candidates who favour DACA and immigration reform. Democratic incumbent Michael Bennet and Republican challenger Joe O’Dea both recognise the need to protect DACA recipients, but differ in their approaches. Bennet is willing to consider multiple routes, including stand-alone legislation, while O’Dea believes DACA protections should be part of a comprehensive bill which expands the border walls and reforms the immigration system. Meanwhile, the House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy, has indicated that he is not interested in working on comprehensive immigration reform.

More than 490 Venezuelan migrants have arrived in the US and nearly 7,000 have been authorised to travel there since the Biden administration created a programme for US sponsors to apply for them. The US has accepted to house and financially support 24,000 Venezuelans, and this scheme was launched two weeks ago to curb a record number of Venezuelans arriving at the US-Mexico border after fleeing poverty and the authoritarian government in their homeland. Since then, officials said the number of Venezuelans apprehended crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally has plunged from an average of 1,100 a day to about 300 a day. It is unclear what will happen when the 24,000 slots fill up.

There are concerns that anti-immigrant rhetoric in the US is fanning the flames of violence in the run-up to November's midterm elections. Xenophobia and white supremacy have emerged in Republican candidates' campaign ads and speeches, and watchdogs warn that these themes have gone further than ever before. Critics say that while the Terrell Election Law of 1903 that allowed white primaries was rendered unconstitutional in 1944, the rhetoric has continued to encourage the spread of unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud and immigrants coming across the border illegally. These have included racist massacres in recent years and conspiracy theories, such as the "Great Replacement Theory", which claims Western elites want to disempower white Americans. Some fear that the inflammatory rhetoric in this election cycle could incite further violence.

The Denver Post has published a series of letters to the editor about a range of issues. A letter from Joy Athanasiou in Denver argues that a recent opinion piece misrepresents Sen. Michael Bennet’s record, as he has actually fought to stem the tide of fentanyl and opioid abuse and has secured more resources for the DOJ’s COPS programme. On immigration, Bennet has been part of the Bipartisan Gang of Eight and continues to fight for immigration reform by advancing smart solutions at the border. Elaine Little calls on the Denver City Council to pay attention to voters and leave a piece of undeveloped land undeveloped, rather than build more apartments. Wendy J. Harring challenges the assertion that the conservation easement that encumbers the Park Hill Golf Course requires the land to be used only for a golf course and no other purposes. Finally, a letter from Kenton Fry in Denver calls on the DOTI and all City Council members to take action on the I-25/Broadway Interchange project at Lincoln St./Ohio Ave., as the design of the project does not reflect the city-wide plans for a safer, healthier Denver.

Philadelphia is working to increase the number of bilingual poll workers for the forthcoming 2022 US mid-term elections, to address the challenges faced by voters with limited English proficiency. Bilingual staff will translate election materials such as voter guides and polling place signs, and assist voters in different languages. The US Voting Rights Act's section 203 requires that if over 5% of a city's voting-age population does not understand English well enough to participate in the electoral process, language assistance must be provided. However, despite the legislation, there are often not enough bilingual workers to assist voters. Philadelphia will now offer support in Arabic, Haitian Creole, Khmer, Portuguese, Russian and Vietnamese, in addition to Spanish and Chinese. Low-income Latino neighbourhoods have some of the city's lowest turnout rates, with the availability of Spanish-language materials not fully resolving the issue.

French President Emmanuel Macron's proposed immigration law has been criticized by both left-wing and far-right parties ahead of its parliamentary debate next year. The bill aims to facilitate the integration of migrant workers and give the government more power to deport undocumented individuals. While the law would grant legal status to undocumented workers already in France, this would only apply to those deemed fit for employment in sectors facing a labor shortage, and who meet integration requirements, including French language skills. The law also includes measures to make it easier for the government to expel irregular foreigners, such as reducing the number of appeals against deportation and making life impossible for those subject to orders to leave French territory. Critics from the left have accused the government of using migrant workers as "cannon fodder" for employers, while the far-right has denounced any steps towards granting undocumented migrants legal rights.

Canada has announced it will boost its annual immigration level to 500,000 by 2025, illustrating that a high level of immigration compared to other nations is a central feature of Canada’s immigration system. Last year, Canada welcomed over 405,000 newcomers—the most ever welcomed in a single year, and the government is continuing that ambition by setting targets of 465,000 permanent residents in 2023, 485,000 in 2024 and 500,000 in 2025. In the United States, opponents of immigration have promoted the “lump of labor fallacy,” the notion discredited by economists that there is a fixed quantity of labor needed in an economy. As a result, the focus of immigration restrictionists has been to reduce labor force growth under the mistaken belief that it would help the U.S. economy. Economists note that labor force growth is an essential element of economic growth, which is needed to elevate the standard of living in a country.