Italy has accepted about 2 million emigrants over the last decade
From 1996 to 2006, slightly less than two million emigrants arrived in Italy. These data on foreign citizens legally present in the country were published by the National Statistics Institute Istat.
The most numerous are the Romanian, Albanian, and Moroccan communities. The majority of foreign women living in Italy are Romanian - about 145 thousand. A particularly high influx of emigration is observed in the northeast of the country (16.4% more compared to 1996) and in the northwest (5.6% more).
Netherlands to open borders for workers from new EU countries
The government of the Netherlands plans to open its borders in May 2007 for workers from countries that are new members of the European Union, reports Associated Press citing a government statement. 'Further delay harms Dutch business and could damage relations with these countries,' said the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in a message to the Dutch parliament.
The labor activity of migrants will be carried out on the principle of 'equal pay for equal work', which will avoid price competition on the one hand, and create equal pay conditions on the other. Under the new rules, employers will be fined if they assign a lower salary to a migrant than to a local worker.
The new rules will affect workers from countries that joined the EU in 2005: Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. At the same time, they do not apply to residents of Bulgaria and Romania, which joined the EU in 2007.
Mexican immigrants in the US are deprived of most rights
The situation of Mexican immigrants in the US is much worse than that of other ethnic groups and, naturally, of the native population of the United States who hold citizenship rights. This conclusion was reached by the National Population Council of Mexico, which conducted a special study on US territory and compiled a special report based on its results.
According to the authors of the report, the most difficult situation is in the area of immigrants' access to healthcare. Seven out of ten Mexicans permanently living and working in the United States are deprived of any opportunity to visit a doctor's office or receive medical care. The average annual salary of a Mexican immigrant in the US does not exceed $22,100, which is $15,000 less than what a representative of any other ethnic group earns per year for their work.
The document also emphasizes that 70% of Mexican immigrants are youth and people of economically active age from 15 to 44 years. More than half of them have incomplete secondary education and only 5.3% have diplomas of higher and specialized professional education. However, the absolute majority of them are deprived of access to all types of training, including even the opportunity to take a driving course.
According to the National Council's statistics, currently 28.1 million people of Mexican origin live permanently in the US, along with about 10 million immigrants, 5.9 million of whom are illegal. Over 3 million Mexicans live in the US in conditions of 'extreme poverty and destitution,' the report notes.