Latest news with #immigrationreform
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Dutch voters welcome collapse of right-wing coalition, according to poll
The first political opinion poll taken after the collapse of the Netherlands ' right-wing coalition government on Tuesday says only 14 per cent of voters believe it achieved anything worthwhile during its 11 months in office. The coalition of Geert Wilders ' Freedom Party, the centre-right VVD, agrarian BBB and progressive New Social Contract collapsed after Mr Wilders made good on a threat to pull out of the coalition unless the other parties backed tougher immigration reforms. King Willem-Alexander cut short a state visit to the Czech Republic to return to The Hague on Tuesday to accept the resignation of prime minister Dick Schoof, who will remain in a caretaker capacity until the outcome of a general election in October. The Schoof government took office last July. The poll by current affairs television programme EenVandaag surveyed 16,117 respondents in the hours immediately after Mr Wilders abandoned the coalition. READ MORE It gave the government – racked by relentless infighting and stung by external criticism from the start – an overall satisfaction rating of 3.6 out of 10. Eighty-three per cent of the responses to the opinion poll were negative, while only 14 per cent were positive. Given its troubled tenure, most voters – 65 per cent – welcome the coalition's demise. Non-Freedom Party voters blame Mr Wilders personally, frequently describing him as 'childish'. By contrast, his own supporters say he was 'obstructed' by the other coalition parties and needs a new mandate to govern as prime minister – a post all the parties' leaders agreed to forego last year. [ Geert Wilders pulls party from Netherlands government Opens in new window ] As a result, only 16 per cent of respondents said they would like to see the same parties work together again. Almost three-quarters – 72 per cent – agree with Labour-GreenLeft leader Frans Timmermans that elections are the only practical way to achieve a newly stable government for the fifth-largest economy in the euro zone. As the inevitability of an autumn election sank in, parliament began a post-collapse debate on Wednesday morning, full of angry recriminations. The mood of MPs wasn't helped by the prospect of a nationwide train strike on Friday that has been overshadowed by the political crisis. Arriving for the debate, Mr Wilders said he would keep up the pressure for tighter immigration. 'Let's start now: close asylum centres, don't let people in, and don't allow family migration.' However, Christian Democrat leader Henri Bontenbal responded that after the 'chaos' of an 11-month 'political experiment' the mood now was for a return to 'stability'. 'Society is longing for normality and for politicians who deliver more – not less – than they promise.'
Fox News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Florida Sen Moody rolls out measure to expedite removal of criminal illegal immigrants
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Ashley Moody will roll out a measure on Wednesday that will expedite the removal of criminal illegal immigrants from the United States involved in gangs, foreign terrorist organizations or convicted of any felony on U.S. soil, Fox News Digital has learned. Moody, R-Fla., is expected to introduce her legislation Wednesday morning, titled "The Expedited Removal of Criminal Aliens Act." Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., is co-sponsoring the legislation. Moody's team told Fox News Digital that the legislation is "critical" to supporting the Trump administration's immigration priorities. "Following four years of systematic dismantlement of our country's immigration and national security structure under Joe Biden, the American people gave President Trump a mandate to clean up Biden's mess," Moody told Fox News Digital. "Democrats and lower-level partisan judges, however, have sought to block his efforts at every turn." Moody told Fox News Digital that they have claimed that "dangerous criminal illegal aliens and MS-13 gang members like Kilmar Abrego Garcia are just family men living quiet lives in America, and they couldn't be more wrong." "Democrats have fought against the quick removal of illegal aliens who have committed atrocious crimes against children or even those that have been convicted of murder," Moody said. "It makes no sense." Moody's bill authorizes the expedited removal of an immigrant who is a member of a criminal gang or organization; a member of a foreign terrorist organization or has provided material support to such an organization; or has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor. Those potential felony or misdemeanor convictions include any assault of a law enforcement officer, any sexual offense, any crime of domestic violence, any stalking offense, any crime against children or any violation of a protection order. "Today we are finally putting common-sense immigration policies first by introducing legislation to authorize the expedited removal of dangerous criminals and prevent activist-judges from keeping known terrorists, criminals and gang members on American soil and endangering our communities," Moody told Fox News Digital. Moody's bill comes amid a court battle over Abrego Garcia — the Salvadorian migrant and alleged MS-13 member who was deported from Maryland to El Salvador in March. Abrego Garcia was suspected of partaking in labor/human trafficking, according to a 2022 Homeland Security Investigations report obtained by Fox News. The report also stated that "official law enforcement investigations" revealed that Abrego Garcia was a member of the notorious gang MS-13, which Trump has designated as a terror organization. A Homeland Security Investigations report also notes that in October 2019, the Prince Georges County Police Gang Unit identified Abrego Garcia as a member of the notorious Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang. Abrego Garcia was also recently revealed to have a record of being a "violent" repeat wife beater, according to court records filed in a Prince George's County, Maryland, district court by his wife, Jennifer Vasquez. The Trump administration has continued to maintain it was right to deport Abrego Garcia to CECOT, despite many Democrats suggesting he was wrongly deported, even going as far as to say he was kidnapped by the administration.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Our View: Reforming US immigration system is long overdue
It's a long shot. But it's a shot worth taking. House Republicans, including Kern's Republican Rep. David Valadao, and Democrats have introduced the Farm Workforce Modernization Act for the fourth time in as many Congresses. Earlier bills passed the House on a bipartisan vote only to be defeated in the Senate. With the goal of stabilizing the agricultural workforce by reforming the H2A agricultural worker visa program, the FWMA also would provide a path to legalization for undocumented workers currently living in the United States. It would allow farmworkers to seek 'certified agricultural status' — a temporary status for those who have worked at least 180 days in agriculture over the last two years. That would allow workers to apply for a green card contingent on additional years of work in agriculture. People with 10 years of agricultural work prior to the date of enactment would be required to complete four additional years of such work. Workers with less than 10 years would have to complete eight additional years. After completion of those requirements and with a green card in hand, workers could apply for the naturalization process. Acknowledging the bill has a long-shot chance at passing, Valadao told The Californian, 'I just want something that works for agriculture and that works for the people who work in agriculture.' Repeatedly, immigration reform has been derailed by raw politics. One party wants reforms, while the other wants to use the nation's failed immigration system as a hammer. Last year, the U.S. came close to reforming immigration policy with a bipartisan bill negotiated by conservative Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma and Independent Sen. Krysten Sinema of Arizona. Before the bill's release, it faced strong opposition from then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who had made immigration a top campaign issue. Republican support quickly disappeared. Only four Republican senators, including Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who had delegated Lankford to negotiate the bill, voted for it. A group of about 100 Oklahoma GOP leaders condemned Lankford for his efforts and a popular conservative political commentator threatened to destroy him if immigration reformed passed during the presidential election. Although the bill contained many provisions desired by Republicans — such as building more border wall, hiring more Border Patrol agents, expanding detention capacity and speeding deportation — it was 'dead on arrival' in the Republican-controlled Senate. Conceding the political climate remains 'complicated,' Valadao said about this year's bill, 'One of the things I've heard for a long time is when the border is secure, we can then have the conversation about resolving programs like the guest worker program. So, I do believe there's an opportunity.' Legalization and an option for citizenship has earned the FWMA the endorsement of the United Farmworkers union, which in the past has opposed expansion of the H2A program. 'Across the country, immigrant farmworkers are going to work every day to feed America,' UFW President Teresa Romero said in a news release. 'Yet these same workers are all too often afraid of getting deported simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.' A UFW spokesman noted that it is the height of hypocrisy that during the COVID-19 pandemic, farmworkers were designated 'essential,' while they were denied the ability to just exist legally in our society. 'We have failed as a federal government, Congress and the White House. For decades, we haven't been able to have a system that worked,' said Valadao. 'We've created a system that has helped people, or encouraged people to essentially break our laws and live here for 20 years in the shadows. And now we're just supposed to tell them never, ever can they come back?' Adoption of a reasonable and fair immigration policy is long overdue. The first step begins with setting aside xenophobic political posturing and passing the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE More than 1 million migrants already in UK could be forced to wait five extra years for residency
More than a million migrant workers already living in Britain may have to wait an extra five years to win permanent residence rights under a major review. It is the first indication that Labour's immigration reforms – published on Monday - could have sweeping consequences for migrants already in the country, not just those who arrive in future. The Home Office is reviewing the criteria which may be applied to foreign workers who have come here since 2020, the Mail understands. 'We have more than a million people who quite soon will become eligible for permanent rights and we need to make sure that it isn't booming out of control,' a government source said. Under current rules most foreign workers become eligible to apply for 'indefinite leave to remain' after living here for five years. But the review will look at whether some or all should be required to wait a decade. The period from January 2020 to December 2024 saw about 1.5million foreign workers handed visas. The Home Office does not publish figures on how many of those remain in the country. It comes after Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was grilled in the Commons by MPs from her own party over the impact of her immigration White Paper on permanent residency rights. Florence Eshalomi, the Labour MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green, said she had been contacted by constituents who were 'understandably worried about where this uncertainty leaves them' and were 'worried about their future plans'. She asked: 'One even told me that they were so worried that they were considering leaving the UK, because their settled status here is in jeopardy, so can the Home Secretary please outline whether this policy applies to people who are already living and working in the UK, or will it apply just to new visa applicants? Ms Cooper replied: 'We will set out further details of the earned settlement and citizenship reforms later this year, and we will consult on them. 'There will be plenty of opportunity for people to comment on and consider the detail, but it is important that we extend the sense of contributions and the points-based system to those reforms as well. 'We have also said that we will maintain the current five-year route for those who have come on a dependant visa or a family visa, as part of maintaining families.' Separately, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has demanded more generous terms for foreign nurses. Professor Nicola Ranger, RCN general secretary and chief executive, said in a speech on Monday that indefinite leave to remain should be extended to 'all nursing staff without delay'.
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Starmer faces criticism over immigration plans
The Prime Minister faces criticism from multiple quarters after unveiling his Government's plan to cut net migration on Monday. The plans, which are expected to reduce the number of people coming to the UK by up to 100,000 per year, include reforming work and study visas and requiring a higher level of English across all immigration routes. But Monday's proposals sparked concern from employers, particularly in the care sector, following the announcement that care worker visas would be scrapped. GMB national officer Will Dalton said the decision would be 'potentially catastrophic' as the care sector was 'utterly reliant on migrant workers' and still had more than 130,000 vacancies across the country. The Home Office believes there are 40,000 potential members of staff originally brought over by 'rogue' providers who could work in the sector while UK staff are trained up. More broadly, CBI chief executive Rain Newton-Smith warned that labour shortages 'can't be solved by training alone' in the context of a shrinking workforce and an ageing population. She also cautioned that changes that 'risk making the UK a less attractive place to study' or increased costs for universities 'will have knock-on impacts for the competitive strength of UK higher education'. In the Commons, Sir Keir Starmer's announcement has also drawn attacks from across the political spectrum. Labour backbenchers criticised the language Sir Keir used to announce the plans, particularly his claim that Britain could become an 'island of strangers' without reform of the immigration system. Sheffield Hallam MP Olivia Blake suggested the phrase could 'risk legitimising the same far-right violence we saw in last year's summer riots', while former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who lost the Labour whip last year, accused Sir Keir of 'reflecting the language' of Enoch Powell's infamous 'rivers of blood' speech in the 1960s. Skills minister Baroness Jacqui Smith rejected the comparison, telling BBC Newsnight it was 'wrong'. Meanwhile, other parties argued the Prime Minister's proposals did not go far enough. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the Immigration White Paper was 'so weak that it barely scratches the surface' as he pushed for a 'binding annual cap on migration' and disapplying the Human Rights Act from immigration law. Nigel Farage, whose Reform UK has focused heavily on immigration in its campaigns, said the Government 'will not do what it takes to control our borders'. The Liberal Democrats offered some qualified support, with the party's home affairs spokeswoman Lisa Smart saying it was 'right that the Government is taking steps to fix our broken immigration system'. But she added that the proposals 'must be coupled with a clear plan to make it easier to recruit British workers to fill vacancies instead'.
