By the end of 2011 UKBA aims to conclude 90% of new asylum cases within six months of application. But it is neither reasonable nor in accordance with the UK's obligations under international refugee law to seek to achieve this target by dint of using an inherently unfair procedure. The correct test of an asylum system is that those in need of protection receive it, not the speed with which they are rejected.
As a feminist and as an American working on immigration policy, I have a clear line in the sand when it comes to the treatment of women who immigrate to this country: “defending our borders” should not be at the expense of defending our values. But when I interviewed women in immigration detention facilities all over the country last year and heard their stories of neglect and abuse, it became clear to me that this line has been crossed.
The European Parliament's new members will soon be in place, some of them without a clear idea of what they can actually achieve there. They need an agenda, one that is pan-European. They should look at the problems that continue to harm and restrict women in Europe.
Millions of Asian women working overseas are feeding their families, and boosting the economies of their countries, by remitting billions of dollars home. For their pains, all too often they are subjected to forced confinement, poor working conditions and in some cases, severe physical and sexual abuse.
In the wake of the attacks against civilians in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom’s rulers pledged to make foreigners and citizens safe from terror. But there is another campaign that needs to be fought with similar vigour, against the exploitation and abuse of millions of foreign workers.
By the end of 2011 UKBA aims to conclude 90% of new asylum cases within six months of application. But it is neither reasonable nor in accordance with the UK's obligations under international refugee law to seek to achieve this target by dint of using an inherently unfair procedure. The correct test of an asylum system is that those in need of protection receive it, not the speed with which they are rejected.
As a feminist and as an American working on immigration policy, I have a clear line in the sand when it comes to the treatment of women who immigrate to this country: “defending our borders” should not be at the expense of defending our values. But when I interviewed women in immigration detention facilities all over the country last year and heard their stories of neglect and abuse, it became clear to me that this line has been crossed.
The European Parliament's new members will soon be in place, some of them without a clear idea of what they can actually achieve there. They need an agenda, one that is pan-European. They should look at the problems that continue to harm and restrict women in Europe.
Millions of Asian women working overseas are feeding their families, and boosting the economies of their countries, by remitting billions of dollars home. For their pains, all too often they are subjected to forced confinement, poor working conditions and in some cases, severe physical and sexual abuse.
In the wake of the attacks against civilians in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom’s rulers pledged to make foreigners and citizens safe from terror. But there is another campaign that needs to be fought with similar vigour, against the exploitation and abuse of millions of foreign workers.