Germany's Renewed Fight Against Anti-Semitism

The article that I read from the New York Times is about the rise of immigrants coming to Germany, many of whom are from Africa and Middle East, fleeing war and environmental problems, like drought and famine. Sawsan Chebli, a German politician, attributes a portion of the rise in anti-semitism to the new immigrants, but some German historical scholars argue that the new immigrants are not to blame for the rise in anti-semitic views.
Each side of the argument wants to see this xenophobic problem resolved within their country. Ms. Chebli proposed the idea of mandatory visits to concentration camps for people new to the country. She hopes, as do those who are in agreement with her, that these visits would be a warning of the harm unleashed hatred is capable of inflicting. On the other hand, the director of the Center for German and European Studies at the Brandeis University, Sabine Von Mering, contends that one visit to a memorial will not solve the deep rooted-issues that exist in Germany, which stem from their past.
Unfortunately, this issue is neither new, nor is it isolated. All over the world there seems to be a rise in nationalistic ideals and so is the desire to attribute the problems a country is facing to a particular group. The problems of hatred and fear of the other will not be solved overnight, we must grapple over how to reach a long lasting, sensible solution that will create peace within each nations people and the world beyond.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/10/world/europe/germany-immigrants-anti-semitism.html?action=click&contentCollection=world&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront

U.S. Rates of Naturalization

According to the PEW Research Center, the number of immigrants becoming United States naturalized citizens has increased between 2005 and 2015. The top two countries of origin in which naturalization rates are the highest at a 12 percentage point increase are Ecuador and India, followed by Peru, Haiti, both at 9 percent, and Vietnam at 7 percentage points. The article goes on to say that immigrants from countries nearest to the U.S., like Canada and Mexico, are less likely to pursue citizenship because they "are more likely to maintain strong ties to their countries of origin, increasing the likelihood that they move back to their home country" (PEW). Also, obtaining citizenship is an expensive, lengthy process and those two facts alone are major barriers to eligible persons wanting to apply for citizenship.

PEW Chart: Naturalization rates up among most immigrant groups in the U.S. since 2005

  http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/18/naturalization-rate-among-u-s-immigrants-up-since-2005-with-india-among-the-biggest-gainers/

Migrant Workers in Italian Tomato Fields

The company Princes, which is owned by the Mitsubishi corporation, is the main supplier of tomatoes in the UK. According to The Guardian, Princes has been named in an investigation focused on revealing and stopping labor abuses by the tomato supplier De Rubertis. De Rubertis farms are accused of illegally forcing workers to work twelve hour shifts in the fields all week long with little to no breaks and very little pay. Mutti and Conserve Italia were also named as beneficiaries to the exploitative, horrible labor conditions of the tomato industry, but have parted ways with the De Rubertis farm once news broke about the inquiry.
The death of Abdullah Muhammed, a middle-aged legal Sudanese immigrant and seasonal laborer, in 2015 is what spurred the initial inquiry into the labor practices of these tomato companies because the prosecutor argued that Mr. Muhammed's heart attack, leading to is untimely death, could have been prevented if he had been given medical treatment. Unfortunately, this story of a man dying due to unfair labor practices is not an isolated one. All over the world, including in the U.S., immigrants and migrant laborers are frequently taken advantage of by people in high positions of economic power, which is a shame because most if not all of the workers are good, dedicated people who want to have a better life.

Photo from the article
 
Link
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/jan/12/italian-tomatoes-food-firm-princes-linked-to-labour-abuses-inquiry

Spending Negotiations

As time is ticking toward January 19, the date in which the government could partially shut down, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate struggle to negotiate the terms of U.S. immigration policy. According to the New York Times article, Senators "have been meeting nearly everyday for the past two months to negotiate a deal that would protect the DACA recipients while beefing up border security" (Stolberg and Tackett, White House Immigration Demands Imperil Bipartisan Talks, nytimes.com), but those negotiations have just been made more difficult by the list of nonnegotiable terms the White House sent to Congress. The President's isolationist, America first agenda is evident by the White House request for in the span of ten years nearly $33 billion to be spent on border security, including $18 billion to be allocated for the wall alone. The Democrats have argued that the money spent on a wall could fund healthcare programs and that a wall is a symbol of what divide many Americans and make Dreamers feel disheartened by the country they call home. Hopefully, a humanitarian deal can be reached by the Senators that would not add to the divisiveness that exists within the country, which is often exacerbated on twitter.

Link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/05/us/politics/trump-republicans-immigration-spending.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fpolitics&action=click&contentCollection=politics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=26&pgtype=sectionfront