Last week’s landmark ruling by the British House of Lords in favour of Indian doctors comes on the heels of growing demands in the US, including by Bill Gates, to raise the cap on H1-B visas, which are much sought-after by skilled professionals, including Indians. Last week, a Republican caucus urged the Democrat leadership in the US House of Representatives to approve a Bill to increase the number of H1B visas from 65,000 to 115,000 and a 20 percent built-in annual increase. Immigration is a hot issue in almost the entire western world, with governments seeking to control the same and industry urging that more be allowed in. And this at a time when Leicester and Birmingham are all set to become the first European cities with non-White majorities — thanks largely to contemporary migration from India and its neighbouring countries:

UNITED STATES: Traumatised by a tidal wave of illegal immigrants, Arizona last year enacted the nation’s most pitiless law to punish employers who hire undocumented workers. The outcry from companies warning of severe labour shortages prompted lawmakers to water down the Bill somewhat, but immigrant neighbourhoods soon started emptying out. Arizona is now looking for a way out, having decided it badly needs low-skilled labour after all. A similar story was earlier seen in Riverside, New Jersey, after it pushed through a series of aggressive anti-immigrant laws in 2006. One year later, the town had voted out the local politicians behind the laws, repealed the same and initiated efforts to build better connections with its immigrant community.

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