sex-related claims: What naturalization does is provide the asylum seeker another layer of protection, Espinosa said, according to Toronto Star. Read more Analysis The clear timeline suggesting Donald Trump Jr. co-ordinated with Wiki Leaks Analysis Article Continued Below Trump Jr. to be interviewed by House intel panel behind closed doors over Russia contacts Dropped charges an important victory, Julian Assange says Ecuador gave Assange asylum after he sought refuge in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden for investigation of sex-related claims. Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said officials accepted Assange's request for naturalization in December, and they continue to look for a long-term resolution to a situation that has vexed officials since 2012. Sweden dropped the case, but Assange has remained in the embassy because he is still subject to arrest in Britain for jumping bail. react-empty 163 He also fears a possible U.S. extradition request based on his leaking of classified State Department documents. The new citizenship status, however, appears to change little for Assange in the immediate future. The Australian-born Assange posted a photograph of himself wearing a yellow Ecuadorean national soccer team jersey on Instagram Wednesday and his name now appears in the Andean country's national registry. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

store workers: Within 20 minutes, they verified that the cashier had a valid green card and served notice on the owner to produce hiring records in three days that deal with employees' immigration status, according to CTV. The well-rehearsed scene, executed with quiet efficiency in Los Angeles' Koreatown, played out at about 100 7-Eleven stores in 17 states and the District of Columbia, a rolling operation that officials called the largest immigration action against an employer under Donald Trump's presidency. A federal inspection was underway, they said. The employment audits and interviews with store workers could lead to criminal charges or fines. A top official at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the audits were the first of many and a harbinger of what's to come for employers. And they appeared to open a new front in Trump's expansion of immigration enforcement, which has already brought a 40 per cent increase in deportation arrests and pledges to spend billions of dollars on a border wall with Mexico. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

syrian refugees: More than 30 billion has been spent from Turkey's own budget, according to Toronto Star. Furthermore, Syrian refugees are provided free health care, public education, legal work permits and social benefits. Turkey hosts more than 3.4 million Syrian refugees as of Jan. 4, 230,000 of who stay in 21 camps. During the past six years, more than 276,000 Syrian babies were born in Turkey. Article Continued Below Currently, more than 620,000 of the 976,000 school-aged Syrian children in Turkey are enrolled in public schools. More than 32 million were treated at health centres and hospitals and more than one million medical procedures have been performed. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

trump: Trump then suggested that the United States should instead bring more people from countries like Norway, whose prime minister he met with on Wednesday, according to Toronto Star. The president, according to a White House official, also suggested he would be open to more immigrants from Asian countries because they help the United States economically. Why are we having all these people from s---hole countries come here Trump said, according to these people, referring to countries mentioned by the lawmakers. In addition, the president singled out Haiti, telling lawmakers that immigrants from that country must be left out of any deal, these people said. Take them out. Why do we need more Haitians Trump said, according to people familiar with the meeting. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

zbigniew malysa: He said he spoke to a resident, who spoke to him in English, according to CTV. When the doctor, Luc Valiquette, entered the room, Malysa said things changed. Zbigniew Malysa said he was referred by his general practitioner to an urologist at the CHUM superhospital facility for tests. Valiquette began speaking to some of the residents, reviewing some of Malysa's records. He ripped up the appointment slip for the next appointment put it in the garbage and started arguing with the residents . They didn't say any words, he just said, Do you know what this means How expensive this is ' Malysa said Valiquette was speaking in French during the outburst, and he eventually began questioning Malysa about his origins. He started to be furious, he said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

u.s: We are American' Alberta-born 'Dreamer' will fight deportation in U.S. Actor and DACA recipient Bambadjan Bamba sheds light on America's broken immigration system Alsup said lawyers in favour of DACA clearly demonstrated that the young immigrants were likely to suffer serious, irreparable harm without court action, according to CBC. The judge also said the lawyers have a strong chance of succeeding at trial. U.S. District Judge William Alsup granted a request by California and other plaintiffs to prevent President Donald Trump from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program while their lawsuits play out in court. DACA has protected about 800,000 people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas. Trump went to Twitter on Wednesday morning to comment on the decision, saying the court system is broken and unfair. The program includes hundreds of thousands of college-age students. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

border wall: Democrats want urgent action to stave off deportation of some 800,000 immigrants currently protected by an Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Trump still wants his border wall, though he's toned down what that means, according to The Chronicle Herald. Conservatives are watching with a wary eye, fearing he will strike a soft compromise that could infuriate their and his political base heading into this year's elections. They're under pressure to find a breakthrough before a deadline next week that could lead to a government shutdown neither side wants. The No. 2 lawmakers of each of Capitol Hill's quadrants of power Republicans and Democrats in both House and Senate touched gloves Wednesday afternoon, deputized for action at what appears to be a moment of genuine opportunity to break Washington gridlock. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, chairman of the stoutly conservative House Freedom Caucus. Everybody wants to find a deal there, myself included, said Republican Rep. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

business costs: Flawed analysis In Ontario, KOW released a flawed analysis which claimed that the increases would lead to 23 billion in new business costs, place 185,000 jobs at risk, and cost each Ontario household 1,300 a year, according to Rabble. The latter figure turned out to be a basic calculating error which would have been caught by most high school students. Alberta will increase its wage to 15 in October 2018, and there have been similar predictions of doom there. Beyond that, the study used a proprietary economic model which lacked transparency and could not be peer reviewed. The KOW document focused almost entirely on the costs to business while ignoring the beneficial effects of raising the incomes of 1.5 million Ontario workers, a number equivalent to 25 to 30 per cent of the workforce. In other words, they threw out numbers but did not back them up. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

college-age students.u.s: The judge also said the lawyers have a strong chance of succeeding at trial, according to Metro News. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Wednesday that the ruling was outrageous, especially in light of the President's successful bipartisan meeting with House and Senate members at the White House on the same day. Alsup said lawyers in favour of DACA clearly demonstrated that the young immigrants were likely to suffer serious, irreparable harm without court action. Sanders said the issue should go through the normal legislative process and pledged Trump will work with members of both parties to reach a permanent solution. The program includes hundreds of thousands of college-age students.U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in September that the program would be phased out, saying former President Barack Obama had exceeded his authority when he implemented it in 2012. DACA has protected about 800,000 people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

deportation arrests: The audits could lead to criminal charges or fines over the stores' hiring practices, according to CBC. Twenty-one people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally were arrested. Agents targeted about 100 stores nationwide, broadening an investigation that began four years ago with a case against a franchisee on New York's Long Island. The action appears to open a new front in Trump's expansion of immigration enforcement, which has already brought a 40 per cent increase in deportation arrests. This is what we're gearing up for this year and what you're going to see more and more of is these large-scale compliance inspections, just for starters, said Benner, acting head of ICE's homeland security investigations, which oversees cases against employers. Trump suggests 2-phase immigration deal for 'Dreamers' Trump calls ruling to delay action on young immigrant program 'unfair' Derek Benner, a top official at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Wednesday's operation was the first of many and a harbinger of what's to come for employers. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

deportation hearing: His case has become a rallying point for advocates of immigration reform, with calls to halt his deportation hearing and a protest planned Tuesday night outside a Halifax-area town hall being held by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, according to CTV. Abdi, facing ejection because of a criminal record including an aggravated assault conviction, has spent his life in Canada, but never obtained citizenship after he was apprehended as a child by the Nova Scotia government and put into foster care. At 24, he's now facing deportation to Somalia -- a country so dangerous Canada has imposed sweeping travel restrictions and which he has no connection to. This is really a story about a child falling through a massive legal gap that prevented him from applying for citizenship on his own and a policy gap that created a situation where his legal guardian did not apply for citizenship, said Benjamin Perryman, Abdi's Halifax-based lawyer. Between the ages of eight and 19, Abdi was moved 31 times, separated from his sister and never completed high school. The boy and his sister were taken from his struggling aunt, who spoke little English, less than a year after arriving in Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigrant patients: But more programs will be offered in the coming months to deal with the use of opioids such as heroin, oxycodone and Percocet, said Dr, according to CTV. Rupinder Brar, an addiction specialist who works at the facility. The Roshni Clinic opened last spring in Surrey to provide services for South Asian clients addicted to alcohol and stimulants including amphetamine and cocaine. Thirty per cent of the population in Surrey is Punjabi speaking, she said. However, she said immigrant patients urgently need treatment and counselling from health-care providers who speak Punjabi or Hindi, and that's what Roshni - which means light - will offer them. There are physicians out there who've been there for a while providing services, and I'm sure these patients bring their friend or a doctor may have a translator but it would be nice to expand those services in a way that is culturally sensitive and provide therapy to the family as well. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

immigration enforcement: The audits could lead to criminal charges or fines over the stores' hiring practices, according to Toronto Star. The action appears to open a new front in Trump's sharp expansion of immigration enforcement, which has already brought a 40-per-cent increase in deportation arrests and plans to spend billions of dollars on a border wall with Mexico. Agents targeted about 100 stores nationwide, broadening an investigation that began with a four-year-old case against a franchisee on New York's Long Island. Hardliners have been pressing for a tougher stance on employers. He said there would be more employment audits and investigations, though there is no numerical goal. Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump Derek Benner, a top official at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told The Associated Press that Wednesday's operation was the first of many and a harbinger of what's to come for employers. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

nova scotia: Abdi spent much of his childhood in the care of the province and shuffled between 31 foster homes, according to his lawyer Benjamin Perryman, and Nova Scotia's Department of Community Services never applied for him to become a Canadian citizen, according to CBC. Abdoul Abdi came to Canada as a refugee from Somalia in 2000. Abdi is a 23-year-old former child refugee who came to Nova Scotia at the age of six, along with his aunts and sister, and is now facing deportation to his native Somalia due to a criminal record and a lack of Canadian citizenship. Submitted by Benjamin Perryman Abdi was recently released from prison after serving time on charges that include aggravated assault. There will be a complete review of not only this case, but any cases that would require the kind of support that I'm hearing about with this particular gentleman, said McNeil, who didn't specify what exactly the review would do. He is currently being detained on immigration grounds by the Canada Border Services Agency and could be deported despite having no remaining ties to war-torn Somalia. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

police officers: That's part of a final settlement the city reached Tuesday in federal court with the ACLU of Washington and the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, according to Metro News. The case stems from a 2014 traffic accident when the vehicle of Gabriel Gomez was struck by a minivan that failed to yield the right of way.A Spokane police officer responded and contacted the U.S. Border Patrol to ask whether the agency had any interest in Gomez. The city of Spokane, Washington, has agreed to change its policies to make clear that police officers will not question or detain people to enforce federal immigration laws. The officer issued a ticket to the other driver and then let that driver leave the scene. I have lived in this community for many years, and to suddenly have the police turn against me after being a victim in the accident really turned my life upside down, Gomez said in a press release. However, the officer detained Gomez until the Border Patrol arrived and took him into custody. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

sign rohingya: A statement on the military commander-in-chief's Facebook page said the Rohingya found in the mass grave had threatened Buddhist villagers and were killed in retaliation, according to Toronto Star. Read more Burma couple risks lives for love amid Rohingya crisis Article Continued Below No sign Rohingya will be allowed to return home What have they done to us ' Survivors recount brutal massacre of Rohingya Muslims in Burmese village The UN and other groups accuse the military of widespread atrocities against Rohingya, including killings, rapes and the burning of homes. The public admission of wrongdoing is the military's first since it launched clearance operations against ethnic Rohingya in August, prompting more than 650,000 to flee into neighbouring Bangladesh in what the United Nations has called ethnic cleansing. But the military has insisted that there has been no wrongdoing by any security forces. react-empty 160 The government of Buddhist-majority Burma has refused to accept Rohingya Muslims as a minority group, even though they have lived in the country for generations. Rohingya were stripped of their citizenship in 1982, denying them almost all rights and rendering them stateless. They are widely called Bengalis and are accused of migrating illegally from Bangladesh. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

statement wednesday: Alsup said lawyers in favour of DACA clearly demonstrated that the young immigrants were likely to suffer serious, irreparable harm without court action, according to The Chronicle Herald. The judge also said the lawyers have a strong chance of succeeding at trial. U.S. District Judge William Alsup granted a request by California and other plaintiffs to prevent President Donald Trump from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program while their lawsuits play out in court. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Wednesday that the ruling was outrageous, especially in light of the President's successful bipartisan meeting with House and Senate members at the White House on the same day. DACA has protected about 800,000 people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas. Sanders said the issue should go through the normal legislative process and pledged Trump will work with members of both parties to reach a permanent solution. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

store workers: Within 20 minutes, they verified that the cashier had a valid green card and served notice on the owner to produce hiring records in three days that deal with employees' immigration status, according to Metro News. The well-rehearsed scene, executed with quiet efficiency in Los Angeles' Koreatown, played out at about 100 7-Eleven stores in 17 states and the District of Columbia, a rolling operation that officials called the largest immigration action against an employer under Donald Trump's presidency. A federal inspection was underway, they said. The employment audits and interviews with store workers could lead to criminal charges or fines. This is what we're gearing up for this year and what you're going to see more and more of is these large-scale compliance inspections, just for starters, said Derek Benner, acting head of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations, which oversees cases against employers. And they appeared to open a new front in Trump's expansion of immigration enforcement, which has already brought a 40 per cent increase in deportation arrests and pledges to spend billions of dollars on a border wall with Mexico.A top official at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the audits were the first of many and a harbinger of what's to come for employers. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

trump administration: Oscar Calix, the group's past president, said Salvadorans living in Manitoba are watching the situation closely, according to CTV. We are concerned for different reasons and one of them is the safety of our people, said Calix. It comes following a decision by the Trump administration this week to end special protections for around 200,000 Salvadorans. We are concerned about the safety, the impact this will have in El Salvador. We hope our country will show compassion and goodwill to our people. We hope Canadians will understand the tragedy. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

fuelling hope: But Trudeau then reneged on his promise, claiming disingenuously, and against abundant and clear-cut evidence, that voters weren't interested in change, according to National Observer. Now B.C., with an upcoming referendum on proportional representation, has an opportunity to show the rest of the country and the U.S. what they have been missing. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to change the current system during the 2015 election campaign, fuelling hope among millions of Canadian voters. The U.S. system, and ours, is called the first-past-the-post system FPTP . It was inherited from our common British colonial masters a couple of hundred years ago. It's a system that pressures power-seeking insiders to aggressively seek to control voting outcomes. It's a system that leads inexorably to black-and-white, winner-takes-all outcomes. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

media attention: The truth is, there's almost never a common thread to find yeah, maybe one year there are more comedies than dramas, or documentaries have a really strong showing, or a legitimate masterpiece emerges and acts as a lightning rod for media attention, according to NOW Magazine. And some years, it just feels like a random assortment of features and documentaries of varying quality. Rating NNNNEvery year, TIFF delivers the list of features and shorts that made it to Canada's Top Ten, and every year movie critics struggle to find a unifying theme among the winners or at least to tease out a few interesting connections. Which isn't to say there aren't some good choices in this year's CTT. Kyle Rideout's Adventures In Public School, which is the first film to be screened at the Lightbox January 12, 8 30 pm; repeating January 13, noon is a delight an idiosyncratic goof on the high-school comedy featuring a great performance by Daniel Doheny as a home-schooled Vancouver genius who enrols himself in public school to chase his dream girl Siobhan Williams and another one by Judy Greer as his twitchy, overprotective mom. And Ava January 18, 6 pm; January 19, 3 pm marks the feature debut of Tehran-born, Montreal-based filmmaker Sadaf Foroughi, who brings a sharp eye to a study of an Iranian teenager Mahour Jabbari trying to define herself in a society and a home that would really rather she didn't. Kathleen Hepburn's Never Steady, Never Still January 16, 6 pm; January 17, 2 30 pm similarly marries a great script with terrific performances, but here it's in the service of a more dramatic tale of an Alberta mother Shirley Henderson and her adult son Th odore Pellerin struggling through very different personal crises. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

one-second clip: You can't miss the giant neon rooster, another nod to the past, a meticulous recreation of the old Sai Woo Chop Suey sign in the days when Chinatown was bathed in neon, according to Vancouver Courier. Troy Hibbs and his team at TDH Experiential Fabricators recreated Sai Woo's neon rooster sign based on a one-second clip from a 1958 Chinatown parade video. Walk north and you'll find the mecca of craft breweries that are this century's incarnation of Brewery Creek; around the turn of the previous century, four neighbourhood breweries gave the area its nickname.article continues below Trending Stories Vancouver airport now offering free feminine hygiene products Greater Vancouver home prices to drop 21 per cent by 2019 analysis Sorry, there are no public tickets available to see Michelle Obama Five unregulated, Uber-like companies already operating in Richmondrelated Sai Woo's neon bird comes back to roost in Chinatown Vancouver's mom-and-pop stores make a comeback Walk north again and you'll find Sai Woo in Chinatown, a swanky pan-Asian restaurant and cocktail lounge that borrows its name from the restaurant that was there in the 1920s. Photo Dan Toulgoet Love for history and heritage is alive in Vancouver, and increasingly this love is showing up in places where you spend money. But this love, this business of nostalgia, can be a double-edged sword. Think of something you consumed lately that harkened to the past or boasted being artisan or authentic. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

administration officials: Boys take part in a vigil for immigrant rights and the protection of women and children fleeing violence in Central America, on Salvadoran Heritage Day in Los Angeles, on Aug. 6, 2014, according to CBC. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters The status was granted in the wake of two devastating 2001 earthquakes in El Salvador that left hundreds of thousands in the country homeless. The United States will end the Salvadorans' temporary protected status TPS on Sept. 9, 2019, giving them 18 months to leave or seek lawful residency, and for El Salvador to prepare for their return, administration officials said. The decision to end TPS for Salvadorans is part of the administration's broader push to tighten immigration laws and expel those living in the United States illegally. The Trump administration has faced a series of deadlines over the past year to decide whether to end the protected status of immigrants in the United States whose home countries have been affected by disasters. Largest group under TPS The move was heavily criticized by immigrant advocates who said it ignored violence in El Salvador and gave the Salvadorans few options but to leave the United States or remain illegally. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

counterterrorism unit: In Operator Down, the author showcases the invisible world of the diamond industry, according to Metro News. Aaron Bergman and his partner, Shoshana, work for Mossad and once in a while they find themselves working with Logan and his team. Taylor worked in Special Forces, and previous novels featuring Logan and his counterterrorism unit known as The Taskforce have always felt authentic. Since the mission seems somewhat straightforward, Aaron accepts the assignment without telling Shoshana. He takes another woman with him instead, making Shoshana jealous, but the woman has keen knowledge he can use. With it being officially unsanctioned by his government, Aaron also doesn't want to get her involved unless it's absolutely necessary. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

deportation hearing: His case has become a rallying point for advocates of immigration reform, with calls to halt his deportation hearing and a protest planned Tuesday night outside a Halifax-area town hall being held by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, according to CTV. Abdi, facing ejection because of a criminal record including an aggravated assault conviction, has spent his life in Canada, but never obtained citizenship after he was apprehended as a child by the Nova Scotia government and put into foster care. At 24, he's now facing deportation to Somalia -- a country so dangerous Canada has imposed sweeping travel restrictions and which he has no connection to. This is really a story about a child falling through a massive legal gap that prevented him from applying for citizenship on his own and a policy gap that created a situation where his legal guardian did not apply for citizenship, said Benjamin Perryman, Abdi's Halifax-based lawyer. Between the ages of eight and 19, Abdi was moved 31 times, separated from his sister and never completed high school. The boy and his sister were taken from his struggling aunt, who spoke little English, less than a year after arriving in Canada. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.

el: After doing some research, they discarded the idea it was legally complex, required a return to El Salvador and would uproot them from their home in Houston, according to Toronto Star. I love this country. The El Salvador-born, Texas-dwelling IT worker says they specifically discussed one possibility Moving to Canada. My kids were born here in the U.S. . They go to school here. We don't want to leave. They have friends, he said. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.