An allegedly undocumented immigrant served as a volunteer sheriff in Henry County, Alabama. (Joe Sohm/VisionsofAmerica/Getty)

Alleged Undocumented Immigrant Served as a Volunteer Sheriff

An allegedly undocumented immigrant served as a volunteer sheriff in Henry County, Alabama. (Joe Sohm/VisionsofAmerica/Getty)

By TED HESSON (@tedhesson)
Dec. 12, 2012

A sheriff in an Alabama town knowingly allowed an alleged undocumented immigrant to act as a volunteer deputy sheriff. Meanwhile, his office went about the business of detaining and reporting suspected undocumented immigrants to federal authorities.

Canadian immigrant Kevin Dwight Venhuis has served as a reserve deputy sheriff for the Henry County Sheriff’s Office for 25 years. Now he could face federal charges for illegally possessing firearms while being in the country without authorization, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

Hungarian, Latvian refugee claims among those to be fast-tracked as Canada unveils ‘safe country’ list
Tobi Cohen, Postmedia News | Dec 14, 2012 11:02 AM ET | Last Updated: Dec 14, 2012 5:18 PM ET

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Minister of Immigration Jason Kenney unveiled on Friday Canada’s new list of “safe” countries from which refugee claims will be fast-tracked.

OTTAWA — The federal government has unveiled a preliminary list of 27 countries Canada believes are unlikely producers of legitimate asylum claimants, touching off a wave of criticism from refugee advocates who say the new rules set to take effect Saturday are arbitrary, unfair, dangerous and illegal.

12 December 2012 Last updated at 22:02 ET
Viewpoint: Should Canadians skip university?

Health care workers, like this Canadian pharmacist, are in short supply

As some Canadian industries struggle to find skilled workers, others face a glut of qualified candidates and not enough jobs to go around. University professor Peter Fragiskatos says emphasising the importance of a university education only makes the problem worse.

U.S. immigration policy needs a fundamental rethinking.
For inspiration, Americans need look no farther than Canada.

Canada Shows How U.S. States Can Fix Immigration
By Shikha Dalmia Nov 28, 2012 6:37 PM GMT-0500

Republicans seem ready to play ball on immigration, if only to patch up their image with Hispanics. It would be a pity if this political moment — which comes only once every few decades — was squandered on minor and temporary fixes. U.S. immigration policy needs a fundamental rethinking.

This isn’t as daunting as it appears. For inspiration, Americans need look no farther than Canada.

Canada announces new tradesperson’s immigration route for 2013
12 December 2012

For concise and recent immigration information watch our news.

On December 10th 2012, the Canadian immigration minister, Jason Kenney, announced that the new Canadian Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) will be launched on January 2nd 2013.

The FSTP will allow skilled tradespeople from around the world to apply for Canadian permanent resident status if they have a job offer in Canada and fulfil certain other criteria. Mr Kenney said that, in the first year, 3,000 applications will be accepted.