Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe 'ETHNIC UNDERCLASS' The House of Lords is warning the British government its policies on asylum for refugees is helping to create an "ethnic underclass" of illegal immigrant workers whose numbers are growing across the country, United Press International reports. Advertisement But the Lords also urge Prime Minister Tony Blair's ministers to open a legal migration channel to fast-track skilled workers among would-be immigrants seeking jobs and homes in Britain. The report of the Lord's committee says of the estimated 80,000 immigrants who enter the country illegally each year, only about 12,000 are deported -- a statistic it describes as unacceptable. There is a burgeoning black market of illegal laborers, which has had "possibly positive economic effects," the committee concedes, but adds, "illegal immigration undermines the wholes structure of legal migration and places increasing strain on a country's social acceptance of immigrants." -- Would expanding legal immigration reduce the number of illegal entrants? Advertisement -- Several European countries do not have a large enough work force, so is immigration the only solution to fill jobs? (Thanks to UPI's Al Webb) MANDATORY SMALLPOX VACCINES As the White House readies a national smallpox vaccine plan, representatives of nurses and firefighters -- who would be among the first to receive the smallpox vaccinations -- say they would strongly object to mandatory inoculations, UPI reports. Smallpox inoculation carries a deadly risk. When administered in the United States in the late 1960s, between 14 and 52 people per million experienced potentially life-threatening reactions, while one or two in a million died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Smallpox hasn't occurred naturally since 1977, but experts fear it could return through a biological terror attack. "In a pre-incident environment, to mandate that every firefighter in this country take a shot that might kill them is of great concern to us, to say the least," says Craig Sharman, director of government relations for the National Volunteer Fire Council, the nation's largest volunteer firefighter association. -- Should smallpox vaccines be mandatory for first responders? -- If available, would you take get a smallpox vaccine? (Thanks to UPI's By Sharon Otterman) Advertisement ULTIMATUM? Deep unease over Saudi Arabia's allegiance to the United States in the war on terrorism simmered briskly as new reports arose that Saudi money might have financed an al Qaida terrorist attack, UPI reports. Ever since Sept. 11, 2001, some Americans have been suspicious that Saudi Arabian interests might have financed the 19 hijackers who carried out the attacks in New York and Washington. Fifteen of the hijackers who died in the attack carried Saudi citizenship. Members of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee are going public with their concerns and even official Bush administration expressions of confidence in Riyadh are conditioned with the word "but." A Washington Post news report, quoting unidentified administration sources, said earlier this week a National Security Council task force was about to recommend the Bush administration issue an ultimatum to the Saudis -- crack down on people in the country who finance terrorism or face unspecified U.S. unilateral action against the culprits. -- Should the White House deliver the ultimatum to Saudi Arabia? -- Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., says "I wouldn't look at Saudi Arabia as an ally like the British, or the French, or Canadians." Do you agree? Advertisement (Thanks to UPI White House Correspondent Richard Tomkins)
