E/CN.4/1997/71 page 15 citizenship, even though they are long-term or life-long residents of the Czech Republic. Some of them are now stateless, others have been deported to Slovakia. Evidence suggests that the law was drafted with the specific intent of removing Roma from the country.” 20 G. Discrimination against migrant workers 31. Immigration, which is growing, provoking discriminatory measures and xenophobic reactions, is a worldwide phenomenon. In Africa, America, Asia, Europe and the Pacific, discriminatory barriers are being thrown up against men and women who, looking for a better life, set out in hopes of finding a place in what is said to be the “global village” but turns out to have neighbourhoods closed off to some by legislation alluding directly or indirectly to racial identity, national or ethnic origin or preference for nationals. 32. All over the world, immigrants have become easy scapegoats and sacrificial victims of economic crises or insecurity. Labelled “illegal” or held responsible for all the problems of the countries where they live (unemployment, crime, contagious disease, insecurity, social security deficits), immigrants, whether legally in the country or not, face an increasingly precarious existence. Xenophobia is growing at an alarming rate, and most of the world's most democratic peoples, supposedly devoted to such civilized values as the dignity of the individual, do not care. 33. Holding camps, where aliens are dumped in often unacceptable living conditions before being expelled, are multiplying throughout the world. Electric fences are springing up at frontiers. Those who try to cross them are dealt with harshly. 34. Against this background, the Mexican Government submitted information on Mexican workers entering the United States of America: “The Government of Mexico, given the incidents in Riverside County, California, in March and April 1996 when Mexican nationals were beaten and some lost their lives, has expressed its indignation to its United States counterpart and forcefully condemned violations of its nationals' human rights, stating that the clear abuse of authority displayed in those incidents confirms the urgent need for determined action to stamp out discriminatory attitudes which spill over into acts of institutional violence. “With all due respect for the sovereign right of the United States to define and enforce its migration policies, given the recent tightening up of border controls, the Government of Mexico emphasized the need for those policies to be applied with strict respect for migrants' dignity and human rights. “The Mexican Government maintains an ongoing dialogue with the United States migration authorities through a variety of bilateral mechanisms including Mexico-United States Binational Commission working groups on migration and consular affairs; border affairs liaison machinery; and consultation machinery on the functions of the