Yesterday’s NPR Democratic Debate covered only three topics: Iran, China, and Immigration.

As you know, immigration has a great affect on global development. Here are some boiled down points from the candidates:

Biden said that employers have an obligation during their hiring process to know whether or not the job is being given to an American versus an illegal immigrant.

Clinton said we need better enforcement against those who hire undocumented workers, but that we should have some sympathy for them—and that if the US produces enough jobs, immigration isn’t as much on an issue.

Dodd thought that immigration could be used as a wedge issue by Republicans.

Edwards defended a previous statement that immigration doesn’t drive down wages by turning the discussion towards the loss of good middle class jobs. He also called for comprehensive immigration reform.

Gravel said that the way we’ve been approaching the problem is not going to solve anything. He also said that we should open our doors and if we have jobs for immigrants, they’ll get them and if not, they’ll go home.

Kucinich said that we should cancel Nafta and provide a path to legalization for undocumented workers.

Obama thought that employers who hire illegal immigrants should be penalized, but immigrants should have also a chance to acquire legal status.

Read the full article or the transcript for more.

Immigration has been a hot topic during this election season—and immigration impacts global development quite a bit. Increasing labor mobility can improve the economic conditions of both rich and developing countries.

As you may know, yesterday the Republican presidential candidates gathered for the CNN YouTube Republican Debates. Here are some highlights dealing with immigration:

Check out this playlist to see all the candidates talk about this contentious issue:

Missed the Democrats on YouTube? Here’s the recap of the CNN YouTube Democrat Debates.

When you think about Global Development, you might not first think about Western Union. But you should. Migrants from poor countries sent home $300 billion last year via Western Union, which is almost three times more than all foreign aid budgets combined.

Western Union has positioned itself as an advocate of migrant workers, who make up a large portion of their customer base. Such a large portion, in fact, that Western Union’s stock is driven by border migration forecasts. Western Union’s chief executive, Christina A. Gold, said “Global migration is the cornerstone of how we’ve grown.”

Some say that Western Union is providing an important service to migrants, giving them a safe way to send money home. There are critics, too. The hefty fees associated with sending the money have drawn complaints that they are taking advantage of the poor. Also, other critics are uneasy about the company’s role in profiting from and even encouraging illegal immigration.

Either way, it’s hard to deny Western Union’s influence on development economics and the current immigration debates.

Read the New York Times article to learn more about it.