Immigration Turmoil

Last December, Le Monde published some immigration statistics that have been discussed at many websites. The following is a condensation of the original article:

Discretely, but surely, the government has been amnestying undocumented aliens. Though it increases the signs of "firmness", such as the latest expulsion of Afghanis on December 15, the figures gathered by Le Monde from the Ministry of Immigration reveal that more than 20,000 foreigners were legalized in 2009. This figure is equivalent to, if not higher than, the number of expulsions. Minister of Immigration Eric Besson refuses nonetheless to issue a precise and global statistic on this question.

The article points out that Besson has willingly issued data on the total number of voluntary and forced repatriations in 2008 - 29,796 - of whom 19,724 were forced, but still refuses to discuss amnesties. Also, in 2008, 2800 undocumented workers were granted a residency card, but these represent only a very small number of residency cards issued, the greatest number being those justified by "exceptional admissions", or "humanitarian reasons," i.e., family reunification. It was in 2006 that Interior Minister Sarkozy abrogated the then-existing law that granted automatic amnesty only after 10 years of residency in France. He left the decision-making process up to the prefectures, which meant that henceforth, official data would be difficult to obtain.

Family reunification is the most frequently used grounds for legalization, lest a rejection cause a "disproportionate attack" on the applicant's "right to respect for his private and family life":

For ten years the number of residency cards granted for family reasons has not ceased to grow, from 3,314 in 1999 to 22,195 in 2006 (...) In 2008 it was still at 15,858. By the end of September 2009, it was already 10,917. Even though the prefects insist that they decide on a "case by case" basis, legalization is still a way of avoiding excessive tensions aroused by the government's stated objective of 27,000 repatriations annually.

Note: In other words, to avoid trouble, the prefects grant amnesty.

The number of undocumented aliens is estimated to be between 200,000 and 400,000. Last november 22, Martine Aubry, first secretary of the Socialist Party called for a "broad amnesty." Sarkozy and his party denounced the idea as passé and argued that such a move would only help human smugglers bring more unfortunate people into the country nourished by the dream of being legalized,

But even if the government refuses to admit it, it pusues a policy of steady legalization, as have all French governments since 1972, when automatic amnesty was stopped and replaced by a policy that aims to "control migratory waves."

Note: Statistics are always dull and inconclusive. Yet, many French websites took notice of Le Monde's article. The interesting thing is that Le Monde printed it, and that it makes undeniable references to hidden statistics, and to the pressures on government officials, such as prefects, to grant amnesty without too much delay. It means that even the official organs of news are aware that undesirable, non-assimilable foreigners are slipping into France by whatever open or half-open doors beckon to them, and that the government is in denial, buying time...

On a related note, there was an incident recently involving the arrival on the island of Corsica of 123 illegal aliens who said they were Syrian Kurds. The group, which included many women and children, was discovered Monday (January 18) on a beach near Bonifacio at the extreme southern end of Corsica, not far from Sardinia. They were first transferred to a gymnasium in Bonifacio. Expulsion papers were issued by the prefect of Corsica, and the foreigners were then transferred to various holding centers scattered throughout France. However, Minister of Immigration Eric Besson did an about-face (not his first, surely not his last), when he announced that all 123 illegals had been released from custody. Le Figaro dated January 22 gives some background information. I had to greatly condense the article:

The transfer to holding centers of the 123 migrants angered and worried the (pro-immigration) associations, including the United Nations Commission on Refugees (HCR), that demanded France guarantee these refugees access to legal procedures on asylum rights, and the chance to appeal in the event of a negative decision.

When an illegal alien is placed in a holding center he is issued an expulsion warning that he has 48 hours to contest. He can then file a request for asylum within five days to which the French Bureau of Protection of Refugees (OFPRA) must respond within 96 hours. If the decision is negative there can be no appeal. According to the HCR, the deadlines were too short considering that the holding period began in Corsica and not in the holding centers.

The pro-immigration associations denounce "a growing intolerance ("crispation") of this government with regard to all things foreign..."

Twenty-four hours after their arrival, the 57 men, 29 women, and 38 children were sent to five different centers in Nîmes, Marseilles, Lyons, Rennes and Toulouse. The swiftness of these transfers angered the associations. "We cannot see how their cases were examined individually as Minister of Immigration Eric Besson had announced," declared Amnesty International.

Since they had no papers, their nationality could not be definitively established. Most said they were Kurds from Syria, some said they were from the Maghreb. They could have left Syria by truck, arrived in Tunisia, and then boarded a Russian cargo ship that dropped them off. According to the State prosecutor, France was not their destination. Rather they were seeking work in Norway and Sweden, having paid their human smugglers 2500 to 10,000 euros for the trip. Still the circumstances of their arrival are not clear...

It is the first time that Corsica has been confronted with a massive arrival of illegals on its shores. Eric Besson is going to propose that the European Union hold a summit on the illegal immigration crisis.

H/T: François Desouche, comment nº 20.

Note: The above article from Le Figaro generated 646 comments. I have not had time to read them.

Since the EU has similar goals to the UN, Besson's request for a summit can be regarded as pure sham. It is because of EU policies that things like this (and much worse) happen in the first place. At any rate, all 123 persons were released within TWO days. Le Figaro again reports, and again I had to condense:

Judges in the cities where the refugees were being held, pending expulsion, overturned the procedures used by the prefect of Corse-du-Sud (Southern Corsica), pointing to deprivation of freedom and violation of international agreements. They immediately ordered the release of the refugees. On Monday morning (January 25) Eric Besson announced the nullification of all expulsion orders issued at Bonifacio on Friday.

The refugees will be free pending examination by OFPRA (see above). At least 61 of the 81 adult Kurds have already requested the status of refugee. They will be lodged temporarily "in shelters run by the State in partnership with the Red Cross", said Eric Besson.

Recriminations were hurled back and forth between Besson and the pro-immigration groups, angered at the transfer to holding centers, with Besson insisting that it was not logistically possible to process the cases of the foreigners in a few hours, and that in any case, it was "irresponsible and demagogic to assume that the status of refugee can be instantaneously granted to any foreigner arriving in France, until it is known where he comes from, who he is, and why he is being persecuted."

However, witnesses from Bonifacio contend that there was a local solution to the problem, that judges had been alerted who were willing to spend the night at the southern tip of the island, as were defense attorneys.

A high-level official confided that it was "mainly for reasons of public security that the decision was made to transfer the migrants to the continent. Everyone felt that the presence of 123 migrants was likely to anger the local population, possibly even to arouse violence."

H/T: François Desouche

The photo below shows the gymnasium in Bonifacio where they were first sent.

The map at the top shows the main routes taken by illegals trying to enter Western Europe and the UK. Illegal immigration is therefore very well organized, both by human smugglers and by the associations and larger entities such as the EU and the UN. Soon it will probably be decreed that there is no such thing as an illegal person, something that has already been decreed by several city councils in the United States.

From a very quick glance at the message boards it looks as if the French are angered at the way in which the original expulsion orders were simply overridden. The prefect of Corsica did the right thing, but international policies take precedence. A small example of what lack of national sovereignty can lead to...