Italy told migrants cannot be sent back

timesofmalta.com - Italy told migrants cannot be sent back

Thursday, 23rd July 2009 - 18:02CET

EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot has told Italy, in very clear terms, that it could not return immigrants to countries where their life was threatened.

Answering questions from members of the European Parliament, Commissioner Barrot said that following the warning, Italy had told the EU that it had not sent back any more migrants and announced a visit to Libya.

Mr Barrot said the commission had asked the Italian government for explanations on how some boats with irregular migrants, some asking for humanitarian protection, were returned to Libya.

He spoke about the voluntary burden sharing proposals for the immigration burden to be shared among the 27 EU states but said that obligatory burden sharing was not possible. He said that the voluntary measures were being embarked upon through a pilot project tailor-made for Malta.

New law increases threat of deportation

ekathimerini.com | New law increases threat of deportation

An amendment to Greece’s existing legislation, which could be passed through a reduced summer session of Parliament later this week, may lead to foreigners living in the country legally as well as those who are here illegally being deported over misdemeanors even if they are not convicted.

With immigration becoming a pressing political issue, the government has embarked on an effort to adopt a series of measures that will stem the flow of illegal migrants arriving on Greek shores.

Sources told Kathimerini that the amendment would allow authorities to classify as “dangerous for public order and safety” any foreigner who is charged with committing a crime that carries a prison sentence of three months or more.

This means that the person can then be deported to his homeland before even standing trial, as long as that country has signed a bilateral repatriation agreement with Greece.

The provisions of the proposed law have prompted a backlash from human rights activists.

“It is totally unacceptable in a just state for someone to face devastating consequences before it has been established in a fair trial whether he is guilty and before he has exercised every legal right to defend himself,” said an organization called Greek Action for Human Rights.

“It is absurd for foreigners who have been in the country for a long time, including those from the European Union, to face the danger of deportation simply if they are charged with minor infractions,” said the www.diavatirio.net site lawyer Vassilis Chronopoulos, who foresees a backlog of cases building up in the courts.

Reaction to youtube video of expulsion

Reaction to youtube video of expulsion | Amnesty International

19 June 2009

A video posted on Youtube this week graphically brings home the often degrading nature of forced expulsions of irregular migrants. The footage of a man lying on his stomach on the airport tarmac, his arms and legs tied together behind his back and apparently being gagged was shot by a passenger waiting for flight IB3722 to Dakar at Madrid airport on 15 June. Finally, he is picked up off the ground by two police officers, still tied up, and put in the back of the police van, more like a piece of luggage than a human being. It appears that the pilot of the plane refused to transport a man in such conditions, and other passengers refused to travel with him.


At one point in the film it appears that a police officer rests his foot on the man’s back after roughly rolling him onto his stomach. Such an action is clearly an unnecessary use of force, and the officer in question should be disciplined and/or prosecuted accordingly.

However, what is truly shocking about this film is that most of the actions of the police officers are not unlawful under Spanish guidelines. The dehumanising and brutal procedure you see is in line with Spanish police protocol for forced deportations which, contrary to the recommendations of various Council of Europe bodies, does not explicitly prohibit the use of gags or restraint techniques which may cause positional asphyxiation (i.e. suffocate the person being restrained by holding them in a position which blocks their airways, such as lying on the stomach for a prolonged period of time). The protocol also allows the use of handcuffs, reinforced tape, sedatives, masks and immobilising belts. Such restraint techniques not only increase the risk of suffocation to the person being expelled if used inappropriately, but are also a real security risk during take-off and landing. Nervous flyer? You would be.

States have the right to control who is allowed to enter their territory, and are free to expel those present without the proper authorisation. But this must be done in line with basic human rights standards and respect for human dignity. Amnesty International has repeatedly called on EU countries, including Spain, to ensure irregular migrants and rejected asylum-seekers being forcibly returned to their country of origin are not subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, or any excessive use of force. States’ protocols on forced deportations should reflect international human rights standards and be strictly adhered to by law enforcement officials. In fact, the Spanish protocol itself notes that individuals being repatriated should only be restrained in a manner which “does not harm their dignity or personal integrity”. But such wording is meaningless if not respected in practice.

One’s dignity is not the only thing endangered by such treatment : lives can also be lost. On 9 June 2007, almost exactly two years ago, Osamuyia Akpitaye died while being forcibly expelled from Spain to Nigeria. No video is available to show us what happened to him, but witnesses state he was gagged and tied by police officers. He died of suffocation shortly after take-off. Two officers have now been charged with negligent manslaughter and today, two years on, Osamayuia Akpitaye’s family is waiting for a trial date, and justice. The question is, were their actions in line with official protocols? And if so, how long before those protocols are changed?

Congo Children Battle Deportation

Sveriges Radio International - English -- Engelska

Three abandoned brothers from war-torn Congo Kinshasa who fled to Sweden two years ago are fighting to stay here after being told by the Swedish Migration Board that they must go back to their native country.

The boys, Asa, Kenneth and Patrick Vuvu who aged 7, 13 and 14 , say they face torture and death if they're sent back. Now their schoolfriends, local residents and politicians are campaigning to keep them in Sweden.
Listen to Dave Russell's report

Two years ago they fled Congo Kinshasa with their mother seeking political asylum in Sweden after their father, a member of the political opposition, disappeared. Six months later after their plea for asylum in Sweden was rejected three times, the mother fled underground, hoping that with her 3 children living alone, they'd have a legal right to stay. The boys now live with a guardian.

The Swedish Migration Board has said that it found no evidence that the children faced torture by being sent back to Congo. It did say that it would never leave children in a country on their own but if it could find a relative or another acceptable way, then it would follow the children over there and hand them into safe care. But it wouldn't do that until it was 100 percent sure that the boys would be looked after.

Pour dénoncer l'aide d'urgence, ils occupent un centre de requérants

Pour dénoncer l'aide d'urgence, ils occupent un centre de requérants :: Le Courrier :: Quotidien suisse indépendant

Paru le Lundi 15 Juin 2009
MICHAËL RODRIGUEZ

Vaud VEVEY - Des militants du droit d'asile ont occupé un centre de requérants vendredi soir, avant d'être délogés par la police. Ils réclament l'abolition de l'aide d'urgence.
Les militants du droit d'asile haussent le ton contre le régime de l'aide d'urgence. Vendredi soir, sept membres du collectif «Droit de rester» ont occupé le centre de requérants de Vevey, alors qu'une trentaine de personnes manifestaient devant le bâtiment. Tous réclament la fin du rationnement des prestations sociales frappant les recalés de l'asile. «Aide d'urgence = torture», pouvait-on lire sur une banderole et sur les tracts des manifestants. Une autre action devrait avoir lieu cette semaine.


Paisible évacuation

Les visiteurs surprise avaient l'intention de prendre leurs quartiers deux ou trois jours dans le centre. Finalement, ils n'y seront restés qu'une poignée d'heures. Appelés par la direction du centre, cinq ou six agents de Police Riviera ont sommé les occupants de quitter les lieux. Il était alors un peu plus de 22 h, heure à laquelle le centre ferme ses portes aux visiteurs. Après avoir parlementé un moment avec la police, les militants ont accepté de sortir du bâtiment vers 23 h. L'Etablissement vaudois d'accueil des migrants (EVAM) ne portera pas plainte contre les occupants. «Nous n'allons pas mettre de l'huile sur le feu», explique sa porte-parole, Emmanuelle Marendaz Colle. Si elle juge «très bien que des citoyens suisses prennent la défense des migrants», la porte-parole de l'EVAM est en revanche irritée par les nombreuses «erreurs» contenues dans les tracts du collectif. Elle réfute notamment les critiques formulées sur l'accès aux soins médicaux et la nourriture dans les centres d'aide d'urgence.


Pétition lancée

Le collectif «Droit de rester», membre de la Coordination asile Vaud, a lancé dans la foulée une pétition en faveur des requérants déboutés et des personnes frappées de non-entrée en matière (NEM), qui sont au nombre de 600 environ dans le canton. Le texte demande l'abolition du régime précaire imposé à ces migrants, l'octroi de permis de séjour et la suppression de l'interdiction de travailler. Sur ce dernier point, le Conseil d'Etat vient de montrer qu'il est déterminé à ne rien faire (lire ci-contre).
La pétition a déjà circulé samedi à Vevey, où 200 signatures ont été récoltées en une journée, affirme le collectif. Accompagnés d'une quinzaine de requérants, les militants se sont installés dans un parc de la ville. «Nous avions demandé de pouvoir y camper pendant deux ou trois jours, relate Graziella de Coulon, membre de la Coordination asile. Mais le municipal de police (le socialiste Lionel Girardin, ndlr) ne nous a pas donné l'autorisation.» Le collectif envisage de mener d'autres actions dans le courant de la semaine. Au départ, il aurait souhaité occuper une église plutôt qu'un centre de requérants, mais les négociations avec les responsables protestants et catholiques ont avorté. Graziella de Coulon leur reproche d'avoir d'abord accepté, puis de s'être rétractés. «Nous avons donné une réponse positive, rétorque Pascale Gilgien, conseillère synodale de l'Eglise évangélique réformée. Mais nous voulions qu'un groupe de travail commun soit créé, afin de savoir où et comment se ferait cette occupation. Or la Coordination asile n'a pas donné suite à notre demande.» I

Immigration Spending Millions On Repatriation

Immigration Spending Millions On Repatriation

June 11th, 2009

By ROGAN SMITH

The Department of Immigration has spent more than $5.2 million over the past five years on repatriation exercises, according to Immigration State Minister Branville McCartney.

The government also announced yesterday that 2,256 illegal immigrants were repatriated for the January to May 2009 period.

According to Minister McCartney, for the 2004/2005 period, the government spent $639,801 on repatriation exercises, for the 2005/2006 period, the government spent $801,832, for the 2006/2007 period, the government spent $986,620, for the 2007/2008 period, the government spent $1,337,136 and for the 2008/2009 period the government spent $1,453,201.

Immigration officials have long admitted that repatriations are very expensive and absorb much of the department’s budget.

"We will continue to repatriate as quickly as possible. Where persons are found on certain islands, they will be repatriated directly from those islands," Mr. McCartney said.

"The apprehension exercise of illegal immigrants is one of our greatest challenges, amidst its high level of controversy because of the public and the media at times. However, the Immigration Department continues to persist and be courageous in its relentless effort to rid The Bahamas of all illegal immigrants."

The minister was giving his contribution to the 2009/2010 budget debate in the House of Assembly Wednesday.

During his contribution, Minister McCartney also sought to set the record straight on a few misconceptions regarding his department’s investigative efforts.

"It is important to note that our officers investigate both blue and white collar infractions against our immigration laws. We all know of the construction worker, the maid, plumber, carpenter and persons in assorted sales business such as restaurants or clothing stores who are often arrested for infractions against immigration laws," he said.

"Still the public should be aware that our investigations often take us to banks, hotels and business houses where magistrates, chefs, sales managers and bankers and others have arrested as well. Essentially, no illegal foreign national, blue or white collar worker is exempt from immigration control. Wherever they are found in breach of our immigration laws, where the evidence exists, we will arrest and prosecute them to the full extent of the law."

According to January to May 29, 2009 statistics, 121 illegal immigrants have been charged in court for working illegally in The Bahamas. Several Bahamians have also been charged and convicted on various infractions, including employing illegal immigrants, knowingly assisting in illegal landing or possessing forged documents.

Angola: Over 50 Illegal Immigrants Repatriated

allAfrica.com: Angola: Over 50 Illegal Immigrants Repatriated

8 June 2009

At least 51 immigrants from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, who entered illegally the northern Uíge Province, were repatriated over the last weekend.

They were repatriated via Kimbata, Maquela do Zombo District, by the Migration and Foreigners Services (SME) of Uíge Province, said Monday a source with the institution.

According to the provincial director of SME, Manuel Miguel, out of the mentioned number, 39 foreigners were residing illegally in Uíge City, whereas the remaining ones were staying in Maquela do Zombo District.

ANGOP also learnt that 14 other citizens of various nationalities (west Africa) were also detained in Maquela do Zombo and sent to Luanda Sunday, for repatriation process to their respective countries of origin.

Pregnant overstayer given visa extension

Print nzherald.co.nz Article

4:00AM Wednesday Jun 10, 2009
By Lincoln Tan

Pregnant Lithuanian Jurga Skiauteris says she "believes in people again" after Immigration New Zealand backed down from its orders for her to get out of the country.

Following the Herald's report yesterday, Mrs Skiauteris, 29, was granted a nine-month visitor's visa - backdated to her date of arrival - to stay in New Zealand and give birth, because of risks to her and her baby's health.

This was an about-turn from an earlier Immigration order for her to "leave immediately" after the department refused to extend her three-month visitor's permit and rejected two appeals from her husband.

"After such a long battle with Immigration, I was starting to wonder if anyone had a heart any more. But everything that happened today has really helped me believe in people again," said Mrs Skiauteris.

"Now that I have one less worry, I want to just concentrate on resting and having my baby."

Mrs Skiauteris arrived in January with her husband, Robertas, 34, and their 6-year-old son, Leonardo, on visitors' permits. But they became overstayers when Immigration refused to extend their permits after they expired on April 2.

Immigration declined their application because it said Mrs Skiauteris was "not of an acceptable standard of health" and because she would require high-cost pharmaceuticals and hospital care during her stay in New Zealand.

The department also said it did not believe the family were bona fide applicants, or that they were in New Zealand for a lawful purpose.

During a routine medical checkup in March, doctors found complications in Mrs Skiauteris' pregnancy and had advised her to be near medical help and bed-rest to avoid pre-term labour which could result in the death of her child.

Head of Immigration Andrew Annakin said that as a general rule, visitors and overstayers were not allowed to stay in New Zealand to give birth, but the Labour Department accepted that in rare circumstances humanitarian interests would necessitate a departure from policy.

He said this was such a case, but numerous attempts by Immigration to contact the family had not succeeded.

Mr Skiauteris, who has also been offered a permit, said he was surprised at Mr Annakin's claims -since Immigration had all his contact details in New Zealand, including email, cell-phone number and physical address.

"But it really doesn't matter, because this is just a whole load off our shoulders and we want to just look forward to having our baby safely," Mr Skiauteris said.

With their permits now extended to October 2, Mr Skiauteris said they hoped to "pick up where we left off" and tour New Zealand as a family after the birth.

Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman yesterday slammed the earlier Immigration decision as a "poor one".

"I am pleased that common sense has prevailed and that the woman has now been issued a permit allowing her to stay in New Zealand."

CSIS beefs up screening for Tamil Tigers

CSIS beefs up screening for Tamil Tigers - The Globe and Mail

Extra agents added in Sri Lanka as backlog grows for Canadian visa requests

Bill Curry

Ottawa — From Wednesday's Globe and Mail, Tuesday, Jun. 09, 2009 08:29PM EDT

Canada is boosting its immigration screening in Sri Lanka – shifting overseas CSIS agents from New Delhi to Colombo in a bid to keep defeated Tamil Tiger terrorists from landing here.

In addition to moving agents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Canada Border Services Agency from their posts in India, the federal immigration department is adding staff to manage the growing backlog of Sri Lankan visa requests.

Richard Fadden, the deputy minister of Citizenship and Immigration who takes over as head of CSIS on June 27, told MPs Tuesday that any hint of association to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam now triggers in-depth screening.

“We are insisting that all applications that have any possibility of involvement with the LTTE be referred to secondary review either by CBSA or by CSIS,” Mr. Fadden said during an appearance before the House of Commons immigration committee.

Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis, whose Scarborough-Agincourt riding is home to many Tamil-Canadians, accused the government of unnecessary delays at a time when families are desperate to be united in Canada.

“Is it because your department and your government has a view that if you're a Tamil, you're a Tiger, you're a terrorist?” he asked.

“Of course it's not,” replied Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who appeared with Mr. Fadden.

Mr. Kenney has vowed to speed up family-reunification applications coming from Sri Lanka. But his deputy, Mr. Fadden, said security concerns can lead to a second, and even a third round of interviews as part of the application process.

“While we do want to do everything we can to expedite the handling of files, one aspect that can slow down these files are security concerns,” said Mr. Fadden.

Former immigration judge late for own court date

Former immigration judge late for own court date - The Globe and Mail

Breach of trust trial after a South Korean woman alleged
he offered to secure her legal status in Canada if she would have an
affair with him.

Kate Hammer

Toronto — From Tuesday's Globe and Mail, Monday, Jun. 08, 2009 11:23PM EDT

Former Immigration and Refugee Appeal Board judge Steve Ellis arrived in court nearly an hour late Monday, delaying proceedings on allegations that he offered to approve an immigration application in exchange for sexual favours.

His suit pockets rumpled and his smoky curls askew, Mr. Ellis arrived shortly after Madam Justice Tamarin Dunnet of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued a bench warrant for his arrest.

Monday's appearance was to set a date for his trial.

Mr. Ellis was charged with two counts of breach of trust in 2006, after a South Korean woman alleged he met with her outside his chambers and offered to secure her legal status in Canada if she would have an affair with him.

The woman's boyfriend recorded a meeting with Mr. Ellis and submitted it to the chair of the Immigration and Refugee Board.

The video, obtained by CTV, shows Mr. Ellis meeting with the woman outside his chambers and bringing her confidential case file with him.

The tape reveals him saying: “Let me see what I can do. I'm going to work on it. I really want to be friends with you.”

The 45-minute video shows Mr. Ellis offering to help the woman find work and suggesting that he can approve her application if she agrees to an affair. The video records him telling her not to tell her boyfriend, and cautions that they'll “both be screwed” if the arrangement comes to light.

More than two hours after he was first scheduled to appear, Mr. Ellis, who once served as a city councillor, addressed the courtroom.

“I got here as a soon as I could,” he said.

He apologized but did not offer an explanation for the delay.

Mr. Ellis represented himself, but said he was “very close” to securing “very senior” counsel.

The matter was held until Friday to give Mr. Ellis time to sort out his legal representation before dates are set for his trial.

After Mr. Ellis left the courtroom, camera operators and reporters pursued him through the courthouse's back hallways toward Osgoode Hall.

He had no comment.

Zimbabwe: Defao Must Go - Immigration

allAfrica.com: Zimbabwe: Defao Must Go - Immigration

Memory Hlanganiso

6 June 2009

Harare — THE Immigration Department was yesterday still looking for Congolese rhumba artiste, General Defao with the intention of deporting him.

Principal Immigration Officer, Evans Siziba, said they would not allow General Defao to perform any show - starting last night-as he did not have a work permit.

He added that members from the Immigration department were on the lookout in Mutare where Defao had been advertised to perform last night.

There were unconfirmed reports that Defao -- now a second rate rhumba artiste -was holed up at Rainbow Towers in the capital.

"He is not going to perform, he doesn't have authority to be in the country after his permit expired on Wednesday. If he performs it will be illegal and a serious violation on the country's immigration laws.

"He has to go and we are looking for him and once we find him he will have to leave. A decision has been made and he has to go. He will have to apply for a work permit from outside the country.

"When you apply for a work permit, it can be approved or declined and he has to wait for the outcome of the application while outside the country.

"We've already activated our systems and our guys are watching with keen interest what will happen tonight (last night)," said Siziba.

Meanwhile, prominent HIV activist -- Pastor Maxwell Kapachawo -- has come under heavy criticism from members of the Zimbabwe Network of Religious Leaders Living with or personally affected by HIV/Aids for fraudulently acquiring rights to organise fundraising shows on behalf of the organisation.

Kapachawo is one of the co-producers of the forth-coming shows featuring Le General Defao together with Karen Madeke of Venus Promotions.

He was also behind the aborted Alain Kounkou shows early last month and raising funds to help members of Zinerela was said to be the main cause.

It emerged this week that Kapachawo was no longer a member of Zinerela having officially handed over his resignation on December 5 last year.

According to Sheikh Mustafa Wasili, the national board chairman of Zinerela, Kapachawo was no longer involved in the affairs of the organisation having resigned last year while he was once suspended on disciplinary grounds in 2007.

"We are a concerned lot because the organisers are using our name for their benefits without our consent.

"We are also surprised that they say they represent us when in fact we have not agreed to partner them. We as pastors would not appreciate the idea (of staging Defao shows) because it interferes with our repute.

"If we had wanted to do a fundraise show, we could do other better things other than organising such a gig," he said.

Kapachawo asked to be contacted later but his phone was no longer available up to the time of going to print.

Nigeria: Jang Shuns Reps Over Fulani Expulsion

allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Jang Shuns Reps Over Fulani Expulsion

Nasidi A. Yahaya

7 June 2009

Neither Plateau State governor David Jonah Jang nor any member of the state executive council was ready to host the House of Representatives' committee mandated to investigate causes of the recent expulsion of Fulani nomads by the state government, Speaker Dimeji Bankole said yesterday in Abuja.

He however said the committee will meet with citizens of Wase Local Government to hear their side of the incident in order to write its reports and present to the House.

Bankole, who spoke when he hosted officials of the Council of Ulama of Nigeria led by Sheikh Ibrahim Umar Kabo, said the legislators will collaborate with the executive to bring lasting peace in the state.

He said, "We are aware of the problems in the state and we sent a delegation led by the Deputy Speaker, Usman Bayero Nafada though they were not able to secure appointment with of the state government officials. Meanwhile, they will meet the affected people and write their reports."

Speaking earlier, Sheikh Kabo called for reprimanding of Governor Jang for instigating another ethnic bigotry and causing damages to the Fulani communities in the state.

According to him, the expulsion has generated loss of confidence on the government and the political system that has failed to stop the reckless act and restore normalcy in the place it occurred.

Vietnamese immigrants in mass deportation

Vietnamese immigrants in mass deportation | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 08.06.2009

Immigration | 08.06.2009


Amid high security, a group of around 100 Vietnamese have been deported from Germany. It was the first group deportation for years in Berlin. Refugee and human rights organisations protested against the move.

It is the first time that the European Union agency for external border security, Frontex, is financing a group deportation.

One hundred and three women and men as well as one child were put on a plane to Hanoi on Monday evening.

Around 200 demonstrators had gathered beforehand at Berlin's Schoenefeld Airport to protests against the mass deportation. The case had attracted widespread public attention in recent days as many of the Vietnamese immigrants had been living in Germany for several years.

Human rights and refugee organizations had organised opposition to the deportation, warning that the immigrants could face reprisals if sent back to Vietnam.

"We are protesting primarily against the fact that we are deporting people to a country like Vietnam that violates human rights," said Wolfgang Lenk, a Green Party city counsellor who turned out to support the protest.

Two vietnamese men with a stack of cigarettesBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Some illegal Vietnamese immigrants in Germany have been involved in cigarette smugglingHe warned that any form of mass deportation usually meant that individual cases were not considered with sufficient care.

Despite a large police presence two demonstrators managed to enter the airport and were briefly detained by police, officials said.

Most of Vietnamese had been living in Germany without residence permission, the 26 others had been living in Poland. The deportation operation was organised in cooperation between the German and Polish authorities.

For many of the Vietnamese, the trip home is the end of a long and difficult journey. Lured by the promises made by people smugglers of a better life, many of these would-be immigrants paid huge sums of money to get to Germany, only to submit an asylum application that in most cases was rejected.

Nevertheless, the number of new arrivals from the Asian country has been growing, not just in Germany, but also in neighboring Poland and the Czech Republic.

About 85,000 Vietnamese live legally in Germany; the number of undocumented Vietnamese immigrants is unknown. Unlike this most recent wave of arrivals, the Vietnamese who arrived in the 1970s and 1980s succeeded in establishing a life for themselves. Those in what was then West Germany were "boat people" fleeing from the Communist regime; those in East Germany arrived as guest workers.

ai/dpa/EPD/AFP
Editor: Chuck Penfold

Vietnamese immigrants face deportation from Germany

Vietnamese immigrants face deportation from Germany | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 07.06.2009

Immigration | 07.06.2009


Tricked by smugglers, too many Vietnamese give up everything to come to Germany, only to be denied asylum. Now, many illegal immigrants are being sent back home.


For the first time, the European Union agency for external border security, Frontex, is financing a group deportation of about 100 Vietnamese from Germany and Poland this Monday.

For many of the Vietnamese, the trip home is the end of a long and difficult journey. Lured by the promises of smugglers, many of these would-be immigrants paid huge sums of money to get to Germany, only to submit an asylum application that in most cases was rejected.

Nevertheless, the number of new arrivals from the Far East is growing. And, not just in Germany, but also in neighboring Poland and the Czech Republic.

Asylum-seekers risk everything

Vietnamese men selling smuggled cigarettes in Berlin.Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: With few legal options, some undocumented Vietnamese immigrants turn to the black market

In the Berlin neighborhood of Marzan, the Vietnamese community is divided into two groups. There are the successful businessmen, standing behind the counters of their florist shops and fast food stands. Most of these men were formerly guest workers, who have fought for years for their modest life in Germany. When a police car cruises down their streets, they appear pleased: Here come their customers.

Along the edge of the parking lot, stand another group of Vietnamese men - and here it is a different story. They are selling black market cigarettes and the uniforms and flashing lights set them into a panic, as they make their perilous getaways across busy streets and subway tracks.

These illegal street vendors belong to a new generation of immigrants. Their chances for a future in Germany are slim, says Tamara Henschel, head of Reistrommel, an organization that seeks to help Vietnamese immigrants in Marzahn.

"After Vietnam opened up, but even after the fall of the Iron Curtain, many Vietnamese who had never been abroad came to Europe," she explained. "In principle, it would be better for us and we would welcome it if people would stay in their home countries. If they didn't undertake such risky journeys, which are sometimes very dangerous, put these people into debt and ruin their lives."

Most asylum applications rejected

With little money and no work permit, the new immigrants often turn to illegal trade as a last resort.

Refugee organizations are protesting the unusual deportation from Berlin's Schoenefeld Airport. The Berlin Refugee Council quotes a report from Amnesty International that warns against returning asylum seekers to Vietnam where there is "widespread torture, political detention and use of the death penalty."

The German government's human rights commissioner is also concerned.

"The human rights situation in Vietnam is absolutely unsatisfactory," Guenter Nooke told Deutsche Welle. "I believe that people who can expect persecution and imprisonment in Vietnam should not be deported."

But of the refugees that have come to Germany in the last few years, very few -- at least according to German public agencies and courts -- have reason to fear political reprisals back in Vietnam.

Vietnamese represent the third largest group of asylum applicants in Germany, after Iraqis and Turks, but according to Volker Piening, Berlin's integration commissioner, only few are recognized as cases of political persecution.

Vietnamese teenagers.Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Vietnamese children do especially well in German schools

"The acceptance rate is roughly zero," he said. "That means that of this group of asylum-seekers, there is a very large group of people who no longer have a right of residence. This is why the Vietnamese share of deportations in recent months has been comparatively high."

About 85,000 Vietnamese live legally in Germany; the number of undocumented Vietnamese immigrants is unknown. Unlike this most recent wave of arrivals, the Vietnamese who arrived in the 1970s and 1980s succeeded in establishing a life for themselves. Those in West Germany were "Boat People" fleeing from the Communist regime; those in East Germany came as guest workers.

Their children are considered particularly ambitious and are accepted into Germany's college-prep high schools at rates higher than any other immigrant group, even higher than their German peers.

Bernd Graessler / hf
Editor: Kateri Jochum

EU offers help with immigration

ekathimerini.com | EU offers help with immigration

The European Union moved a step closer to meeting the requests of Greece and other Mediterranean countries for greater assistance in their efforts to tackle illegal immigration during a meeting of justice and interior ministers that ended yesterday.

Following the Luxembourg meeting, the EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Jacques Barrot said that he would make it a priority to work closely with countries such as Turkey and Libya so that they would be obligated to improve their border controls and honor the repatriation agreements that they have signed.

Greece has long complained about Turkey accepting only a small percentage of the thousands of illegal immigrants that arrive every year after setting off from neighboring countries.

Athens has found it increasingly difficult to deal with a growing influx of migrants and the city’s mayor, Nikitas Kaklamanis, applauded the news from Luxembourg.

“I welcome this decision, which, once implemented, will significantly stem the unrestrained flow of migrants from our neighboring country into Greece,” he said.

“Elevating the mass illegal immigration problem from a national to a European matter must be accompanied by generous financial and technical assistance from the European Union to Greece to meet the needs of both the Greek Police and the Coast Guard, so that the protection of our borders, particularly at sea, brings substantial results,” added Kaklamanis.

Greece is also likely to have been encouraged by an agreement for a pilot burden-sharing scheme, under which EU member states will accept refugees from Malta on a voluntary basis.

“Through this pilot project, refugees and other persons with humanitarian protection currently in Malta will have the opportunity to move to other EU member states and resettle there,” said Barrot.

He said that the EU could not force member states to accept asylum seekers but that the Commission intended to ask the countries to pledge how many migrants from Malta they would accept.

Italy had been pushing for obligatory burden sharing but a number of states raised objections.

The issue will be picked up for discussion again when Sweden takes over the rotating EU presidency next month.

EL DEFENSOR DEL PUEBLO DA LA RAZÓN A CEAR : SE HA EXPULSADO ILEGALMENTE A SOLICITANTES DE ASILO

INMIGRACIÓN UNA OPORTUNIDAD: EL DEFENSOR DEL PUEBLO DA LA RAZÓN A CEAR : SE HA EXPULSADO ILEGALMENTE A SOLICITANTES DE ASILO

viernes, junio 05, 2009


El Defensor del Pueblo da la razón a CEAR: se ha expulsado ilegalmente a solicitantes de asilo.
CEAR pide que la Fiscalía investigue los hechos y la falta de colaboración de las autoridades con la Oficina del Defensor del Pueblo.

El Defensor del Pueblo acusa a la Delegación de Gobierno en Ceuta y a la Comandancia de la Guardia Civil en esa ciudad de obstaculizar la investigación y de falta de lealtad institucional.El Defensor del Pueblo ha dado la razón a CEAR en su denuncia sobre devoluciones ilegales de solicitantes de asilo a través de la frontera de Ceuta. En un informe hecho público hace unos días, la oficina del Defensor afirma que ?ha quedado acreditada la práctica de unas devoluciones por la vía de hecho, con ausencia del procedimiento legalmente establecido, y en las cuales se ha lesionado el derecho constitucional de los interesados a la asistencia letrada. Asimismo, ha quedado acreditado que se realizaron devoluciones de personas que se encontraban ya residiendo en territorio español como solicitantes de asilo o con cita concedida para realizar la solicitud?. Para el defensor del Pueblo, los hechos constituyen ?una muy grave vulneración de la normativa de extranjería, y debieron ser investigados con la diligencia y la profundidad que merecían?. El 28 de diciembre de 2004, la Guardia Civil de Ceuta detuvo y expulsó a nueve personas que contaban con la documentación que les acreditaba como solicitantes de asilo. Ante las denuncias de CEAR, el Defensor del Pueblo requirió información a la Delegación del Gobierno en Ceuta y a la comandancia de la Guardia Civil de la misma ciudad, requerimiento que no ha sido atendido. Por ello, la oficina del Defensor denuncia que ?la demora en la respuesta y fundamentalmente el contenido de la misma evidencian a juicio de esta Institución la falta de interés en que estos hechos sean definitivamente aclarados, y ponen de manifiesto la persistencia en la obstaculización de la presente investigación y una falta de lealtad institucional que será debidamente reflejada ante las Cortes Generales en el próximo informe?. La Oficina del Defensor del Pueblo ha dirigido a la Delegación del Gobierno en Ceuta un recordatorio de deberes legales y confía en que en el futuro se respeten la Ley y el Reglamento de extranjería.CEAR solicita que la Fiscalía General investigue a fondo lo sucedido y adopte las medidas correspondientes contra los responsables de las expulsiones de solicitantes de asilo. Además, CEAR exige que se hagan efectivas las garantías suficientes para que estas prácticas sean erradicadas, y que se establezcan unas directrices claras por escrito hacia todos los organismos competentes sobre el respeto a la voluntad de pedir asilo y la aplicación del principio de no devolución. CEAR solicita también que se abra una investigación sobre la falta de respuesta de las autoridades a los requerimientos de la Oficina del Defensor del Pueblo, y que se actúe contra los responsables. Esta falta de respuesta supone un menosprecio de los deberes que las autoridades tienen con la alta institución de la Defensoría.

TRIBUNAL SUPERIOR DE MADRID DA LA RAZÓN A UN MENOR MARROQUÍ QUE FUE EXPULSADO DOS VECES COMO ADULTO .

INMIGRACIÓN UNA OPORTUNIDAD: TRIBUNAL SUPERIOR DE MADRID DA LA RAZÓN A UN MENOR MARROQUÍ QUE FUE EXPULSADO DOS VECES COMO ADULTO .

viernes, junio 05, 2009


TSJM da la razón a un menor marroquí que fue expulsado dos veces como adulto, sin que se cumpliera la Ley de Extranjería

Tras las dos expulsiones regresó a España y se quedó en la calle; las ONG creen que está en prisión para adultos pero no le localizan
MADRID, 4 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -
El Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid (TSJM) ha dado la razón a un menor marroquí que fue expulsado hasta dos veces de España sin que la Administración Pública cumpliera "ninguno de los requisitos establecidos" por el Reglamento de la Ley de Extranjería, porque fue considerado adulto cuando sólo tenía 16 años de edad y no fue escuchado durante el proceso. Sin embargo, no se sabe dónde está ahora el joven.

La préfecture de police accusée de porter atteinte au droit d'asile

Le Monde.fr : Imprimez un élément

LEMONDE.FR | 05.06.09 | 13h47 • Mis à jour le 05.06.09 | 17h41

Le préfecture de police de Paris essaie-t-elle de se débarrasser des demandeurs d'asile ? Jeudi 4 juin, plusieurs associations d'aide aux étrangers l'ont accusée de ne pas délivrer de récépissé à des centaines de demandeurs d'asile au motif qu'ils ne possèdent pas de domicile fixe. Une pratique illégale, déjà condamnée "à dix reprises" en avril et mai par le tribunal administratif de Paris, soulignent Amnesty, la Cimade ou encore le Secours catholique. La justice demandait alors à la préfecture de "cesser de porter une atteinte manifestement illégale au droit d'asile".

En principe, les demandeurs d'asile qui souhaitent obtenir une autorisation provisoire de séjour doivent justifier d'une domiciliation. Des associations sont agréées pour leur servir de "boîte aux lettres" pour la première demande et les premiers renouvellements. Pour les renouvellements suivants, la préfecture demande ensuite une adresse fixe. Sans ce sésame, les personnes se retrouvent "privées de leurs droits économiques et sociaux" estiment les associations, comme par exemple une allocation de 320 euros, "leur seule ressource".

A la préfecture, on explique que ces cas sont marginaux par rapport au nombre de cas examinés chaque année. "En 2008 nous avons délivré 14 900 récépissés dans le cadre du droit d'asile à Paris, soit un quart du nombre total sur toute la France." Pour l'ACAT (Action des chrétiens pour l'abolition de la torture), au contraire, il s'agit d'une pratique régulière de la part de la préfecture. "Notre souhait, ce n'est pas de faire du contentieux avec la préfecture. Mais nous constatons qu'il faut passer par des décisions de justice pour que le préfet de police respecte les droits des demandeurs d'asile", avance Florence Boreil, responsable des programmes.

PLUSIEURS CENTAINES DE REFUS EN 2009

Les pratiques de la préfecture sont révélatrices, pour Marianne Lagruen, avocate spécialiste du droit d'asile, d'une "politique générale à l'égard des étrangers" et des demandeurs d'asile. Les associations dénoncent un procédé qui permet de multiplier les expulsions pour remplir les objectifs chiffrés du ministère de l'immigration et de l'identité nationale, au détriment du droit d'asile. Ce que dément la préfecture.

En 2006, elle avait déjà été condamnée à plusieurs reprises par le tribunal administratif pour les mêmes faits. Pour Marianne Lagrue, la pratique a commencé avec le vote de la loi sur l'immigration en 2006, qui a modifié les exigences concernant le domicile. "La préfecture a interprété le domicile comme l'endroit où l'on habite, et a arrêté de se contenter d'une attestation de domiciliation temporaire délivrée par une association. Le tribunal administratif a une interprétation différente: une adresse temporaire est suffisante", explique l'avocate.

Ainsi le 11 mai 2009, le tribunal administratif a rendu un jugement concernant le cas de M. Ramesh X, ressortissant sri-lankais, hébergé provisoirement par un ami. Le refus de lui délivrer un récépissé a été jugé comme "une atteinte grave et manifestement illégale à la liberté fondamentale que constitue le droit d'asile". La justice a enjoint au préfet de police de renouveler le récépissé de M. Ramesh X. Selon l'ACAT, environ six cents personnes se seraient vu refuser leur récépissé de demande d'asile depuis le début de l'année.

Hélène Franchineau

Uganda: Ugandan Gay Sues UK Over Deportation

allAfrica.com: Uganda: Ugandan Gay Sues UK Over Deportation

3 June 2009

Kampala — THE British government is facing legal action after it forcibly deported a gay Ugandan asylum-seeker when his case was still under review.

John Bosco Nyombi is now seeking damages from the government after British judges ruled that his removal was "manifestly unlawful" and ordered his return.

Speaking for the first time since arriving back in the UK, Nyombi told The Independent newspaper: "The last year has been torture. I've never done anything wrong and what the Home Office did was illegal. All the things I went through are because of them." The 38-year-old first fled to Britain in 2001, claiming that being gay put his life in danger in Uganda.

His case was still under review when on September 18, 2008 he was taken by four security men and bundled on to a flight to Entebbe Airport.

When he tried to resist and asked for a lawyer, the British officers allegedly dragged him by the handcuffs and struck him in the groin and shoulder.

Just two days earlier, Nyombi's face had been on the front page of a Ugandan newspaper "outing" him as a homosexual and reporting on his fight to stay in the UK.

"Within moments of his arrival in Kampala, he was abandoned by the British officers, leaving him to be interrogated by border Police who had seen the article," the British media said.

"He managed to escape a first arrest after paying a bribe. He then endured six months in hiding before the Home Secretary secured his release, getting caught twice and put into prison where he was violently beaten by both staff and inmates for his sexuality."

Nyombi, who was known as "Mr X" while his lawyers fought to take him back to the UK, is back in Southampton staying with a friend. Once his immigration papers come through, his old job as a caretaker in a local nursing home is waiting for him.

Cleared of Terror Charges, a Target for Deportation

Cleared of Terror Charges, a Target for Deportation - NYTimes.com

June 4, 2009

By DAMIEN CAVE

MOORE HAVEN, Fla. — Youssef Samir Megahed toyed with a piece of lint on the other side of the bulletproof glass and described his case as simply “weird.”

In April, a federal jury acquitted him on charges of transporting explosives during a road trip with a friend who had packed model rocket propellants in the trunk. But three days later, in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Tampa, Mr. Megahed was arrested again in connection with the case, this time by immigration authorities.

The new charge is that he “is engaged in or is likely to engage in” terrorist activities, a violation of his legal residency in the United States.

“They just label you a terrorist and that’s it,” said Mr. Megahed, 23, who moved to Florida from Egypt with his family 11 years ago and is being held here at an immigration detention center.

Mr. Megahed is at least the third Florida defendant in three years to be brought up on immigration charges after prosecutors failed to win terrorism convictions in federal court. If convicted of the new charges and deported, he would join thousands of other Muslim and Arab men sent home since Sept. 11, 2001, as part of an extensive law enforcement strategy that relies on the immigration courts to remove potential threats.

Some national security experts say the country is safer without such men, and immigration officials declare the deportations both legal and fair. But with President Obama scheduled to speak in Cairo on Thursday about repairing relations with the Muslim world, Mr. Megahed is being presented by critics of the immigration strategy here and abroad as a test case of the president’s pledge to break with some of the Bush administration’s most unpopular policies.

Egyptian news outlets and blogs have taken up Mr. Megahed’s cause. Several federal jurors who acquitted him have also made the rare move of publicizing their outrage at their verdict’s being second-guessed, while Arab-American groups, civil rights organizations and churches have lobbied the Obama administration for his release.

“We are sending the wrong message to American Muslims and the Muslim world,” said Ramzy Kiliç, executive director of the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy group for Muslims. “If Obama really wants to make a new way forward with mutual respect, he has to start here at home.”

Immigration courts have not been central to the prosecution of cases involving terrorism. But in such cases, they share prosecutorial advantages similar to those found in the controversial military tribunals for suspects accused of being foreign fighters.

In immigration courts, for example, hearings can be closed to the public, the burden of proof is lower than in federal court, and a wider scope of evidence, including hearsay, can be used. Michael Wishnie, a law professor at Yale University, said using immigration courts in these cases amounted to “second-class justice” because “the defendant’s rights are reduced.”

In Mr. Megahed’s case, officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement have emphasized that his deportation hearing is a civil, not a criminal, proceeding, possibly with new evidence, and does not amount to “double jeopardy” — the prohibition on trying defendants more than once for the same crime.

“This is nothing new,” said Bill West, chief of national security for immigration enforcement until he retired in 2003. “The concept goes back to Al Capone — get the bad guys any way you can, on any violation you can.”

Still, the main question in the immigration case is essentially the same as it was in the federal trial: Is Mr. Megahed a danger to society, or, as his lawyer argues, is he only “guilty of having stupid friends”?

Mr. Megahed’s legal problems began two years ago on a road trip with Ahmed Mohamed, who, like Mr. Megahed, was Egyptian, Muslim and an engineering student at the University of South Florida. Mr. Megahed said he had known Mr. Mohamed for only a few months before traveling with him in the summer of 2007.

“It was for fun,” Mr. Megahed said in an interview here. “To see the Southeast of the United States.”

They took turns driving north until they reached Goose Creek, S.C., where the police pulled them over for going 60 miles an hour in a 45-m.p.h. zone. One of two deputies involved said he had become suspicious when the men quickly put away a laptop; a recording of the traffic stop captured the officer saying, “I think they’re part of the Taliban.”

The officers searched the trunk and found “several pipe bombs;” more specifically, four pieces of PVC tubing, about 2 to 2.5 inches long and three-quarters of an inch in diameter, which contained sugar, potassium nitrate and cat litter.

Mr. Mohamed told the police they were homemade fireworks — similar recipes can be found online. The authorities charged them with possession of an explosive device, carrying a prison term of up to 15 years. A judge set bail at $500,000 for Mr. Mohamed and $300,000 for Mr. Megahed.

“That is when the bad dreams began,” Mr. Megahed’s father, Samir, an engineer, said in an interview with his wife, Ahlem, at their upscale two-story town house in Tampa. Declaring “I love America,” he said he had brought his family to the state because the University of South Florida had accepted his two sons.

He described Youssef, the younger, as an outgoing joker who had lost a front tooth rough-housing as a boy.

Mr. Megahed, in a visitation booth at the detention center, described himself as clueless. He said he had not known the plastic tubes were in the trunk (his fingerprints were not found on them) and had never even heard the term “pipe bomb” until the police said it.

He also said he had not known they were seven miles from a naval base when they were pulled over, or that Mr. Mohamed’s laptop had a video on it showing a rocket attack somewhere in the Middle East.

“I thought it was going to be O.K.,” Mr. Megahed said. “I hadn’t done anything wrong.”

After their arrest, federal investigators found a YouTube video that Mr. Mohamed had made showing how to turn a toy into a detonator. In December, Mr. Mohamed pleaded guilty in a separate case to providing material support to terrorists and was sentenced to 15 years in prison; as part of the plea agreement, the charges from the traffic stop were dropped.

Mr. Megahed was not involved with the video. His trial began three months later and lasted three weeks. Gary Meringer, the jury foreman, said jurors were initially suspicious about the circumstantial evidence in the case — the fireworks in the trunk; the video on the laptop; a gas can in the car; that they had tried to buy a gun, while their bags lacked toothpaste or bathing suits.

An initial survey of jurors, Mr. Meringer said, produced six guilty votes, four undecided, and two not guilty. But as the jury examined each detail individually, he said, holes emerged. For example, the prosecutor’s expert could not get a simulated version of the alleged explosives to give off much more than heat and smoke.

It was also unclear whether Mr. Megahed had watched the video on the laptop, or if he had viewed a handful of Web sites — on AK-47s among other things — that were found in the browsing history on a family computer at the Megaheds’ home.

By the third day of deliberations, the jury had arrived at unanimous verdicts of not guilty of transporting explosive materials and of possessing a destructive device.

Mr. Megahed’s sister cried in the courtroom. He celebrated at the beach. Then immigration authorities arrested Mr. Megahed after a shopping trip with his father. Mr. Meringer, 57, the foreman, who is a corporate lawyer, was shocked when he heard of the immigration charge. “It literally took the air right out of my chest,” he said. “I felt the government had completely wasted the time of the legal system, the judge, the jury, the bailiffs, all of those people.”

He contacted the other jurors, and three joined him in signing a statement opposing Mr. Megahed’s detention. “We want a fair shake,” Mr. Meringer said. “A fair shake for Youssef would be that he could finish college, become a citizen and go on his merry way.”

Mr. Megahed’s hearing is scheduled for Aug. 17. By then, he will have spent nearly a year behind bars, including nine months before his trial.

His lawyer, Charles Kuck, said immigration officials had suggested they would rely in part on evidence from the family computer, which Mr. Megahed’s brother, Yahia, said had been used by numerous friends and relatives.

In the criminal trial, the judge excluded eight video clips on the computer that show rocket attacks in an unidentified Middle Eastern location; a ninth clip shows an improvised explosive device that hits an American tank.

While Mr. Megahed waits, his parents visit him every five days, as often as is allowed. His father said he worried that his son had become depressed. “Every time he tells me to bring clothes for him in case they let him out,” he said.

But in the interview, Mr. Megahed seemed determined to appear stoic. He said he had turned to an Arabic proverb for solace: “The longer you live, the more you will see.”

Lynn Waddell contributed reporting from Tampa, Fla.