* Deaths
Last month,
Ramin Khaleghi killed himself – a week after his asylum claim was
rejected. Like many other Iranian
refugees, Ramin was a victim of torture, but 92 percent of them are routinely
turned away. “Asylum seekers such as Ramin are left with no option but to
flee to Europe,” says Maryam Namazie of the International Federation of Iranian
Refugees. “Upon arrival they are
detained, dispersed, housed in degrading conditions, deprived by the voucher
system and eventually deported.” (The Big Issue, February 12-18, 2001)
The University
of Houston released a study that links a rise in migrant deaths along the US -
Mexico border with stricter U.S. immigration policies contributing to an
increase in immigrant deaths from 231 in 1999 to 369 in 2000. (The Fort Worth
Star-Telegram, February 15, 2001)
A Denver, US
police officer who shot to death a Salvadoran immigrant in 1996 lied on a
report about the incident, according to photographic evidence uncovered by an
investigation. The police officer will
face "serious consequences" if the allegations are proven, Denver
District Attorney said. (Agencia EFE,
February 10, 2001)
Five Guatemalans were killed when a bus chartered by Mexican
immigration officials to return 24 detained immigrants to Guatemala overturned
in Tierra Nueva municipality. Three of
the Guatemalans were pronounced dead at the scene and two others died from
their injuries at nearby hospitals. (Agencia EFE, February 6, 2001)
Three Austrian
policemen who were suspended after a Nigerian asylum seeker died in their
custody are to return to work, although an inquiry into their role in his death
continues. The 25-year-old Marcus
Omofuma died on May 1, 1999 after the police bound and gagged him on board a
flight to the Bulgarian capital Sofia, from where he was to be sent back to
Nigeria. (Agence France Presse,
February 5, 2001)
Iranian Afshin Molagan [IFIR representative in
Leicester] joined a demonstration against the asylum system this
weekend in Leicester. He was also
marching for Shokrolah Khaleghi, who was found dead at the International Hotel
Leicester, on January 18. Afshin says
his 27-year-old friend - known as Ramin - had given up after his claim for
asylum had been turned down and killed himself. (Leicester Mercury, February 5,
2001)
* Deportation
The Irish
Minister for Justice O'Donoghue said he has made 1,132 deportation orders since
the Immigration Act came into force in July 1999, and 222 people were deported
since then - up until last week. Six
people were deported in 1999, 187 last year and 29 this year until earlier this
month. O'Donoghue said a further 22 people had left before deportation orders
could be enforced. (The Irish Times, February 15, 2001)
The UK government
pledged the year ahead would see the biggest mass deportation of “bogus”
refugees in British history. The
Government was determined to achieve 30,000 "removals" in the 12
months beginning in April - a three-fold rise on the current rate. The Government line came after the
Immigration Service staff union claimed the asylum system was falling apart and
that around a dozen people a month were forcibly deported. (The Express (UK),
February 14, 2001)
A Greek
policeman and bus driver returning Albanian “illegal immigrants” caught in
Athens back to Kakavija, Albania will be tried for beating an Albanian
girl. During 2000, Albanian police
revealed 20 cases of maltreatment against Albanian immigrants. (ATA news agency
(Tirana, Greece), February 14, 2001)
Turkish
security forces detained 106 migrants who had been pushed across the border by
Greek authorities after trying to enter Greek territory. They included Azeris, Afghans, Pakistanis,
Algerians, Palestinians, Iranians, Iraqis and Syrians. (Reuters, February 12,
2001)
The Australian
Government will not make special arrangements for pregnant “illegal
immigrants,” despite recommendations from a Senate inquiry. Issues considered by the inquiry included
the case of a Chinese woman who was forced to undergo an abortion after being
returned. The committee's calls for an
inquiry into the use of sedation and restraint in detention centres have also
been rejected. (The Australian
Broadcasting Corporation, February 8, 2001)
Greek police
searched for a group of 30 Iraqi Kurds and Pakistanis who escaped after
smashing windows of a police bus while being deported to Turkey. Police managed to capture 25. Tens of thousands of people from Asia,
Eastern Europe and the Middle East “sneak” into to European Union member Greece
each year. If caught, most face deportation to the last country they passed
through before entering Greece. (The Associated Press, February 7, 2001)
A two-day
strike called by the All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union to pressurise the
provincial and the federal governments to deport some 50,000 Bangladeshi
refugees settled in the state since 1964 paralysed life in India's northeast
state of Arunachal Pradesh. (Agence France Presse, February 7, 2001)
* Detention
After 1996,
asylum seekers landing in US airports are automatically jailed pending the
outcome of their cases. They are strip-searched, shackled, and parcelled out to
a network of 900 jails and detention centres nationwide. Locally, they are housed at the 300-bed
Elizabeth Detention Centre in Elizabeth, N.J., and the Wackenhut, which houses
up to 200 people. Wackenhut Corrections Corp. is a Florida-based company that
runs 55 jails in the U.S. and around the world. The firm has a five-year, $49
million contract with the INS to operate the jail in Queens. In interviews, a dozen present and former
INS detainees tell stories of grown men scrawling words on the walls with their
own faeces, and of people staging hunger strikes - including one started last
week at Wackenhut. They also tell
stories of detainees trying unsuccessfully to take their own lives by hanging
with threadbare sheets or swallowing analgesics and liquid detergent. (NY Daily
News, February 16, 2001)
“Illegal
immigrants” who have not committed a crime are being held in jails because of
management and behavioural problems at Australian Department of Immigration
detention centres. The State Government
told the Minister for Immigration, Ruddock, that it opposes the practice and
will stop taking detainees unless the Federal Government proves they should be
jailed. (The Sydney Morning Herald,
February 13, 2001)
Australasian
Correctional Management has placed an advertisement in major papers seeking a
new centre manager for the Woomera Detention Centre in Australia. The Centre's existing manager was called to
Sydney in December to respond to allegations of sexual abuse at the
centre. The position has a salary
package of up to $100,000. (Australian
Broadcasting Corporation, February 10, 2001)
The UK Home
Office faces a compensation bill, which could reach millions of pounds for
wrongly jailing asylum seekers for travelling on false passports. Thousands were imprisoned between 1994 and
1999, when the high court ruled that jailing asylum seekers for travelling on
false documents breached the 1951 Geneva Convention on the status of
refugees. (The Guardian (UK), February
7, 2001)
* Legislation
/ Laws
A Canadian
Supreme Court ruling protecting two Canadians from extradition to face the
death penalty in the United States could have profound implications for the way
the federal government deals with deportees and refugee claimants, legal
observers predict. In a unanimous
decision, the Supreme Court ordered Ottawa to seek and receive assurances Atif
Rafay and Glen Burns will not face capital punishment if they are extradited to
the state of Washington to stand trial for 1994 murders. (National Post -
Canada, February 16, 2001)
The United
Nations refugee agency urged Italy to rapidly adopt legislation on asylum
seekers, otherwise, the legislation which has been pending for four years could
face further years of delay. Italy has
become one of Europe's major destinations for refugees, but still has no law on
dealing with them. (The Associated
Press, February 16, 2001)
Korea has been
under international criticism for not granting refugee status to asylum seekers
since it became a signatory of the International Convention on Refugees in
1992. For the first time, the
government recognized an Ethiopian asylum seeker as refugee. According to a local activist, the
government should improve its harsh refugee recognition system including
scrapping the 60-day limit which stipulates that asylum seekers can only apply
for refugee status within their first 60 days and the one week to appeal a
government rejection. (The Korea
Herald, February 16, 2001)
Enforcement of
immigration control, which involved the removal of a child settled in a good
school after her parents' application to remain in the United Kingdom had been
refused was not a breach of child's right to education under the European
Convention on Human Rights. (The Times
(UK), February 13, 2001)
At last week's
Franco-British summit in Cahors, it was agreed that immigration officials from
both countries would travel on Eurostar trains between Paris and London via
Calais, inspecting papers before and during journeys. Up to 400 immigrants a
month have been entering Britain illegally by Eurostar. (The Guardian (UK), February 13, 2001)
The Danish
government is divided over whether Denmark should follow the European Union's
common rules for asylum seekers even though they may not be ideal or retain the
exception it has on legal issues and asylum.
(The Nordic Business Report, February 12, 2001)
Two days of
talks on human trafficking ended with European Union leaders calling for common
laws and penalties against it. Tens of
thousands of victims of human trafficking risk their lives, are forced to have
sex for money and must labour in filthy factories for years--all for passage
out of the poverty of their home countries.
EU Justice Commissioner Antonio Vitorino said the 15 EU nations should
agree by July on common sanctions of a minimum 6-year sentence for traffickers. Bodstroem also said he wants to standardize
Europe's laws against trafficking in humans and the sexual exploitation of
children. (The Associated Press, February 11, 2001)
Human Rights
Watch condemned asylum proposals put forward by UK Home Secretary Jack
Straw. Straw's plan, which is being
discussed at an EU ministers' meeting in Stockholm, calls for a complete
overhaul of the 50-year-old international refugee regime. “Straw's proposal is a major step backwards
for refugee protection and contrary to international legal norms,” said
Reilly. “Such a rigid rule could
seriously compromise the security of refugees.” “Many refugees are simply not able to find safety in neighbouring
countries in their region of origin.”
“The right to seek and enjoy asylum is an individual right. Governments
cannot make a blanket decision to exclude refugees simply on the basis of their
country of origin.” “Such a proposal
could result in returning refugees to countries where they could face
persecution, torture, and even death-without serious consideration of their
asylum claim.” (HRW, 9 February 2001)
French
immigration officials are to be based at Waterloo station and British officials
will do the same at Lille and the Gare du Nord in Paris in a tightening of
controls on “illegal immigrants” under a new deal between UK and France. French President Chirac will need to bring
in legislation in order for it to take place. (The Evening Standard (UK),
February 9, 2001)
An agreed list
of countries from which asylum applications would automatically be rejected was
proposed by Jack Straw to try to curb refugees arriving in Britain. The Home Secretary questioned whether the
1951 United Nations Convention on Refugees, which obliges countries to offer
sanctuary to people who claim "a well-founded fear of persecution,"
was any longer effective or relevant.
He suggested that a three-tier system be inaugurated, identifying
countries as "safe", "intermediate" or
"repressive." Asylum seekers from countries in the first category
would not be considered. Applications
from intermediate nations would carry a presumption of safety. Refugees from
the third group, which could include Afghanistan or Iraq, would have to apply
to enter the EU from outside, but a quota system would ensure they were shared
around. (The Daily Telegraph, February 8, 2001)
Hauliers who
try to bring “illegal immigrants” into Spain – by land, sea or air - and are
discovered at the border will have "to take responsibility for them"
and return them to their country according to draft regulation of the Aliens
Law. The government is to reinforce
surveillance at border posts to check the entry of immigrants without
documents. (ABC web site (Madrid), February 8, 2001)
Britain was
accused of ducking its responsibilities to refugees as the Home Secretary said
that people fleeing war and persecution should be encouraged to remain in
countries close to the ones they had left behind. Habib Rahman, chief executive of the Joint Council for the
Welfare of Immigrants, said: "This is just shifting Britain's
responsibilities somewhere outside. It is creating fortress Europe and fortress
Britain. Developing countries are already carrying the largest burden and this
idea will destabilise them even further." Of the world's 22 million
displaced people, only three million are living in EU countries, according to
the UNHCR. Straw suggested that EU countries should establish “resettlement
programmes.” A spokesman for the UNHCR said such an idea risked turning into a
“cherry-picking” programme where EU countries selected people according to their
skills and qualifications rather than their right to asylum. (The Independent
(UK), February 7, 2001)
Over 30,000
“illegal immigrants” have started a process of regularization in order to
obtain Portuguese residence permits since January 22, 2001, when the
alterations to the law on immigration came into force. 3,343 residence permits
have already been granted. (RDP Antena 1 radio, Lisbon (Portugal), February 6,
2001)
* Living
Conditions
The Australian
federal government today accused Labour states of encouraging “illegal
immigration” by offering financial support for asylum seekers living in the
local community. The Tasmanian
government joined Victoria in offering support for unauthorised arrivals
released from immigration detention on Temporary Protection Visas. The minister said Labour was encouraging
more “illegal arrivals.” (The Australian Associated Press, February 14, 2001)
Workers at the
Red Cross refugee centre in Sangatte outside Calais said minor clashes between
frustrated refugees had become increasingly common as crossing the Channel had
become tougher. “This place was
originally opened in 1999 for 200 people. Right now we have 849," Michel
Derr, the manager of the centre, said. “We have reached a critical level of
overcrowding and it's generating enormous tension.” Some 25,000 “illegal immigrants” were caught trying to cross the
Channel at Calais last year, with 1,700 cases reported last month. (The
Guardian (UK), February 13, 2001)
Temporary
Protection Visa refugees deposited in Melbourne from immigration centres as far
away as Western Australia's Curtin detention centre are reportedly given
nothing but an envelope containing Centrelink, Medicare and bank forms and a
tourist map of the city. Often they
have to stay in backpacker accommodation or rooming houses and face eviction
when they cannot pay the bills. (The Age, February 12, 2001)
An Iraqi family
who fled persecution was recently released from detention and into the
Victorian community on Temporary Protection Visas. This was a freedom of sorts, but it is hard to feel free when you
cannot speak the language (which means you cannot get a job) and when the
Federal Government refuses to pay for settlement services or to help find a
place to live. (The Age, February 12, 2001)
* Myths
Canadian
Immigration Minister said Canada would lift the upper target range of
immigrants to 235,000 a year in 2002, from the present 225,000 a year. “A successful immigration program like ours
is not just about numbers on a page, but rather about hard-working people and
their families who come here from the world over to help build our economy, our
society and our culture,” she said. The
top 10 countries sending immigrants to Canada in 2000 were: China, India,
Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, United States, Iran (5,598),
Yugoslavia, and Britain. (Reuters, February 8, 2001)
The number of
undocumented workers in the United States could be several million more than
federal officials have previously estimated, according to a new analysis of
Census Bureau data and Labour Department records. Most of the undocumented workers found employment in the new
economy, and their availability may even have helped fuel it, according to a
study by economists at Northeastern University. (Boston Globe, February 6, 2001)
* Protests
A US immigrant
rights group gave California officials 30 days to break the police department's
ties to the Immigration and Naturalization Service or run the risk of civil
disobedience by thousands of Latinos.
(Los Angeles Times, February 14, 2001)
Fifteen people
were injured, two seriously, in a “riot” between asylum seekers and smugglers
last night at a Red Cross camp for refugees seeking asylum in Britain. French riot police “quelled” the fighting
after more than an hour of running battles outside the centre, a converted
Channel Tunnel warehouse, at Sangatte near Calais. (The Independent (UK),
February 12, 2001)
Six-year-old
Zahraa Al-Khaffaf was in the bath when her father, Haydar, stopped and listened
closely to the words she was singing. "We are not criminals. We are
refugees, and we want our freedom." It was a chant the child had heard
during 11 months spent in Australia's immigration centres - South Australia's
Woomera, Sydney's Villawood and Melbourne's Maribyrnong. The family, who fled the persecution of
Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, was recently released from detention and into
the Victorian community on temporary protection visas. (The Age, February 12, 2001)
Thousands of
people have taken to the streets of Madrid and Valencia to protest against
Spain's tough new law on immigration.
The law, which came into effect last month, could lead to tens of
thousands of “illegal immigrants” being expelled from Spain. Between 7,000 and 10,000 immigrants from
Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe marched through the centre of Madrid demanding
work and residency papers in Spain.
About 3,500 marched in the eastern city of Valencia. Labour unions, left-wing politicians,
intellectuals and popular figures from the Spanish cinema and music world
joined Sunday's march to support the immigrants' plea for papers. (British
Broadcasting Corporation, February 11, 2001)
* Racism /
Fascism
A UK judge was
criticised after claiming that the murder of an Indonesian-born man who had
been called "nigger" before being kicked and beaten was not racially
motivated. Jan Pasalbessy, 48, was
beaten by a gang of four while his 14-year-old stepdaughter begged them to stop
outside the Royal Gwent hospital in Newport in June 12 in what police described
as a racial attack. (The Guardian (UK), February 16, 2001)
Right-wing
Pauline Hanson, leader of the One Nation political party, urged the Australian
government to stem the tide of “illegal immigrants” by sending arrivals
straight back to their home countries.
Hanson accused the mostly Middle Eastern “illegal immigrants” of being
“disease-ridden queue-jumpers who cost the taxpayer dearly by falsely claiming
refugee status.” (Deutsche
Presse-Agentur, February 12, 2001)
A poll of 1,106
Germans aged between 14 and 25 interviewed shows that more than a third believe
Adolf Hitler's government had “a good side.”
Among those aged 14-16 in the former East Germany, 15 percent thought
the Nazi regime had been a “good idea.” The figures will be published in full
with government statistics showing a 39 percent rise in violent crimes against
foreigners last year. 13,753 right wing extremist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic
acts were recorded in the first 11 months of last year compared with 9,456 in the
same period in 1999. The number of violent acts against foreigners was 553
compared with 397. (The Daily Telegraph (UK), February 8, 2001)
Ireland, the
country that for more than 150 years sent its people abroad in search of a job
or a new life is denying those same aspirations to its newest and most
vulnerable residents. Physical and verbal attacks on immigrants and people of
colour are commonplace. A survey of 157 African asylum seekers by a charity
found that 95% of them suffered racially motivated discrimination. Last year, a
Dublin bus driver accused of verbally abusing a Gambian passenger became the
first person to be convicted under the country's Prohibition on Incitement to
Hatred Act. (Los Angeles Times,
February 4, 2001)
* Restrictive
Measures
Around 20
refugees from Kosovo were allowed back into Australia as legal immigrants. They were among 4,000 refugees granted safe
haven in Australia, before being forced to return to Kosovo last year, so
Australian authorities could process their applications for permanent
residence. (Australian Broadcasting
Corporation, February 16, 2001)
Britain and
Italy will soon be sending immigration teams to Bosnia to “help” it control its
borders and stem a flood of “illegal immigrants.” “Rather than just providing
advice or gathering information these teams would work with local border
police,” said British Home Office Secretary Jack Straw. "The Western Balkans is now one of the
main illegal immigration routes into Europe. We, and the [European Union] collectively,
must act decisively to ensure it does not become a permanent feature of life in
the Western Balkans.” (CNS News, February 14, 2001)
Some foreign
airlines are risking having their jets seized or landing rights suspended for
refusing to pay fines for bringing “illegal immigrants” to Canada. More than 1,700 fines were laid against 40
airlines between last April to September.
Most fines are deducted from a $3.5-million security bond posted by the
carriers. However, several “Third-World
carriers” have refused to pay their fines even after warnings of plane seizure.
(The Toronto Sun, February 14, 2001)
A smuggler was
sentenced to four and a half years for “trafficking illegal immigrants” into
Britain in the back of his van. (Press Association (U.K.), February 14,
2001)
European police
officers and senior immigration officials are meeting to discuss the
possibility of sending specialised teams to work in the borders of
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.
“Experts” from 12 European countries including France, Denmark, Greece
and Germany, are following up a joint proposal made by the UK and Italy last
month for “detecting forgeries, gathering intelligence and providing training”
for officials over a period of 12 months. Officials will also discuss coordination
between the Balkan governments, Europol, the UN and Nato forces in the region.
(Press Association (UK), February 12, 2001)
Sixty-five
Indonesians have been sentenced to between four and seven months' jail by the
Malaysian magistrate's court after pleading “guilty” to entering the country
without valid travel documents. The
men, aged between 19 and 40, had no attorneys.
(New Straits Times (Malaysia), February 11, 2001)
The Kenyan High
Court has given the UNHCR three months to relocate four Iraqi dissidents out of
Kenya. The four Iraqis -- Karrem Radee Abed, Ahmed Alwan Muktasha, Sami Hameed
Majed and Mushtak Kassem Abed -- were first arrested in Kenya as they crossed
the Kenya-Somali border at Elwark in mid-1999 and sentenced to six months in
jail for being in the country illegally. (Agence France Presse, February 10,
2001)
Last year, just
nine out of 3,200 asylum seekers were granted asylum in Finland and 450 people
were granted residence permits. The
number of asylum seekers reportedly remained the same as the previous year. The
average time for an asylum application to be considered was over a year.
(Nordic Business Report, February 8, 2001)
The UNHCR
appealed to the European Union to avoid a "fortress Europe" mentality
on immigration and to show greater generosity to refugees. (Reuters, February 6, 2001)
The European
Union and the UNHCR promised joint efforts to tackle refugee problems and the
illegal trafficking of people across borders.
(Deutsche Presse-Agentur, February 5, 2001)
The United
Nations mission in Bosnia has called on Western Europe to fund Bosnia's new
state border service if it wants to cut the number of “illegal migrants” using
the country as a route to the West.
Britain and Italy announced a joint initiative to stem the flow of
migrants from the former Yugoslavia. The UN has welcomed the plan but says
further funding is needed to make it work.
Italy and the United Kingdom plan to send teams of immigration staff and
police to Bosnia. (British Broadcasting Corporation, February 5, 2001)
Croatian Prime
Minister welcomed a Western initiative to help his country combat “illegal
immigration,” but said money and technical assistance would be more useful than
sending officials would. (Reuters,
February 5, 2001)
* Risky
Routes
Hardi, an Iraqi
Kurd, staying at the Red Cross shelter in Calais said it was getting harder to
sneak into Britain. "It is
dangerous, but it is the only hope. Saddam was killing us and it had become too
dangerous to stay," he said. At
the shelter, signs in half a dozen languages warn about the dangers of trying
to cross to England in the Channel Tunnel. However, these signs do little to
deter some of the refugees. "We
know it is dangerous and we know people have died trying, but when you consider
we have so little to lose and so much to gain, we must risk it," said an
Afghan. (Reuters, February 14, 2001)
The Japanese
Coast Guard arrested 68 Chinese “illegal migrants” and human traffickers on a
vessel off Kyushu in southern Japan. Of
the group, 63 were arrested for having no passports, while the other five were
arrested in connection with smuggling “illegal migrants.” (Agence France Presse, February 14,
2001)
A group of
badly dehydrated, would-be immigrants have been rescued from a sealed freight
container on a Turkish truck after a nearly weeklong journey, Italian police
said. The six men, who identified
themselves as Kurds, were trying to reach Germany. They were taken to a nearby
hospital. (The Associated Press, February 13, 2001)
The Ecuadorian
navy intercepted a fishing boat in territorial waters with 124 “illegal
immigrants” headed for the United States. The immigrants were arrested for not
having the appropriate documentation. (Agencia EFE, February 13, 2001)
A one-month-old
baby was among 29 Afghan refugees found entering Austria clandestinely by
inflatable dinghy across the River March.
Austrian authorities said the baby had been born during the mother's
long flight. The refugees applied for
political asylum and were taken to the main refugee centre at Traiskirchen,
south of Vienna. (Deutsche Presse-Agentur, February 11, 2001)
Italian coast
guard cutters searched the Adriatic for a ship, which sent out a distress
signal in the Gulf of Otranto, saying it had engine trouble with about 80
people aboard. Officials said the
vessel was thought be carrying would-be immigrants. They said the vessel had
not been heard from since the original distress signal. (The Associated Press,
February 11, 2001)
* Sex-based
Persecution
Canadian
immigration officials found that two daughters of a Somali woman could face
genital mutilation if deported to Somalia. The immigration risk-assessment will
be a key factor when the girls and their mother apply for permanent residence
on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
(The Toronto Star, February 13, 2001)