Thread: France says no mass amnesty for illegal migrants

France says no mass amnesty for illegal migrants

Reuters, Thursday April 24 2008 PARIS, April 24 (Reuters) -

France will give work permits to hundreds of illegal immigrants on a case-by-case basis but will not offer a general amnesty, the government said on Thursday.

The powerful CGT trade union and the government say negotiations are going smoothly over the fate of illegal workers, some of whom have been on strike since last week to demand legal status.

"Today... around 800 dossiers have been submitted, that gives an indication of the number," Immigration Minister Brice Hortefeux told RTL radio. He also told Le Figaro newspaper there would be "no massive regularisation".

Some restaurant and hotel industry groups say there will be a crisis unless the government softens its stance on illegal immigration, and the hotel sector has called for 50,000 to 100,000 work permits to be awarded.

Churches and rights groups regularly call for an end to deportations, which have increased since President Nicolas Sarkozy made clamping down on illegal immigration a priority when he was interior minister in a previous government.

They also want clearer rules to govern illegal immigrants, but Hortefeux says current measures are sufficient as they allow local officials to issue work permits to applicants who are already employed in sectors short of labour.

The far-right National Front rejects any granting of work permits to illegal immigrants and has called for a protest on Friday against the hotel industry's request.

Since the 1960s, France has given hundreds of thousands of work permits to illegal immigrants, though the numbers have been on a clear downward trend in recent years.

Sarkozy has spoken out against broad amnesties declared unilaterally by some European Union countries, arguing that the EU's open borders mean a single state's policy affects the bloc as a whole.

In 2006, Italy granted residency to some 500,000 illegal immigrants, while Spain legalised almost 570,000.

Sarkozy wants to harmonise EU immigration policy, a theme on which he is likely to focus when France takes up the 27-member bloc's rotating presidency in July.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/feedarticle?id=7482994

Since the 1960s, France has given hundreds of thousands of work permits to illegal immigrants, though the numbers have been on a clear downward trend in recent years.

Rewarding criminal behavior only encourages more of the same.

Originally Posted by MW

Since the 1960s, France has given hundreds of thousands of work permits to illegal immigrants, though the numbers have been on a clear downward trend in recent years.

Rewarding criminal behavior only encourages more of the same.

It does MW. And then when the criminals no longer are able to get everything they want, when they want it, they riot.

I hope our government is paying attention.

I hope our open border, blue collar wage-slaying Dems and Reps are listening to this. No more amnesties, or "pathways" etc!

The largest group of illegal aliens in France are Moroccan which is a country that should be able to give it's citizens some good news. There is a new container port at Tangiers a second on the way and plans to convert the old port into a tourist development.


The north coast between Tangier and Oujda has beaches as good as those in Europe but has been a region of relative poverty and underdevelopment. There are now going to be a lot of campgrounds developed there followed by the range of higher end resorts. The thing that developers want most are people able to speak French or Spanish fluently as well as Arabic Berber and are in the same trades as mentioned in the article.


So President Sarkozy I think should not change his position now on increasing immigration enforcement. It would probably be a good idea for France to have a database of jobs openings in Morocco

Originally Posted by Richard

The largest group of illegal aliens in France are Moroccan which is a country that should be able to give it's citizens some good news. There is a new container port at Tangiers a second on the way and plans to convert the old port into a tourist development.


The north coast between Tangier and Oujda has beaches as good as those in Europe but has been a region of relative poverty and underdevelopment. There are now going to be a lot of campgrounds developed there followed by the range of higher end resorts. The thing that developers want most are people able to speak French or Spanish fluently as well as Arabic Berber and are in the same trades as mentioned in the article.


So President Sarkozy I think should not change his position now on increasing immigration enforcement. It would probably be a good idea for France to have a database of jobs openings in Morocco

That's a great idea Richard!! Now, why is it that normal, everyday people can see the simplest solutions, but, many times, the ones leading us.....or supposed to be anyway........can't?

The only real roadblock would be something similar to what we see happening here: "immigrants" who have come to expect a lifestyle built around government and other freebies, not necessarily wanting to work. And possibly countries willing to bring in foreign labor to fill jobs which should rightfully go to their own populations.

From what I understand Morocco is a relatively hate free Muslim country and has a lot of outstanding buys on coastal real estate. The political leaders of Morocco have been sponsoring a regular "Friendship Fest" with native Moroccan musicians and Christian musicians from the US.
http://www.friendshipfest.org/

What so you think they would do with 20 million?