Thread: Many French seek to block deportations

Many French Seek to Block Deportations
By JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press Writer
Mon Jun 19, 11:30 AM

PARIS - If authorities try to send 7-year-old illegal immigrant Ikram Belhout back to Algeria, they'll have to get through Francine Le Cadre first. The 73-year-old retired social worker is among a swelling corps of volunteers resisting government efforts to step up deportations of immigrant families with children _ including by hiding illegals from police if needed.

"This is resistance," said Le Cadre, recalling how her father had been deported to Germany in World War II. "Sometimes you have to do illegal things against the decisions your country takes."

Polls suggest illegal immigration is a top concern ahead of next year's presidential and legislative elections, with many in France fearing that immigrants poach jobs, soak up rich state welfare payments and commit crimes.

But the issue grows more nuanced when it comes to children who could be yanked out of school and sent abroad _ at times to countries they have never seen.

The government has offered payments to illegal immigrants who agree to return home: A family of four with young children would be eligible for $6,325, for example.

Popular Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who is expected to run for president next year, has made fighting illegal immigration a cause celebre. He has vowed to send home at least 25,000 illegals this year, up from about 20,000 in 2005.

In October, amid a similar uproar from activists, Sarkozy temporarily suspended plans to deport thousands of school-age illegals and their families until the end of the academic year on July 4.

With that date now approaching, the activist network Reseau Education Sans Frontieres (Education Without Borders Network) has stepped up efforts to protect illegal immigrant families by enlisting help from volunteers at a string of ceremonies across the country.

Hundreds of people packed an ornate town hall room in northeastern Paris for one such ceremony Saturday, when volunteers like Le Cadre and elected officials promised to help seven at-risk families, some of whom have been ordered to leave.

Volunteers offer many kinds of assistance: Writing letters to officials, escorting illegals to immigration offices, and bombarding Sarkozy's ministry with phone calls. Some said they would hide illegals from police.

Each immigrant family had gripping stories of sneaking into France _ by boat across the Mediterranean, by cargo truck from eastern Europe, by plane on a tourist visa that ran out after just a few months.

Many have no families back home, and some spoke of discrimination, poverty, or death threats by terror groups that led them to flee.

"We can't post 'Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite' on our public buildings and not be brotherly with these families, who sometimes have suffered very difficult situations," Le Cadre said.

Ikram, her 12-year-old brother, Samir, and parents Safia and Abderhamane stood by meekly as officials at Saturday's ceremony spoke of how France had let down their family, whose forebears had been French citizens when Algeria was a French colony and had fought for France in World War II.

The Belhouts said they fled southern Algeria in 2001 after a radical Islamic terrorist group threatened Abderhamane, a pharmacist, with violence if he didn't agree to give free medicine to armed militants waging an insurgency against the north African country's government.

The family reached southern France by boat and quickly sought out his wife's brothers, who are naturalized French citizens. Abderhamane now does day jobs as a painter while awaiting their immigration request.

The protect-the-illegals movement sprouted mainly in schools, where French parents rallied around their children's classmates. Some of the children of illegal immigrants were born in France, but under French law do not receive automatic citizenship or the right to stay.

"These children are only asking for one thing: to continue to learn," Socialist former Education Minister Jack Lang told RTL radio Monday, a day after he took part in a sponsorship ceremony in Paris.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The government has offered payments to illegal immigrants who agree to return home: A family of four with young children would be eligible for $6,325, for example.

This has to be the stupidest idea I've seen yet. I sure hope that when they pay these people they take pictures, fingerprints and DNA samples. Cause you know they will eventually try to come back.

This is almost as stupid as offering them guest worker status.

Here is another example of why you should fine those that aid and harbor illegal immigrants. This is pretty easy to get around, while they are at the rallies, cart off the illegals.

Dixie

This is almost as stupid as offering them guest worker status.

Ya kind of reminds me of "I'll let you ride the pony if you behave yourself while we're in the store." Never did work. They always wanted to up the anti when we were near toys and candy.

They always wanted to up the anti when we were near toys and candy

Dixie

but under French law do not receive automatic citizenship (children of illegals) or the right to stay.

I want this law.

I have a question. France is going to deport their illegals, but do they have secure borders?