Those CRS are worse than the MET - can't the IPCC do anything?

We have learnt that all the people in the 'Jungles' will now be offered asylum by the French authorities after pressure from the French Red Cross (Croix-Rouge Française). Previously asylum was denied for those who had criminal records, they faced a return to their countries. Brice Hortefeux stated today on French breakfast TV that following representations from the Croix Rouge France would overlook previous criminal activity and allow all peoples there to claim asylum in France.

Hortefeux has in the past adopted a very conservative line with immigration into France saying,

"I am in favor of firm controls on immigration."

He was the promoter of a law that toughens conditions of political asylum in France. He believes that France has a right to expel or welcome immigrants on a discretionary basis, citing as evidence the high unemployement and criminality rates of foreigners. He also points to the geographical concentration of foreigners in a small amount of towns as evidence that they are not integrated in the country. As he declared on the newspaper Le Parisien on the 8th of November 2007,

"France has the right to choose which immigrants it can accommodate. Let's muster the courage to face our problems! Do you find it normal that 60% of immigrants are concentrated in only 3 of our 22 regions ? That the unemployment rate of these people is 22% and that their children are dropping out of school ? No, we will not accept this. "

On M6's TV show Capital, when asked if there were illegal immigrants in France, he replied: "If you dream of a country where there are only honest and clean citizens. In reality, it's a constant struggle."

So because somebody was born somewhere else we get to say they must stay there ?

We must, must, must open Britain up to all who want to come here, give them a new chance to build lives and families in the freedom that Britain offers. With a modest rise in taxes we could easily offer them schooling for their children, medical care, housing and the opportunities that Britain has given all of us.

The population of Britain is currently about 60 million, we could easily accept at least an increase to 80 million with a new program of housing builds, we have the space for God's sake. New Greenfield developments in the Midlands, Scottish Borders areas and the West Country are the best option where they have lots of open land.

Open the gates Gordon, show them what the people of Britain are like.

All to be offered asylum in France? I doubt that very much. Already, people have been deported from the Calais camps over the last few months. And why do you mention criminal records?! These migrants are ordinary people like you and me. They are children, students, playwrites, carpenters, translators, carpet-makers, etc
Why would these migrants escape the Eurodac stanglehold when no-one else does (to be reurned to country of entry - usually Greece - where they have no asylum chance).

"No wonder the British and French governments (as well as all the other European governments) want the Calais squats and 'jungles' cleared. It is the visible face of a Europe-wide policy of ethnic cleansing. Normally, this can be kept hidden away. Any migrant picked up gets sent quietly back to the European country they first entered - usually Greece. As Europe supports Greece's policy of 0% asylum, they can be sure that people will be deported back to their country of origin, regardless of whatever hell they've left behind"

Wow, this is fantastic. I had no idea that this was the case and believed that the UK's open-door immigration policy meant that human detritus from all over the world were freely allowed into the country virtually unchecked. I am glad that the French Government have actually taken a bold step and removed the scum from the jungle to prevent any more unskilled, uncivilised, criminal vermin to enter our shores.

Just having a look around any major city in the UK makes you want to cry. The social destruction that New Labour have created and the prevalence of hundreds of thousands of desolate immigrants and refugees in a modern 21st century society is disgusting. The UK does not have the capacity to cater for all of these people and finally, and hopefully with the installation of a strong Conservative Government very soon, we can start restoring Britain to the way it should be.

C'mon Mr Cameron, we're all waiting!

Net immigration has quadrupled since 1997 to 237,000 a year.

A migrant now arrives nearly every minute.

We must build a new home every six minutes for new migrants.

England is already the most crowded country in Europe (except Malta)

Immigration will add 7 million to the population of England in the next 20 years - that is 7 times the population of Birmingham.

To keep the population of the UK below 70 million, immigration must be reduced by 75%. Government measures so far may reduce it by 5%.

************************************************************************************************

"I have made this point many times before but can we please stop saying that Migrationwatch forecasts are wrong. I have pointed out before that Migrationwatch assumptions are often below the Government Actuarys Department high migration variant."

An internal Home Office email they were obliged to release to MigrationWatch

Net immigration has quadrupled since 1997 to 237,000 a year.

A migrant now arrives nearly every minute.

We must build a new home every six minutes for new migrants.

England is already the most crowded country in Europe (except Malta)

Immigration will add 7 million to the population of England in the next 20 years - that is 7 times the population of Birmingham.

To keep the population of the UK below 70 million, immigration must be reduced by 75%. Government measures so far may reduce it by 5%.

************************************************************************************************

"I have made this point many times before but can we please stop saying that Migrationwatch forecasts are wrong. I have pointed out before that Migrationwatch assumptions are often below the Government Actuarys Department high migration variant."

An internal Home Office email they were obliged to release to MigrationWatch

how about focusing on the UK Gov policies that displace people in the first place, like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some people I've spoken with in Calais want to come to the UK (for safety, family and friends) and many would prefer to stay at home and build a decent life, if it wasn't for the bombing and destruction of any infrastructure that allows them to lead a decent life

When a sans-papiers (person without legal papers/passport) arrives at the French border they are detained by the PAF (la police aux frontières - French border police) and interviewed. The PAF have to determine whether the sans-papiers may enter French territory or not, based on various social and legal conditions. If they believe the application for admission to be unfounded the sans-papiers is sent to another country signatory to the Dublin Convention.There is no legal definition of the criteria for declaring an application to be manifestly unfounded, but the criteria outlined in the London resolution on manifestly unfounded applications are applied on an unofficial basis.


Admission procedures at entry points are governed by the Ordinance of 2 November 1945 on the conditions of entry and residence of foreigners, as ammended by the Act of 26 February 1992, which introduced the liability of carriers transporting undocumented passengers.


The PAF are required by law to infrom the Ministry of the Interior of the arrival.The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs work hand-in-hand in determining whether the asylum seeker may enter the country. While waiting to find out whether s/he is to be deported, the asylum seeker is detained in a waiting zone. Once admitted to a waiting zone the sans-papiers is then interviewed by an official of OFPRA (l'Office français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides - French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons), an autonomous body of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On the recommendation of the official the Ministry of the Interior then comes to a decision. Negative decisions can be appealed in the 24 hours after the decision has been made, but this does not suspend deportation.


The laws of July 6, 1992 and December 27, 1994 allowed for the creation of these waiting zones at the borders; at train stations, airports and ports. These zones are international territory. The authorities can detain a sans-papiers for upto 20 days while they decide whether the application for entry to French territory is manifestly unfounded or not. In these zones the foreigners are entitled to interpreting and medical assistance. They may also seek advice from a lawyer, but no free legal assistance is available. Access to these zones is limited for NGOs but UNHCR representatives have de facto permanent access to asylum seekers held in the waiting zones.


If the applicant receives a positive response the Ministry of the Interior then grants a sauf-conduit (safe conduct pass) which allows the applicant to apply for asylum with a Préfecture (French county/district). This pass is valid for 8 days and during this time the asylum seeker must present him/herself at a Préfecture to get a form for official application of asylum. Admissibilty is decided by the authorities of the Préfecture according to the conditions of the Dublin Convention, but OFPRA deals with cases which fall outside these conditions. If the authorities believe a case permisable (spell?) they grant a residence permit valid for one month which allows the asylum seeker time to complete and return the application form to OFPRA. A certificate of receipt is then issued to the applicant. The applicant must then present him/herself with this cert in hand to the Préfecture who then grant a residence permit valid for 3 months. This permit is renewable every three months until OFPRA reach a decision. It can take up to and over one year for OFPRA to process the application and come to a decision. If denied asylum by OFPRA, the asylum seeker can lodge an appeal to the CRR (la Commission des recours des réfugiés - Appeals Board for Refugees). The CRR is comprised of three judges who represent le Conseil d'Etat (Council of State - the highest administrative tribunal in France) , OFPRA and the UNHCR. In this case, appealing a decision does suspend deportation. In 1999 the CRR repealed 10% of negative decisions made by OFPRA. A negative decision made by the CRR can be appealed to the Conseil d'Etat, but only based on procedural conditions. This appeal does not suspend deportation.


The only refugee status granted in France is Geneva Convention status (1951). There are however other types of residence permits.

Residence permit on humanitarian grounds
This is granted under exceptional circumstances to a rejected asylum seeker who has been living (albeit illegally) in France for many years and who have integrated into French society; or an asylum seeker who can establish that return to their country of origin is impossible because they would be exposed to serious risks to their safety or liberty. In these cases, someone granted a residence permit on humanitarian grounds is not considered a refugee. The permit is temporary, valid for 3,6 or 12 months and is accompanied with a working permit. A negative reply to application for this permit cannot be appealed.
N.B. An asylum seeker who is rejected at the border cannot apply for a residence permit on humanitarian grounds (because they have not been living on French territory).
Territorial asylum
Created in 1998 this form of asylum is granted in exceptional cases for reasons other than those laid down by the Geneva Convention. It is for the most part granted to Algerians This permit is temporary and may be accompanied by a working permit also.
Constitutional asylum
This is granted to individuals who have been/are persecuted because of their activities in the defence of liberty. It is for the most part a symbolic status and has only ever been granted once, in its first year of existence. (Do not ask me to whom because I haven't been able to find that out. If you know, please /msg me and I'll add it in).


According to the figures, between 1995 and 1999 there has been a one third increase in the number of applications for asylum seekers: 20,170 - 30,830. Despite these numbers, however, there has been a decrease in the number of seekers granted asylum status. Because of this, NGOs and the UNHCR have underlined problems existing in French immigration policy. They accused the PAF of frequently refusing to listen to the sans-papiers' reasons for application of asylum considering them simple illegal migrants (Le Monde, January 16, 2001). They maintain that at the borders the sans-papiers are often not informed of their rights and that in the waiting zones they don't have any access to their application for asylum files. The UNHCR also maintain that there are great differences in the procedural practices from region to region and that the criteria for permitting residence varies greatly from préfecture to préfecture. They also criticised the length of time it takes to grant status, during which time the applicants are not allowed to work and so are forced to enrole for unemployment benefit and other social benefits (housing etc.).


So. In summary: the legal procedures for residence of sans-papiers is a lengthy and complicated one. Completely the opposite to first asylum. My advice? Make sure you take your passport with you.

Thank you for saying what many of us in the immigrant community have been saying in private. Britian is a big place with lots of money, its people are rich and yet they sit back and deny others the joy they have.

Britian needs to build houses, hundreds of thousands of houses so that the peoples of Afghanistan and Iraq can come here to be repaid for the damage Britian has done to their countries. Britian owes them and Britain should pay.

Birmingham City Council are said to be 'cooperating with police investigations in relation to a young person'

An asylum-seeker has been arrested after the alleged rape of a young girl from a children's home where he had been placed after apparently lying about his age.
The Afghan presented himself to Birmingham Social Services and claimed he was a 13 year-old minor, but staff suspected he was really over 18.
He was placed at the council-run children's home after producing medical evidence at an immigration hearing which seemingly backed his claims of being a child.

But the Afghan was later arrested following the suspected rape of a 13-year-old girl from the care home and police found an immigration card which appeared to confirm that he was really 19.
Social services have now begun an investigation after the asylum-seeker was quizzed about the suspected sex attack, a case which has seen another adult charged with rape.
'The Afghan presented himself some time ago as a minor, seeking asylum,' said a source. 'He claimed to be 13 years old but from the outset social services had doubts.
'Yet if someone's an asylum-seeker and a minor then social services are duty bound to look after them.
'Birmingham social services' experts were involved in challenging his claim that he was 13 at two immigration hearings and at one hearing he was legally declared an adult.
'But at an appeal he produced a letter from a doctor claiming he had some characteristics of a child, so the court had to accept he was a child.'

The asylum-seeker is currently on police bail after being arrested on suspicion of the rape, which is alleged to have occurred in Birmingham last month.
Two youths in their late teens were also detained by police. One was later charged with rape and remanded in custody after appearing before Midland magistrates, while the other has also been released on police bail.
The Afghan has now been moved to a 'specialist placement' while police inquiries continue into the alleged rape, as well as his true age.
'The truth is we just don't know how old he is for sure,' said one source. 'Most think he is an adult over the age of 18. It's proving it that has been the problem.'
A Birmingham City Council spokesman said: 'We are cooperating with police investigations in relation to a young person and these investigations are ongoing.
'People referred without documents to support their age present difficulties to all local authorities.
'The Local Authority seeks to verify information through medical and social work assessments and in the interim makes appropriate arrangements for the young people concerned.'

The last clearing through is now being done, tents wrecked, lives destroyed and people in tears. I spoke to "K" a 23 year old Afghan who had traveled through Austria, Germany, Holland and France on his way to England mostly by hitching lifts and walking.

"We have nothing now, all is gone. This will not stop me, I will get to United England (sic). I need an operation and I know I can get it there. They will never stop us even when they do this"

I felt humbled by his commitment.

Public want a massive cut in immigration
Nearly 80 per cent concerned about the issue


A new poll has found that more than 7 out of 10 adults want immigration cut by over 80%. Just 1 in 20 adults support the current level.

The YouGov poll found that 79 per cent of people were “concerned” or “very concerned” about the issue of immigration.

Net foreign immigration – the number of immigrants minus the number of emigrants – has run at about 300,000 a year for the last five years.

17% of adults questioned believed that net foreign immigration should be reduced to 50,000 a year – a level last seen in the early 1990s.
39% of adults thought that there should be no net immigration (i.e. the number of immigrants should reflect the number of emigrants).
16% of adults thought there should be more emigrants than immigrants.
Over half ABC1s (52%) and C2DEs (58%) thought that immigration should be cut to either no net immigration or there should be more emigrants than migrants. Young people also think that immigration should be drastically reduced: a total of 63% of 18-34 year olds thought that net immigration should be either 50,000 a year, or there should be no net immigration; or that emigration should be greater than immigration.

There is also strong support for a significant cut in immigration in London, where nearly one third of the population are now immigrants themselves. 74% of Londoners are concerned or very concerned about the issue. Just 6% of Londoners support the current of level of net immigration. 65 % think that net immigration should be cut by 80% while 50% think that there should either be no net immigration, or emigration should be greater than immigration.

Concern about immigration was highest in the Midlands and Wales, where 82% of people were concerned or very concerned about immigration. Even in Scotland, which has received far fewer immigrants than England, 67% people were concerned or very concerned about the issue and 65% wanted to see a cut of 80% or more in the level of immigration.


This poll shows the public’s concern about immigration is very widely felt and the demand for change very strong indeed. The issue must no longer be swept under the carpet at Westminster. If mainstream parties do not tackle these issues, the extremist parties will. Silence and inaction on immigration are the recruiting sergeants for the BNP.

The "brave" thing to do if your country is under attack from the Taliban is to defend it, not run away. The cowardly thing is to run as far away as possible and expect everyone else to sort out your problems.

The UK / GB PLC whatever you want to call it was built this way. Other countries who want the benefits of what the UK has to offer should aim to build such systems in their own countries and invite the 'no border' lot along to help.

It'll never happen.

The Taliban are the freedom fighters defending Afghanistan from the UK/US/Israel Imperialists who have invaded their country. They are not running away.

"I spoke to "K" a 23 year old Afghan who had traveled through Austria, Germany, Holland and France on his way to England"

So, to summarise, having magically arrived in Austria by flying carpet, K failed to claim asylum (or had his application rejected); he then proceeded to Germany, where he failed to claim asylum (or had his application rejected); then Holland, the third safe country so far in K's web of deceit, where he failed to claim asylum (or had his application rejected); Belgium no longer seems to exist, but he arrived in France, yet another safe country, where - guess what - he failed to claim asylum (or had his application rejected).

Brings tears to your eyes, doesn't it?

Every single Afghan I spoke to in Calais, talks with fear and anger about the Taliban. They have had their own parents or other relatives killed by them (all make the same beheading gesture). The Taliban are not fighting for the freedom of Afghanistan - they are fighting for their own power back (having been helpfully brought to power by the U.S). Or do you mean they are fighting for a few powerful men in the country? No woman has the right to even make eye-contact with a man in Taliban-controlled areas.
It's a facile assumption to make that beacuse the Taliban are fighting the allied forces, they automatically are fighting for the population.

Now is the time for the activist community to take a stand on this issue

Now is the time for the activist community to stop wasting time with climate camp foolishness and deal with real people losing their lives right now in France

Now is the time for the activist community to declare openly and loudly, "we are happy to see more immigration to the UK"

Now is the time for the activist community to say, "we are responsible for the plight of these people through our imperialistic policies"

Now is the time for the activist community to welcome migrants into their homes, their schools, their communities, their families.

Now is the time for the activist community to forgoe one or two luxury items and donate them to those who need them

Now is the time for the activist community for offer beds and food

Now is the time for the activist community to do something and stop talking

"The Taliban are the freedom fighters"

Hahhahaha - fighting for the freedom to keep women as chattels, bum small boys, ban education and live in the stone age whilst exporting smack to buy weapons.

"defending Afghanistan from the UK/US/Israel Imperialists who have invaded their country"


Hahhahahah - Yes, to prevent the Taliban from keeping women as chattels, bumming small boys, banning education and living in the stone age whilst exporting smack to buy weapons.

"They are not running away."

Well, they are not staying put to help out.

Don't people ever emigrate from the U.K then or does it just fill up like a bath? Of course they do, millions of them!