immigration

30,000 immigrants waiting for deportation in the US

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:23:49 +0200

The number of immigrants locked up in US jails has exploded in the past 15 years, after a law that allows "double punishment" was introduced. Today, 30,000 detainees are awaiting deportation.

The number of detained immigrants in the US has gone from 5,000 in 1994 to more than 30,000 in 2008 according to a study by OneAmerica, a non-profit organisation in collaboration with the Seattle University School of Law. The explosion in numbers is due to a change in the law passed in 1996, which classed almost any crime taken out by an immigrant as an "aggravated crime". Whether you're robbing a bank or just smoking a spliff, you're on the list.

When an immigrant's found guilty of an "aggravated crime", they will have already completed the length of their sentence by the time they reach the detention centre, to then wait for extradition. The law doesn't only affect those who've committed crimes after 1996. It's retroactive and so takes in crimes committed beforehand. Therefore, immigrants with a criminal record who leave the country risk being sent to a detention centre on their return and then extradited. While some Americans find the rule "unfair and insane", others consider it normal that immigrants are subjected to stricter rules than US citizens.

The same frontier, 80 years later

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:26:54 +0200

These photos were both taken at the border between Mexico and the US. The first dates back to 1925 - and there's already traffic - the second, 2006.

More than 17 million vehicles cross the border each year.

"Hi, I'm Romanian"… not Roma!

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:18:03 +0200

Romanian immigrants have been given such a bad reputation in Europe that the Romanian government has ordered for an expensive publicity campaign to improve the country's image abroad. Some see it as a hidden message - that not all Romanians are Roma.

The campaign is targeting Spain and Italy in particular, where the Roma communities make up the largest of the immigrant groups, with 500,000 and 700,000 inhabitants respectively. According to the Romanian government, they need to make an "effort in communication to correct the mistaken perception of Romanian citizens with alternative information to that of the sensational media debate based on the violations of some citizens originating from Romania".

And they're not holding back on the budget. Notorious New York agency Saatchi & Saatchi have been commissioned with a comprehensive "360°" campaign, which will include posters, a three-spot series, a website and also conferences and meetings to promote research that presents Romanian people as beneficial to Spanish society. A similar campaign, called "Piacere di conoscerti" (Pleased to meet you) is planned for Italy too.

In Spain, Romanian "gypsy" associations quickly noticed that there were no Roma people represented in the adverts. According to them, the message that the government is trying to get across is that "not all Romanians are Roma".

One of three videos from the campaign "Hola, soy Rumano".

Neo-Nazis flaunt videos of violent attacks online

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:56:45 +0200

Preying on foreigners and gays and then posting the gruesome evidence online has become all the rage for skinheads in Russia. The growing trend was brought to public attention at the end of July, when a case opened against a gang charged with the daylight murder of 20 people.

The youths being charged, aged between 17 and 22, specifically picked on immigrants from central Asia and Caucasia, and then posted footage of the horrific and unprovoked attacks on video sharing websites. And with no less than 141 similar groups in Russia, it's unlikely that theirs is an isolated case.

Material compiled with the help of Anastassia Metral.

Indifferent holidaymakers sunbathe next to dead Roma girls

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:57:05 +0200

UPDATE (23.07.08 - 5pm): We contacted the Naples journalist who took the photos. He thinks that the affair has been blown out of proportion. Read his account further down the page.

Two girls of Roma origin drowned at a beach in Naples on Saturday. Photos of their dead bodies, lying a few metres from indifferent sunbathers, revive the controversy over Italian attitudes towards the minority gypsy community.

Midday Saturday and the two cousins, 16-year-old Cristina and 14-year-old Violetta, were selling trinkets on the beach. At 2pm they decided go into the water. But neither knew how to swim and conditions were rough. The pair were swept under by a strong current, and although their cousin and younger sister escaped and ran for help, it arrived too late.

As the photos show, the bodies of the girls were left lying under the sun while holidaymakers continued to relax on the beach, apparently unmoved. Covered by towels, the feet of the girls remained exposed for hours until the police returned to pick up the bodies. The tragedy comes at a sensitive time for the Italian Roma; after Silvio Berlusconi announced plans to fingerprint the entire community.

(thanks to our Observer Alberto Celani for his great help on this post)

Italy’s Roma face fingerprinting

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:16:32 +0200

One of our Observers for Italy recently alerted us to the news that as part of a major clampdown on "gypsy" communities the government plans to compile a fingerprint database of the country's entire Roma population, including children.

Under the scheme, announced by Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, authorities will randomly collect data from each of the country's Roma residents. Those without the correct paperwork will be considered illegal and deported within three months. The Berlusconi government has also announced plans to close down all illegally run or badly facilitated Roma camps as soon as possible. The plan has been condemned by the Italian left and caused a harsh reaction from the Catholic weekly Famiglia Cristiana.

This post was compiled with help from our Observer in Milan, Alberto Celani.

Immigrants walled out of the US

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 29 May 2008 16:21:44 +0200

At the border between California and Mexico. Photo: Jay J Johnson-Castro

The Department of Homeland Security has put up 320 miles of fencing along the US-Mexico border over the past two years, and is planning to double the figure before the year's end.

First introduced in 2006, legislation that allows the construction of huge fences between US and Mexican territories has become a highly controversial issue. As the Department of Homeland Security is about to go a step further by extending the divides from California to Texas, people have started wondering about the government's real reasons for the project - and its economic and ecological consequences. Is putting up fences an effective way "to better ensure border security," or rather a means "to funnel US tax money into private accounts"?

Facing deportation for researching al Qaeda

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 28 May 2008 10:45:02 +0200

The book is on sale on Amazon.com

A university administrator in the UK is facing deportation after printing out an al Qaeda training manual for a student studying Islamic extremism. Here, his friends say that the Algerian national, who has lived in England for 13 years, has been targeted because he's Muslim.

The Nottingham University worker, Hicham Yezza, 30, was asked to print out the document by a masters degree student researching Islamic extremism. A university worker reported the incident to the police and both Hicham and the student, Rizwaan Sabir, 22, were arrested on campus on May 14 under the Terrorism Act 2000. After six days in detention the pair were released without charge. However, immediately after, Hicham was rearrested and served with a deportation order because of a problem with his application for UK residency. Despite huge criticism from politicians and the British press, who believe that the order is a smokescreen for the original police blunder, Hicham could be deported back to Algeria as early as Sunday if the order is not repealed.