Barack Obama Opens the Door for 11 Million Illegal Immigrants to Stay in US
THE INDEPENDENT: President optimistic of progress as Republicans soften line

President Barack Obama travelled to Las Vegas to confirm his determination to make overhauling America’s bewildering immigration system a top priority for his second term in office, and opening a path to citizenship for the 11 million people already in the country illegally. » | David Usborne | Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Journeyman Pictures: Backlash - Greece

Italian Authorities Gagged Immigrants with Duct Tape While Deporting Them
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Italian authorities faced severe criticism on Thursday after it emerged that they gagged two North African immigrants with duct tape while deporting them.

A photograph of the two handcuffed Algerian men with their mouths bound with sticky tape was taken covertly by a passenger on the Alitalia flight from Rome to Tunis.

"In the seats at the back there were two men who were being escorted by four plainclothes police officers," Francesco Sperandeo, a film maker, wrote on his Facebook page, where he posted the photo.

"They had their mouths covered with hospital bandages. When one of the bandages dropped down, we saw that the man's mouth was bound with Scotch tape.

"We got up to protest but the officers said it was normal procedure." He was ordered to return to his seat, he said. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Thursday, April 19, 2012

US Election 2012: Sending Home the Illegal Immigrants
As the Republican presidential candidate race heats up, the telegraph travels to the border state of Texas to see how policy discussed in Washington affects lives on the ground.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Newt Gingrich would like to see an amnesty, Ron Paul thinks government, not business should take responsibility for the problem and Mitt Romney would veto any path to citizenship, but on the ground in Texas the problem of illegal immigration defies a soundbite solution.

In a border state where the economy is buoyed by the work of illegal immigrants, the idea of shipping them all home isn’t quite as simple as it seems. » | Alastair Good, Texas | Monday, January 23, 2012

Italian Police Beat Migrants in Lampedusa Clashes
Trouble continues at the overcrowded Lampedusa camp as Italian riot police charge migrants[,] a day after asylum seekers started fires in protest against forced repatriations.

Related »

Lampedusa Burned Down by Tunisian Refugees
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Hundreds of Tunisians protested against their imminent repatriation by setting fire to the reception centre they were being held in on the remote Italian island of Lampedusa.

The devastating fire, which started when the migrants allegedly set fire to their bed mattresses, reduced much of the controversial centre to a smoking ruin.

It dealt a heavy blow to Italy's ability to deal with a continuing flood of refugees from North Africa in the wake of the popular revolts in Tunisia and Egypt and the civil war in Libya.

More than 48,000 have reached the shores of southern Italy since the start of the year.
Many of the 1,200 migrants held in the centre fled when three fires broke out late on Tuesday.

As police stationed on the island rounded them up, the fires blazed out of control and destroyed three buildings in the complex. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Tunisian Migrants in Italy Struggle to Find Jobs
Since the beginning of Tunisia's revolution last year, more than 24,000 Tunisians have flooded into Italy looking for better economic conditions.

Most arrive by boat at the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, where many are then granted short term permits to work in Italy.

But finding jobs once they arrive can often be a struggle.

Al Jazeera's Casey Kauffman reports from Rome.

UK Fears Migrant Influx as EU Bids to Break Down Border Controls

MAIL ONLINE: Brussels bosses want to tear up European Union immigration rules, leaving Britain vulnerable to a new influx of migrants.

The European Commission plans to use human rights laws to break down border controls.

David Cameron will today go into battle to face down plans to scrap the existing rule that means illegal immigrants and asylum seekers are supposed to be sent back to the country where they first enter the EU.

Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso will use a summit in Brussels today to press for the changes.

He wants the rule suspended indefinitely, opening the door to thousands of immigrants heading for Britain to claim more generous benefits than they could get elsewhere.

British officials fear that suspending the rule will mean that countries on the edge of Europe make far less effort to police their borders, since they will not have to face the consequences themselves of letting in too many migrants.

The situation has been made more acute by the fighting in Libya, which has seen thousands of refugees fleeing Colonel Gaddafi’s regime to take shelter in the EU.

More than one million people have fled Libya since the conflict began. » | Tim Shipman | Thursday, June 23, 2011

Italy: 25 Egyptian Illegal Immigrants Repatriated
ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL: Rome - Twenty-five Egyptian illegal immigrants were deported on a flight from the Sicilian city of Catania to Cairo, Italy's interior ministry said.

Most of the migrants had arrived last week on Italy's southernmost island of Lampedusa by boat from Libya, according to the ministry.

The migrants had claimed to be Iranian and minors under 18 years of age, but officials managed to establish that they were in fact Egyptian adults.

The interior ministry said. 412 Egyptian illegal immigrants have been repatriated from Italy since January. » | AKI | Monday, May 30, 2011

Libya: Col Gaddafi Targetted in Series of Precision Strikes
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Col Muammar Gaddafi and his armed forces have been directly targetted in a series of precision strikes in Tripoli and the key town of Misurata as concerns grow that the regime is attempting to swamp Europe with refugees.

The new phase of highly accurate attacks, shown in photographs released by the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday, was launched as an increasingly desperate refugee crisis has seen thousands from Libya flee for Europe in just a few days.

In a sign that the regime is trying to force a refugee crisis as a weapon against its Nato enemies, almost 1,900 people from Libya arrived in five boats on the Italian islands of Lampedusa and Linosa this weekend alone. Another vessel sank - bringing the total lost to four boats.

Hundreds of bodies are now washing ashore along the Libyan coast. Some of the refugees said they were forced on to the boats by Libyan troops and police, the International Organisation for Migration reported. Others were given free passage, in contrast to the normal practice where migrants are charged fortunes for the crossing.

"The flow of migrants from Libya to Italy has undeniably accelerated very recently," said the IOM's spokesman, Jean Philippe Chauzy. "Until recently, the flow to Europe was overwhelmingly Tunisians and there were no departures [by sea] from Libya. But as of yesterday, a total of 12,360 people on 35 vessels have arrived in Lampedusa and Malta from Libya." » | Thomas Harding, and Andrew Gilligan in Tripoli | Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Une quarantaine de migrants tunisiens interpellés à Nice
REUTERS FRANCE: NICE - Deux jours après une première opération de police au foyer Adoma (ex-Sonacotra) de Nice-Ouest au cours de laquelle 72 migrants d'origine tunisienne avaient été interpellés, les forces de l'ordre ont procédé jeudi matin à une nouvelle vague de contrôles au même endroit. » | Pierre Thébault, édité par Patrick Vignal | Jeudi 05 Mai 2011

Europe Shuts Its Eyes to the Migrant Challenge
THE INDEPENDENT – LEADING ARTICLE: Europe is engaged in a repellent exercise in hand-washing over the fate of migrants fleeing North Africa. For six hours on Sunday, the French authorities blocked trains containing Tunisian refugees from crossing the Italian border. This was disgraceful behaviour from France and a blatant breach of the Schengen agreement, which guarantees free movement across continental Europe.

But Italy's conduct has been just as bad. The Italian government, desperate to see the 25,000 or so migrants who have arrived in the country from North Africa in recent months move on, has issued thousands of temporary residency permits, which allow the recipients to travel freely across Europe. They know that many of the refugees from Tunisia have relatives in the former colonial power, France, and will head in that direction given an opportunity. Both nations want to make these migrants someone else's problem.

What makes all this especially reprehensible is that France and Italy each bear a large measure of responsibility for the chaos in North Africa. The Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, got very close to the Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, who has since turned viciously on his own people.

France was similarly friendly with the Tunisian regime of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali before it imploded, setting off a succession of Arab uprisings. If France and Italy had not supported repressive regimes in North Africa for so long, it is possible this crisis would never have reached such proportions. » | Leading article | Tuesday, April 19, 2011

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Germany Threatens to Reintroduce Border Checks in Row over Tunisian Refugees
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Germany has threatened to reinstate border checks "against the interests" of the EU's free movement zone in an escalating row with Italy over Tunisian refugees.

Italy has promised to give over 20,000 Tunisian refugees temporary visas allowing them to travel freely in the border-free Schengen zone, which covers all EU countries except Britain and Ireland.

Over 26,000 illegal migrants have reached Italy by boat through the small Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, which is close to Tunisia. The Italian authorities have insisted other European countries must help take the burden.

Italy said last week that it would give six-month residence permits to all the migrants who have arrived since the beginning of the year.

Franco Frattini, the Italian foreign minister, said: "Thousands, tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of migrants could come from Tunisia. It's a purely European affair."

But during bad-tempered European talks on Monday, Germany warned Italy that it will not accept the migrants and that Berlin will tear up the EU's border-free travel arrangements to stop them. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Monday, April 11, 2011

hier und hier

Tighter Rules for UK Student Visas
BBC: The rules for student visas into the UK are to be much tougher - after fears that this route of entry is being used dishonestly.

Home Secretary Theresa May said student visas were being abused and "too many were here to work and not to study".

She announced plans to cut the number of student visas by up to 80,000 - about a quarter of the current numbers.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper warned that rules must not damage an industry worth £5bn a year.

Mrs May told the House of Commons that the misuse of student visas had become a "symbol of a broken and abused immigration system". » | Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Tunisians Flee to Italy
Mar 7 - Weather improves prompting renewed influx of refugees to the Italian island of Lampedusa. Jessica Gray reports

Kate Middleton's Friend Questioned Over 'Racist' Gun Threat
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A friend of Kate Middleton was interviewed under caution for claiming on Facebook that she planned to shoot illegal immigrants.

Kate Middleton going out to lunch with Emma Sayle. Right: Miss Sayle during preparations to row a dragon boat across the channel with an all-female crew. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
Emma Sayle, 32, posted a message that read: "Just had a two-hour shooting lesson. She will now be using this skill on the top of East London high rises to help with the UK's illegal immigrant problem."

One person who read the comment reported Miss Sayle to police. A file was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service but Scotland Yard said yesterday that the investigation has been dropped and no further action will be taken.

Miss Sayle is the leader of The Sisterhood, an all-female rowing crew which counted Miss Middleton among its members.

She dismissed the complaint as "pathetic", saying it was "created by someone who's obviously got a grudge".

In a second posting on Facebook, she wrote: "Just had a call from the old bill demanding I go in as someone has reported me for apparently making racist comments... hahaha... using my new found gun skills to control the UK's illegal immigrant population is not what I call racist."

Her Twitter page features a link to an article on a Right-wing website headed "Australia says no to Muslims". >>> Anita Singh | Friday, December 31, 2010

Gaddafi: Europe Will 'Turn Black' Unless EU Pays Libya £4bn a Year
THE TELEGRAPH: Col Muammar Gaddafi has warned that Europe runs the risk of turning "black" unless the EU pays Libya at least €5 billion (£4.1 billion) a year to block the arrival of illegal immigrants from Africa.

Muammar Gaddafi returns to Tripoli after his controversial visit to Italy. Photo: The Telegraph
His remarks, made during a controversial three day visit to Italy, were condemned as "unacceptable blackmail" by Italian MPs, who likened the demand to the protection money that mafia gangs demand from businesses.

Speaking at a ceremony in Rome while standing next to Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister, Col Gaddafi, 67, said that unless his request for money was met, Europe would otherwise become "another Africa" as a result of the "advance of millions of immigrants".

"Tomorrow Europe might no longer be European and even black as there are millions who want to come in," he said.

"We don't know if Europe will remain an advanced and united continent or if it will be destroyed, as happened with the barbarian invasions". >>> Nick Squires in Rome | Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Related here

Nick Clegg: I Will Not Prop Up Gordon Brown
THE SUNDAY TIMES: NICK CLEGG has declared that he will refuse to prop up an “irrelevant” Gordon Brown even if Labour secures the largest number of seats in a hung parliament.

The Liberal Democrat leader is ready to tear up the rulebook and oust the prime minister if there is no decisive result on May 6. In a Sunday Times interview he warned that Brown’s position would be untenable if Labour got a low share of the popular vote but still ended up as the biggest party in the Commons.

“I think it’s a complete nonsense. I mean, how on earth? You can’t have Gordon Brown squatting in No 10 just because of the irrational idiosyncrasies of our electoral system,” Clegg said. >>> Isabel Oakeshott, Jonathan Oliver and Marie Woolf | Sunday, April 25, 2010

THE SUNDAY TIMES: Nick Clegg catches the angry transatlantic wind: The surge in the Lib Dem’s ratings mirrors the rise of US outsiders such as Ross Perot >>> Andrew Sullivan | Sunday, April 25, 2010

MAIL ON SUNDAY: Refugee charity attacks Clegg on illegal immigrant amnesty: Liberal Democrat plans for an amnesty for potentially hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants came under attack last night from a leading refugee charity. >>> Brendan Carlin | Sunday, April 25, 2010

Clegg ‘legs’ Brown >>>

Thousands of Illegal Immigrants Win Right to Stay in Britain Under 'Squatters' Rights'
THE TELEGRAPH: Thousands of illegal immigrants have been granted "squatters' rights" to remain in Britain permanently after proving they have lived here for 14 years, it can be disclosed.

A little-known rule, introduced by Labour in 2003, allows illegal immigrants to claim "indefinite leave to remain" if they manage to live in Britain's black economy for long enough or are failed asylum seekers who manage to avoid deportation.

After 14 years they can apply to the Home Office which considers factors such as "compassionate circumstances, strength of connection to the UK and previous criminal record", before deciding whether an illegal immigrant will be allowed to stay.

If successful, the immigrant will then be allowed full access to the welfare state and be eligible to apply for a British passport.

Since rules changed in April 2003, 7,245 illegals have won the right to live here permanently – more than 1,000 a year on average. It is likely that many paid no income tax during the 14 years they spent in Britain. >>> David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent | Saturday, February 20, 2010

Activists Push Ballot Initiative to End State Benefits for Illegal Immigrants and Their U.S.-born Children
LOS ANGELES TIMES: The measure would end public benefits to illegal residents, challenge the citizenship of their U.S.-born children, cut welfare payments to those children and impose new birth certificate requirements.

In a stretch of desert just north of the U.S.-Mexico border, men and women in khakis and the colors of the American flag recently gathered at a border watch post they call Camp Vigilance and discussed their next offensive in the nation's immigration wars.

The target: Illegal immigrants and their U.S.-born children who receive public benefits.

The plan: a California ballot initiative that would end public benefits for illegal immigrants, cut off welfare payments for their children and impose new rules for birth certificates.

"We will be out in full force to qualify this initiative," said Barbara Coe, who helped develop Proposition 187, the 1994 measure that would have ended benefits to illegal immigrants but was ruled unconstitutional. "Illegals and their children are costing the state billions of dollars. It's invasion by birth canal."

Supporters of the initiative, recently unveiled by San Diego political activist Ted Hilton, hope to challenge the citizenship of children born in the United States to parents who are here illegally. >>> Teresa Watanabe | Monday, July 13, 2009