France says no to mass legalisation of undocumented immigrants

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New French Immigration Minister Brice Hortefeux


France says no to mass legalisation of undocumented immigrants

France's minister of immigration and national identity, a new ministry created by President Nicolas Sarkozy, has ruled out legalizing undocumented immigrants en masse.

The new ministry said today that government policy would be dictated by firmness and pragmatism.

"We have to put aside massive legalization. It doesn't work and it penalizes, even immigrants," Brice Hortefeux said on Europe 1 radio.

Policy, he said, would be guided by "firmness and humanism" with "lots of pragmatism."

He also said he planned to adhere to the policy of de
porting illegal immigrants from France. The number of deportees was expected to reach some 25,000 this year, and Hortefeux said he would ensure that figure is reached.

Hortefeux, a longtime confidant of Sarkozy, was among those named to the new government on Friday.

The conservative Sarkozy, elected president May 6, had reached out to the anti-immigration far right to capture votes, notably ruffling some feathers in his own camp with his promise to create a ministry of immigration and national identity.

Hortefeux said he planned to meet shortly with officials from sectors like the building and hotel and restaurant industries, known to rely heavily on immigrants.

Hortefeux also said he would not put into question a long-standing policy of "family grouping," by which immigrants in France can bring their families here.

However, he indicated, as Sarkozy had, that modifications may be made in order to ensure that those who join other family members in France can be integrated.

"It mus
t be carried out in respect for the dignity of those who want to come and (in a way) that favors their integration," he said.

Sarkozy had said he wants to ensure that those who join families in France can speak French and that family members receiving them can support the newcomers.

 

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Tougher stance on illegal immigration
Wednesday, September 12, 2007

The new French government has vowed to curb illegal immigration. But this year's target of expelling 25,000 illegal immigrants is proving hard to reach. Immigration minister Brice Hortefeux is taking new measures to help reach that quota.

France's immigration minister summoned some 20 local government heads for a meeting on Wednesday to demand that they step up deportations of illegal migrants.

Immigration Minister Brice Hortefeux called in "prefects who must improve their figures when it comes to border exits," said a ministry spokesman.

President Nicolas Sarkozy, who won election in May on a platform that called for tightening controls on immigration, has set a target of 25,000 deportations for 2007.

But fewer than 9,000 illegal migrants were deported in the first five months of the year, according to Hortefeux, who said this week that he was nevertheless confident of reaching the target.

The shortfall followed the entry of Romania and Bulgaria in the European Union, complicating the deportation process of Roma who used to make up about 30 percent of all illegal foreigners deported from France.

Between 200,000 and 400,000 illegal foreigners are currently living in France.

French authorities recently faced harsh criticism over deportations after a 12-year-old Russian boy was seriously injured falling from the fourth floor of a building during an attempt by the family of illegal migrants to avert arrest.

Amnesty International and other rights groups have protested against the government campaign to meet deportation quotas and the policy is raising objections from other quarters.

A group of Air France pilot and steward unions in July asked for an end to the use of the airline's planes for deportations, saying the expulsions can pose a security risk and cause disturbance.

Hortefeux is due to present to parliament next week a new bill that tightens the rules under which foreigners can join family members in France.

The bill stipulates that they must pass a French language test and that a foreigner living in France must show that he has the means to support family members.

The opposition Socialist Party has said that it will vote against the bill, accusing the government of violating "the fundamental right to live as a family".

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