British National Party UK Immigration News Bulletin w/c June 4, 2007
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1. A NEW GATEWAY FOR ILLEGAL MIGRANTS TRAFFICKED INTO SCOTLAND

http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=869522007

Human traffickers have opened up a new people-smuggling route into Scotland, with migrants entering the country illegally from the Faroe Islands.

Immigration officers have launched an operation to uncover the extent of the problem after the discovery in recent weeks of a number of illegal workers living in the North-east who had exploited common travel areas between Denmark, the Faroes and Shetland to reach the UK. The Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) believes this could be the tip of the iceberg and is concerned gangmasters may be arranging for large numbers of migrants to travel from the Continent to Scotland via the Faroes, evading border checks and heavy immigration staff presence at busier ports. It is thought the closure in December 2002 of France's controversial Sangatte refugee camp, which housed up to 2,000 people on the outskirts of Calais, has led migrants and human traffickers to seek new routes into Britain, including using the Faroes as a staging post. Two groups of Asian men, arrested for entering the country illegally, have said they reached Scotland by travelling from Denmark to the Faroes and then Shetland.

They are thought to number fewer than ten, but police are concerned that they indicate the presence of a significant human-trafficking route. Chief Inspector Jim Boyle, who heads a 14-strong team of officers seconded to the BIA, said a "scoping exercise" was being launched by police in Aberdeen to determine how many people were entering Scotland via the north Atlantic islands. "It's something we are looking at very closely," he said. "We have been made aware of this as a possible route into the UK. "We are carrying out a scoping exercise to see how big this issue is. It could be something of a one-off, or it could indicate a much bigger problem." According to Home Office, more than 700 migrants have been caught working illegally in Scotland in the past three years, but this figure does not include those arrested on police-led operations, and the true extent of the problem is thought to be far higher. Travellers entering the Faroes from Denmark are supposed to declare if they are from a country outwith Scandinavia. While police and customs officers do carry out checks at the main port of Tórshavn, it is relatively easy for a foreign national to enter the islands, which are a self-governing territory of Denmark.

Superintendent Ray Helm, the head of the BIA's UK police liaison team, said the traditional links between the Faroes and Shetland made it potentially easier for people to travel between the two areas undetected, although Smyril Line, the company that operates the only ferry service between the islands, recently introduced compulsory passport checks for passengers. He insisted that many of the people who were going to great lengths to reach the UK were victims both of extreme poverty in their homelands and of criminals gangs, who were charging them thousands of pounds to arrange for their transport. And once they reached their destination, they often had to live in appalling conditions. Last month, Mr Helm told a conference of police superintendents that illegal immigrants trafficked into the country had been found crammed into horse stables and loft spaces. "These aren't people who chose to come here off their own backs. This is organised criminality on a massive scale," he said. "How do Somalians get to Dundee or Inverness? They get there because there are established criminal networks working there." Jens Jensen, a detective sergeant with the criminal police department in Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands, said: "We are not aware of a major problem, but there are always people who try to bend the rules. "We are very interested to know if this is a big problem, as we have close co-operation with the UK police."

2. FRANCE GETS TOUGH ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

http://news.bostonherald.com/international/europe/view.bg?articleid=1004803

France set tough new quotas for the number of illegal immigrants authorities should arrest and expel each month, the new immigration minister said Monday. Brice Hortefeux, who heads the newly created Ministry of Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Co-Development, said a monthly quota also would be set for ferreting out those employed in France illegally. In a meeting with security officials, Hortefeux reiterated President Nicolas Sarkozy’s goal of 25,000 expulsions by the end of 2007 - compared with 24,000 in 2006 - and set a year-end goal of 125,000 arrests for alleged illegal entry or illegal residence, a ministry statement said. The number of those already arrested was not immediately clear. Sarkozy, who was elected May 6, pledged during his campaign to create a ministry of immigration and national identity to rein in the flow of migrants and ensure they are integrated into French society.

Riots in French housing projects in 2005 were largely driven by anger among children of immigrants at persistent discrimination and a feeling of alienation from mainstream society. Hortefeux said the new measures were aimed at "dismantling networks that exploit the misery of illegal immigrants," the statement said. His orders came after he and Prime Minister Francois Fillon visited a holding center for illegal immigrants Monday _ and three days after the bodies of 18 illegal immigrants were fished from the Mediterranean by the crew of a French frigate. The dead _ 12 men, two adolescent boys and four women _ were believed to be seeking new lives in Europe, though it was not clear what country they were coming from. They will be buried in France. "The French Republic will be extremely firm. It will ensure laws are applied," Fillon said, adding: "Naturally, these laws must be applied with the greatest humanity." Many saw Sarkozy’s proposal as a nod to the electorate on the extreme right, which long has made fighting immigration one of its main causes. "Generosity is not opening wide the borders without thought for how people will integrate, how they will live, how they will subsist," Fillon said. Hortefeux, in his meeting with security officials, also insisted on the need to develop a system of paying illegal immigrants to voluntarily return home, setting the number of paid departures at 2,500 for this year _ a 25 percent increase from 2006. Those volunteering to leave, as part of a program started in late 2005, are given a fixed sum of money, normally $4,700 per couple, with $1,350 each for the first three children.

3. ICELAND SET TO POSTPONE IMMIGRATION FROM ROMANIA AND BULGARIA

Iceland is committed to preserve its unique identity and the British political elite should take note and do the same in the UK.

http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=40764&ew_0_a_id=282926

The new coalition administration of the Icelandic government has decided to postpone until 2009 or 2014 a policy of open immigration from Bulgaria and Romania, which joined the EU on January 1. As a member of the EEA Iceland is obliged to allow open immigration to the country from other EEA and EU member states, but may exercise a stipulation in the agreement which effectively postpones immigration from the two newcomers, Bladid reports. “We are exercising this postponement clause but they have the rights to come here through service contracts and temporary work contracts,” said Minister of Social Welfare Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir of foreign nationals from Bulgaria and Romania. “We have the right to postpone it even further to 2014. But we will review the situation before that time and then we will find out whether there is still reason to exercise the postponement clause,” Sigurdardóttir added.

The government plans to put a bill to amend legislation on the policy of open immigration and employment rights before parliament tomorrow. According to Bladid, the Liberal Party (Frjálslyndi flokkurinn) campaigned on postponing immigration from Bulgaria and Romania as part of its platform before the elections, which had been criticized by other parties, including the Social Democrats (Samfylkingin), who are now in government and decided to exercise Iceland’s rights in this matter. “There is always a reason to celebrate when people come to their senses. Everyone who wanted to talk about this issue objectively could see that it was of great importance. This shows that the Social Democrats’ talk of radicalism, injustice and racism was empty patter,” said Jón Magnússon, MP for the Liberal Party. “I’m just waiting to hear their arguments. We will discuss this issue once it’s put before parliament,” said Steingrímur J. Sigfússon, MP for the Left Greens (Vinstri graenir).

4. CASH TO HELP POLISH MIGRANTS

These kinds of programmes are clearly unacceptable, especially when there are a lot of native Britons who need help and have a lot to offer to the local community.

http://www.harlowherald.co.uk/search/story.aspx?brand=EHHOnline&category=NewsBishops&itemid=
WEED30%20May%202007%2012:47:23:237&tBrand=EHHOnline&tCategory=search
A grant of £6000 has been given to East Herts Council allowing it to develop its work with the Polish community. Migrant workers are expected to play an increasingly important role in the economic health of the county - 1500 of 5000 (or 30 per cent) new National Insurance registrations in Hertfordshire during 2006/07 came from Polish workers. East Herts Council has been highly successful in working with the growing Polish and Portuguese communities in the Bishop's Stortford area. The grant will enable it to work with other councils wanting to set up similar migrant programmes. The council already has a volunteer Portuguese interpreter and employs a part-time Polish liaison officer at The Causeway reception area, who is part funded by the Community Empowerment Awards. A partnership of colleges, citizens' advice bureaux and other district councils, especially Community Action Dacorum, will work together to consider how best to support migrant workers and help everyone benefit from their skills. High on the list are likely to be English classes - there are currently long waiting lists for classes at NextStep - and help with re-qualifying. East Herts Council used part of the grant to set up a countywide conference last week to explore the challenge of migrant workers in Hertfordshire, where participants were able to hear more about the council. Cllr Linda Haysey, executive member for community development, leisure and culture, said: "The Polish community has a lot to contribute and it's important we ensure they are able to integrate fully and that we find out what sort of support they need. "East Herts Council has been leading the way in the field and the EEDA grant will allow us to expand our work.

5. BRUSSELS TO PUSH EU STATES ON ASYLUM BURDEN-SHARING

http://euobserver.com/9/24199

Brussels is set to kick off lengthy legislative efforts which could see EU states sharing the asylum seeker burden more equally, after 182,000 people sought refuge in the 27-nation bloc last year - with gulf wide differences in terms of pressure on individual EU countries. On Wednesday (6 June) EU home affairs commissioner Franco Frattini will table a proposal, the goal of which is "to achieve a higher common standard of protection and greater equality in protection across the EU as well as to ensure a higher degree of solidarity between EU member states." The paper – seen by EUobserver – indicates that a more balanced distribution is needed of those who are granted protected status. "There is a pressing need for increased solidarity…so as to ensure that responsibility for processing asylum applications and granting protection in the EU is shared equitably," Mr Frattini argues, adding "intra-EU resettlement is an important path to pursue." The overall number of asylum applications lodged on EU territory has halved since 2002, but some countries' facilities continue to face enormous pressure.

The UK, France, Sweden and Germany each annually deal with over 20,000 requests, although Sweden is the only one where granting refugee status or other protection actually outnumbers the amount of those rejected. At the bottom of the same scale are the three Baltic countries - Estonia with just five asylum applications last year, Latvia (10) and Lithuania (150). Currently, the EU's only tool dealing with the intra-EU transfer of asylum seekers is the Dublin system - a set of criteria designed to establish which member state is responsible for examining an asylum claim. Under the scheme, responsibility usually lies with the member state which played the greatest part in the applicant's entry into or residence on EU territory. However, the Dublin system may de facto result in an additional burden on those member states that find themselves under strong migratory pressure due to their geographical location. Then Frattini text asks EU governments if the Dublin system should be complemented by measures enhancing fairer burden-sharing. EU-wide asylum rules At the same time, the EU justice commissioner is set to seek support for further harmonization of rules on how asylum seekers should be treated in all 27 member states.

The move is expected to reduce secondary movements of asylum seekers within the EU bloc – something known in Brussels' jargon as "asylum shopping" and "refugees in orbit." "No matter where he arrives, a refugee must gain the same protection," an EU official said, citing an example of a Chechen having a higher chance of being granted refugee status in Austria compared to Poland. According to the commission document, further harmonization should apply to all stages of the asylum process - starting from the moment a person seeks protection in an EU country until the moment a durable solution is found. For example, there are wide differences between EU states when it comes to asylum seekers' attempts to obtain a work permit. While some EU capitals allow access to the labour market immediately, others restrict it for a year.

6. BRITONS THINK IMMIGRATION IS DAMAGING UK

The problem is that Government keep ignoring those concerns

http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/15979

Many adults in Britain question the benefits of immigration, according to a poll by Harris Interactive published in the Financial Times. 54 per cent of respondents think immigration harms their country. In the United States, France, Spain and Italy, a majority of respondents believe immigration is helpful. In Germany, 48 per cent of respondents see immigration as positive, while 43 per cent do not. In April 2005, as part of the governing Labour party’s election manifesto, British prime minister Tony Blair announced the introduction of an immigration points system. The plan divides would-be immigrants into five tiers according to skills and job offers. The government claims the new system will eventually bring an end to the migration of low-skilled workers from outside the European Union (EU) into Britain. Last month, Conservative British lawmaker James Clappison criticized Labour’s immigration policies, saying, "While the Eastern Europeans are hard-working people who make a contribution, all of this immigration adds to the pressure on housing and public services. The government has failed to properly research and plan for the immigration that has taken place." More than half of respondents in Britain, Italy and Germany believe there too many legal immigrants in their countries. Polling Data In your opinion, does immigration help or harm your country? Country, Helps, Harms, No opinion USA, 59%, 31%, 10% FRA, 54%, 32%, 14% GER, 48%, 43%, 9% BRI, 36%, 54%, 10% ITA, 51%, 41%, 8% ESP, 53%, 34%, 13% Are there too many or too few legal immigrants in your country? Country, Too few, About right, Too many, Not sure USA, 13%, 43%, 35%, 9% FRA, 5%, 52%, 32%, 10% GER, 6%, 33%, 55%, 7% BRI, 3%, 20%, 67%, 10% ITA, 9%, 26%, 55%, 10% ESP, 10%, 28%, 45%, 17%

7. BOOMING ROMANIAN ECONOMY LURES FOREIGNERS

Cheap foreign labour has negative consequences also on immigrant’s countries of origin

http://www.birn.eu.com/en/86/10/3173/

That’s why many windows from the capital of Romania are full of notices where workers are required. The notices can be seen in almost every shop window in Bucharest. “We are hiring salesmen for our store”, reads one. “Our company is looking for a driver,” reads another. “Chef needed. Good wages and fees offered. No experience required,” says a third. The reason? A sudden and dramatic labour shortage, which includes professional and blue-collar workers and even those without any skills. The cause of the labour shortage is a double phenomenon: an economic recovery, which has increased the total number of job openings, and the mass flight of the existing workforce to the West in search of higher wages. The entire range of professional and non-professional workers is “under siege” in Romania because so many workers have left for America or the European Union. According to most statistics, Romania has now lost around 2 million working-age citizens, which is about 20 per cent of the total labour force. Like most Balkan countries, Romania has long suffered from a haemorrhage of workers. However, unlike some of its neighbours, Romania’s own economy has developed rapidly in recent years, faster than many expected.

Unfortunately, this growth is being threatened by many problems, the most important being a shortage of working men. The economic turnaround – from high unemployment to a labour shortage - has caught many Romanians by surprise. After the fall of the Ceausescu dictatorship, Romania’s economy was in dire straits. Most big factories built as showpieces in the Socialist era proved hopelessly inefficient in comparison to plants in the West. With their out-of-date technology, they could not compete in terms of pricing or quality. They had two choices: to find new owners with enough capital to make large investments and so modernize these plants, or to close entirely. Even when powerful foreign investors took over the factories, the workers still tended to leave the area, having realized they could earn more abroad. Meanwhile, in the last few years, Romania’s economy revived, leading to a real boom. Romania’s economic growth had an extraordinary boom in the last years. In 2003 and 2004, the economy grew at an annual rate of 8,4 per cent, going down at 4,1 per cent in 2005, but recovering in the next years: 7,7 per cent in 2006 and over 6,5 per cent the forecast for 2007. However, despite of these improvements, the Romanian labour force has continued to leave. To counter this phenomenon, the authorities have resolved on a two-prong strategy: firstly, to try to lure Romanian workers back to the country, and secondly, failing that, to let people from other countries come to work in Romania. The government decided at the end of February to create an intergovernmental group to evaluate the number of Romanians gone abroad to work.

Moreover, this group proposed an information campaign and incentives targeting these Romanians. The authorities have been at pains to convince Romanians working abroad to return home, offering various social and economic benefits, like better wages, free lunch tickets, transport reimbursements, lower cost education for their children or pension funds. But this campaign has not had much resonance among Romanians outside the country. Therefore, Plan B has kicked in - allowing foreigners to work in Romania. Daniela Nicoleta Andreescu, an official in the Ministry of Labour, Family and Equal Opportunities, said the number of foreigners coming to Romania has increased since the country joined the EU – a development that makes it easier still for Romanians to find work abroad. The number would not grow to a high level, he added, because the rights of foreigners to work in Romania was being closely regulated. Officially, only 9,000 foreign workers were present this March in Romania, most of them - 2,459 – from Turkey, followed by 1,414 Chinese nationals and 1,356 from neighbouring Moldova. A well-known example of the phenomenon of legal economic migration to Romania comes from Bacau, in the north of the country. At this textile plant, there are dozens of Chinese workers today. “The Romanians left to work in Spain and that’s why we have to look for workers from China,” Sorina Nicolescu, the owner of the factory, said.

Their salaries are worth only around 200 euros a month, well below what skilled Romanians can hope to earn elsewhere in Europe. But the Chinese workers accept it, saying it is three times as much as they would earn in their native towns. However, many analysts believe the real number of foreigners working in Romania is far higher than the 9,000 officialy registered, as many foreigners work illegally. “We cannot provide a real number of these workers, but the figures are much higher. And there is a huge need for these workers,” declared Florin Pogonaru, chairman of the Association of Businessmen from Romania, AOAR. Pogonaru believes multi-national construction companies will have the largest draw followed by other medium and small enterprises. “However, in ten years this migration phenomenon is likely to decrease considerably, as the economic gap between Romania and Western countries diminishes ”, he added.

8. ZAIRE POLICE CHIEF GIVES PRIORITY TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

It would be great if British Police forces did the same.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200706050733.html

The newly appointed police commander of the northern Zaire Province, sub-commissioner Francisco Massota, on Monday in Mbanza Kongo said one the main challenge of the corporation is to fight illegal immigration, ANGOP was informed. The senior police officer was speaking during a ceremony of his presentation to the local members of the Interior Ministry's consultative council, Provincial Command and local government officials. The ceremony was chaired by commissioner Manuel Nunes de Gouveia Leite, who is the counsellor of the National Police general-commander, Ambrosio de Lemos.