Category: Asylum seekers

North African refugee “crisis” news round-up

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We will be watching for any sign that the US will offer to airlift any to the US, or make noises about taking “refugees” in some sort of emergency fashion.

In the meantime, Europe is sweating—first Tunisia, then Egypt and now Libya.

Here are some recent reports:

*The New York Times reports here on an EU meeting to figure out who is going to pay for all the refugees.

* There are two reports, here and here from Switzerland (not a member of the EU) about the refugee situation.  Interestingly there are tens of thousands of Chinese in Libya now trying to get out (oil field workers?).

* Aljazeera on foreigners fleeing and European worries, here.

* CNN says UN warning of mass exodus from Libya, here.

* RT News says Italian island overrun with illegal immigrants, here.

* Somali refugees mistaken for mercenaries in Libya, here.

I’ll add to this list as the news comes in (always looking for any news that the US is going to do something irrational!).

Another way for “refugees” to get to the US

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been reporting on the “refugee” issue facing Europe in the wake of that much ballyhooed revolution going on in the Arab world (recent posts are here and here).   World Net Daily has suggested another problem to guard against and that is that terrorists getting into Europe pretending to be refugees could easily get a fake passport in some European country and just come on over to the US:

Tens of thousands of people from the North African Arab countries affected by demonstrations and revolts are migrating to the open borders of Europe, creating the threat that terrorists could hide among the migrants and infiltrate host nations, according to security analysts…

The potentially dramatic influx of refugees into countries of the European Union – which have no border restrictions – also is posing an increasing security concern for U.S. officials.

Many of the countries in Europe which will be receiving the refugees are under a visa waiver program with the United States. This means that potential terrorists posing as refugees could obtain false passports that will allow them to gain entry into the U.S. without a visa, thereby making it more difficult to have any record of their entry or whereabouts.

Some countries calling for emergency EU meeting on illegal immigrants

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

As unrest continues across North Africa and the Arab world, some European countries are worried enough to call for an emergency meeting next week to discuss defending Fortress Europe.

From RIA Novosti:

Europe’s pain is even worse[the author said America’s pain is its split personality on the uprisings]. It is worried that the instability across the Mediterranean will unleash a flood of illegal immigration to the Old World. They fear a repeat of what happened right after the collapse of communism in1989.

The first alarm bell went off when Italians detained 4,000 Tunisian refugees on a boat in the Mediterranean in early February.

Italy and Malta were the first to respond to the alarm. They are now calling for an emergency EU summit on illegal immigration and defending Fortress Europe from an onslaught from the south. A conference of foreign ministers is scheduled for February 24-25 in Brussels, although EU officials insist that it is all but impossible to prepare a summit so quickly. Moreover, Berlin, Paris and London are not as worried as Rome about the scale of the “invasion.” Silvio Berlusconi demanded that Italy receive an additional 100 million euros for “processing” the detained illegals and sending them home, or 25 thousand euros per capita so far, which seems a tad excessive. But Rome and Valetta are now supported by other countries on the front line, such as Spain and Portugal, which are the closest to Africa. The EU has already outlined measures to protect its borders.

Imagine if we started talking about defending Fortress America!

New York Times reports sob story on Virginia’s “anti-immigrant mood”

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

There is just one problem with this SOB STORY—the guy had no right to be in the US in the first place!

In typical fashion for the Leftwing media (see CBS rape story too), the New York Times left out a key fact in its bash Virginia story.  This is how the reporter sets up the reader (get out your box of tissues):

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — When Mohamed Mejri, a Tunisian immigrant with a limousine business here, first learned that the State Department of Motor Vehicles had refused to issue him a new driver’s license, he thought it was a mistake. After all, he had been a licensed driver in Virginia for years.

But last fall, the department stopped accepting his federally issued work permit, a document that was his main proof that he was in the country legally, because he does not have a green card.

Now, five months later, his business is collapsing, and bill collectors are calling.  [Are you crying yet?]

Remember the story where the drunk illegal alien killed a nun in Virginia (I posted it here), well, Virginia changed its policy (good for them) to make it harder for those in deportation proceedings to use a work permit as proof of address to get a drivers license.

Back to the NYT:

Virginia changed its policy in September after an illegal immigrant from Bolivia was charged with hitting and killing a nun while driving drunk in Prince William County.

Her death hardened what was already a strong anti-immigrant mood in the state. Virginia’s governor, Bob McDonnell, announced that work permits would no longer be accepted as proof of legal residence because they could be held by people who, like the Bolivian immigrant, are in deportation proceedings. The governor said other documents would still be accepted.

The permit, called the employment authorization document, allows foreign nationals to work in the United States. Asylum seekers, refugees and students are among those who have one.

Here is Mr. Mejri’s story as reported by the New York Times (emphasis mine).  Hey, NYT, is this the best story you could find?

For Mr. Mejri, who is 54, the permit is all he has. He fled Tunisia in 1992, and after living in Canada, where he had been granted political asylum, he came to the United States in 2000. American immigration authorities rejected his application for asylum, over an unpaid fine in Canada. By the time it was paid and processed, several years had passed, [sounds fishy to me–ed] and he received notice that it was too late to reapply. He then received an administrative order to leave the country, but a federal judge ruled in his favor that he not be deported [so why wasn’t his deportation order rescinded?–ed]. Now he is in limbo, in the country legally but without any path to citizenship.

You should be wailing for Mohamed by now!

But, here is the kicker!

You can’t be granted asylum in Canada and then just hop on over to the US and stay!   Heck, a Canadian citizen can’t just decide he wants to leave Canada and be an American citizen!  Asylum law requires that you ask (and hopefully receive) asylum in the first country in which you land.  Having been granted asylum in Canada doesn’t grant you the right to then go shopping for a better country!

Get ready Marylanders!  What has Mohamed done?  He set up a temporary residence in Maryland!

A month ago, Mr. Mejri rented a room in Rockville, Md., and got a driver’s license in that state. But his monthly insurance payments have tripled, and for now, he has put his business aside.

The way I see it, the worst thing that will happen to Mr. Mejri is he will be sent back to that horrible (LOL!) country Canada.  (I bet there is more to the story about the “fine” in Canada, he was probably going to be deported from Canada.)  But, most likely none of that will happen now that the New York Times has christened him a poster boy for Virginia’s “anti-immigrant mood.”

One last thing.  We don’t deport anyone to a country that has an unstable government and the recent revolution (oops democracy movement) in Tunisia will likely be his American lawyer’s ace in a hole.

Afghan refugee sentenced to life for murder of fellow refugee

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Since I’m on the subject of Australia this morning (see my previous post) this is an update of a story I thought I posted when the arrest was made, but maybe not.   Osman Ahmadyar was sentenced to life for the brutal torture and murder of fellow Afghan asylum seeker (they came to Australia as boat people).

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

An Afghan refugee has been sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum of 17 years to be served, for murdering another refugee in Perth.

Osman Ahmadyar, 38, pleaded guilty to murdering Abed Ahymad Shah, 29, at his unit in the southern Perth suburb of Victoria Park in February 2009.

The WA Supreme Court heard on Friday that the pair came to Australia on the same asylum seeker boat in 2001.

Read on about the awful details.

And here is another story from Australia last year where an Afghan refugee honor-killed his wife.

To learn more about refugee issues in Australia, visit our Australia category here.