Faithful readers of RRW know that European countries are having an awful time with illegal aliens arriving and asking for asylum—some countries have it worse than others, little Malta*, Italy, Sweden and Greece come to mind.  But, asylum seekers are camping on the streets of Berlin and in churches in Vienna.  Many are moving from country to country looking for the best deal.

I know that many readers here are more interested in what is happening in the US with refugees and asylum seekers, but it’s important to know that millions of migrants are on the move around the world looking to escape persecution (mostly by Muslim countries) and others, the larger numbers, are economic migrants claiming persecution which is a huge problem because there is a limit to how many poor people can be absorbed before a government collapses.  We should be looking to Europe now as the “canary in a coal mine” and take a lesson—LOL! in what NOT to do.

Here is what the UN is reporting:

One country cannot make stricter regulations than another country!

On Wednesday 12 June the European Parliament amended EU legislation on asylum after long and complex negotiations. The changes that have been brought are in UNHCR’s view a welcome step towards the establishment of a Common European Asylum System.

The ultimate objective of these changes is a uniform asylum system which is valid across the European Union. This would ensure that, regardless of the Member State in which an application for international protection is lodged, the application should receive the same treatment.

Detention is discouraged, asylum seekers should be let go until their cases are adjudicated.

….further regulation of the use of detention. Systematic detention of asylum-seekers will no longer be possible. Important new guarantees include the requirement that any detention be necessary and proportionate; that detention is an exceptional measure and can only be justified for a legitimate purpose on defined grounds.

If a case is not processed within 6 months, the asylum seeker is allowed to work.

Last, is earlier access to the labour market. In cases where claims for international protection are not decided within six months, asylum-seekers will have access to the labour market not later than nine months following the date when their applications were lodged.

UNHCR believes that the legislation agreed has potential to contribute to more harmonized asylum systems in the European Union. The agreed legislative package should further improve protection standards and practices across the 27 Member States – soon to be 28 – with Croatia’s imminent accession.

In the US many asylum seekers who arrive on our borders and in our airports are simply allowed to go where they wish and are expected to show up at their appointed court date.  Some simply disappear.  One infamous example of an asylum seeker who never showed up in court was Ramzi Yousef, mastermind of the first World Trade Center bombing.

* Have a look at our many posts on Malta, the tiny island nation where the US State Department (cheered on by the Jesuits) transforms Malta’s migrant arrivals, mostly launched from Libya, into “refugees” destined for your American towns and cities.