Legalization in Spain will not affect EU countries
The legalization of about 700,000 immigrants, which ended at the end of last week in Spain, will not affect other European Union countries, said Spanish Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso. As RIA Novosti reports, the minister stressed that the right of legalized immigrants to reside and work in Spain does not apply in other EU countries and, in particular, does not give immigrants freedom of movement within the Schengen area.
Alonso's statement, made in Paris at a meeting with the interior ministers of France, Britain, Germany and Italy, was a response to the speech of his French colleague Dominique de Villepin, who said that the French government intends to tighten measures against illegal immigration.
Alonso stressed that Madrid proceeds from the fact that “the large-scale legalization process that took place in Spain is necessary for immigrants, entrepreneurs, Spanish society and the state, but decisions that are suitable for Spain may be unacceptable for other countries.” The Spanish minister stressed that the legalization process implies a simultaneous strengthening of control over the illegal entry of immigrants into the country.
France will not amnesty illegal immigrants
French Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin announced new measures designed to tighten the country's immigration legislation. As The Guardian newspaper reports, he warned the public that amnesty for illegal immigrants who arrived in France is “not even being discussed.”
Unlike the Spanish government, which recently allowed about 700,000 illegal immigrants to reside and work, de Villepin said that Paris had already resorted to such measures in 1981 and 1997, and this caused an unprecedented influx of illegal migrants.
“The key fact is that we must be firm in our decision and its implementation,” de Villepin said. Estimating the number of people illegally present in the country at between 200,000 and 400,000, he said this phenomenon “causes the most serious concern because it leads to an increase in the ranks of mafia structures.” “Until now, it was not difficult for a person to arrive on a tourist visa and then stay. If caught, he could calmly claim loss of documents and avoid deportation,” the minister said.
Pierre Henry, a representative of the human rights immigrant organization France Terre d'Asile, criticized the minister's statement, saying that de Villepin ignores the realities of today, such as global migration, and that new measures will not solve the problem. “This will force people to take decisive measures, including mass hunger strikes of protest,” he noted.
De Villepin's plan, which is based on measures developed by his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy, provides for changes to a number of articles of the civil code. In particular, marriages between a French citizen or citizen, concluded outside the country, may not necessarily be recognized in France as legal. De Villepin also announced that it is necessary to create an independent immigration police that would coordinate the relevant areas of work of the police, gendarmerie, local and federal authorities.
Mexico is unhappy with new measures against immigrants
The Mexican government has protested against measures taken by the United States to reduce the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border with Mexico, RIA Novosti reports.
The decree signed the day before by President George Bush and approved by the US Senate provides for the construction of walls and fortifications in certain sections of the border with Mexico, tougher procedures for legalizing immigrants, and a ban on issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants living in the United States.
“The measures taken by the United States are not the best way to resolve the problems that exist between our countries on the northern border. They will certainly complicate the dialogue on migration issues that we have been conducting with Washington for more than four years,” said Ruben Aguilar, an official representative of the Mexican presidential administration. According to him, Mexico will continue to fight for a fair solution to migration problems that meets all human rights standards.
A communique from the Mexican Foreign Ministry regarding the new US anti-immigration measures emphasizes that the country's government will submit its protest to the UN and other international organizations.
According to US media reports, these measures are taken to reduce illegal immigration to the United States to 300,000 people per year. Currently, according to official estimates, more than a million people enter the United States annually. According to public and human rights organizations, this figure exceeds three million people.
Russian lawyer arrested in USA
A Washington lawyer, Russian citizen Sergei Danilov, has been arrested in the United States, accused of forging immigration documents and illegally obtaining work visas and “green cards” — US residence permits — for several dozen people, including immigrants from the USSR, RIA Novosti reports.
According to the press service of the US Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Danilov has permanent residence in the United States, but as a Russian citizen, if found guilty under US law, he is subject to deportation. In the United States, he faces imprisonment for up to 10 years and a fine of $250,000, the document says.
The press service also reported that Danilov, who owns the law firm Sergei Danilov and Associates, LLC in Washington, his assistant Elnur Veliyev, who has Azerbaijani citizenship, as well as two Americans - Jay Friedman Elp Kansevan - from 2001 to the present have participated in a criminal conspiracy to prepare fictitious immigration documents for obtaining work visas and "green cards" for 149 people from Russia, Turkey, Pakistan and other countries. At the same time, they took large sums of up to $22,000 from each such client.
When preparing immigration documents, the criminals fictitiously indicated as the place of work of their clients a staffing agency in Maryland, a pizzeria, and a construction company, which did not know that documents were being drawn up on their behalf.
The arrest of Danilov and his accomplices was made after a joint investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Labor.