France uses money, not manacles, for deportation
December 21, 2006
France uses money, not manacles, for deportation - Europe - International Herald Tribune
The French development minister, Brigitte Girardin, failed last week to persuade the Malian government to sign an agreement to make it easier for France to send back illegal immigrants. Senegal, Cameroon and Gabon have also refused to sign such “readmission accords,” which facilitate the repatriation of illegals who try to conceal their national origin.
The French government, meanwhile, is making about €20 million, or $26 million, available over the next two years for small grants to illegal immigrants who agree to return home with a business project and to legal migrants who invest in a project in their home countries. French officials, under pressure in an election year to allay public concerns about immigration, have expressed frustration with the lack of responsiveness in African capitals to measures they see as more carrot than stick.
“We can no longer separate security and development,” Girardin said in a telephone interview. “We cannot win the fight against illegal immigration with repressive means only.“
Thousands of Africans have come ashore in Europe this year after risking their lives in sea crossings; many others have drowned en route. More than 26,000 Africans reached Spain’s Canary Islands from January to October this year, up from 4,715 in all of 2005, according to the European Union. Once they make it to the mainland, African migrants can move on with relative ease to other countries because of Europe’s open borders. Even if many of the migrants live in poverty in Europe, they do not want to go back. So various countries, including France, Germany and the Netherlands, have begun paying them to leave.
In theory, illegal immigrants can be repatriated without such accords — no country can refuse to take one of their nationals back, according to Girardin’s office — but in practice the task is complicated by the fact that illegal immigrants have an incentive to hide their nationality to avoid deportation.
So far the debate about illegal immigration has been dominated by talk about reinforcing security measures. The European Commission announced last month that an EU coast guard would be created to conduct round-the-clock patrols starting in the spring. It also said that EU-wide laws to punish employers who hire illegal migrants would be proposed early next year, and called for offices in African countries where would-be migrants could find out about jobs in Europe.
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