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Images and videos from the main demonstration which came at the end of the 2010 NoBorders camp in Brussels.
WASHINGTON - More than 200,000 people crowded the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Sunday to advocate for comprehensive reform of U.S. immigration laws, including an end to raids and deportations. Workday Minnesota.
Switzerland has halted special flights to deport asylum seekers after a Nigerian man on hunger strike died on the tarmac at Zurich airport. BBC.
The suicide of a Georgian refugee in a Hamburg deportation centre graphically expresses the contempt for human life on the part of the city's Senate - a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union and the Greens. World Socialist Website.
CHARGES against 11 asylum seekers over a riot at the Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre are vindictive and should be dropped, a refugee action group says. HeraldSun.
Hunger strike in detention centre in Italy; people involved in the grassroots campaign against detention and racist laws are arrested on 23rd February. indymedia Article.
Three detainees from the Port Isabel Detention Center in Los Fresnos sent out letters to the Southwest Workers Union announcing hunger strikes, in protest for the condition of their detention and the uncertain status of their immigration cases. San Antonio Current Article.
The alarm went off at Rome's detention center for undocumented migrants. Tunisian migrant Badis Barhumi, who had tried to escape, hurried back inside to hide. The chief police officer on duty found Barhumi among other migrants and beat him down with a baton. Global Post Article.
People of faith and immigrant rights advocates from across the state of New Jersey will gather at Liberty State Park in front of the foot bridge to Ellis Island. Hudson Reporter Article.
French Immigration Minister Eric Besson has proposed a bill to establish special "transit zones" wherever undocumented migrants are discovered. The bill will allow French officials to detain illegal immigrants immediately. France 24 Article.
Local supporters of immigration reform are joining a statewide caravan when it arrives on Feb. 17 at the local offices of two members of the House of Representatives. Rochester Business Journal Article.
In Texas, dozens of prisoners have gone on a hunger strike at a Los Fresnos immigration jail in protest of inhumane conditions. Democracy Now Article.
A JCMK information disclosure request has revealed that a number of detention centers are overpopulated and have engaged in unlawful prolonged detention periods. The Hankyoreh Article.
Migrant Workers Mark 3rd Year After Yeosu Fire. Korea Times Article.
Malaysia plans to issue identification cards to refugees who are recognized by the United Nations, allowing them to stay in the country temporarily and avoid arrest as illegal immigrants. Jakarta Post Article.
Labor in opposition called it a white elephant, the Australian of the Year has labelled it a factory for mental illness, while the federal opposition says it's a visa factory. BigPond Article.
Johannesburg - The South Gauteng High Court on Wednesday ordered the immediate release of a Burundian asylum seeker currently detained at the Lindela Repatriation Centre, News24 Article.
He's been Australian of the Year for just a day, but acclaimed psychiatrist Professor Patrick McGorry has spent it embroiled in controversy. Professor McGorry accepted his award, and then touched off a new row on the politically volatile issue of asylum seekers by pointing out the mentally corrosive effects of Australia's detention policies. ABC Article.
The announcement by the Department of Homeland Security that Temporary Protected Status - and suspension of deportation - would be granted to Haitian nationals in the aftermath of the earthquake came as a relief to many. Huffington Post Article.
The decision by the United States last week to grant Haitians in the United States permission to stay, work and send remittances home under a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program is welcome news. This move was an essential first step in response to the catastrophic earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12. New America Media Article.
...several Native American firms are profiting from the immigrant crackdown against hopeful new Americans. Americas Program Report.
Agents in riot gear from Immigration and Customs Enforcement tried to break up a hunger strike by detainees at the Varick Federal Detention Center in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday... New York Times Article.
A Centerville-based company has been awarded a $383 million contract by the United States Marshals Service to continue operating a regional detention facility in Willacy County, Texas. Salt Lake Tribune Article.
The longer an asylum seeker remains in an immigration detention centre the greater their risk of developing a mental illness, Australian research shows. Sydney Morning Herald Article.
US officials have drawn up emergency plans to cope with a mass migration crisis and have cleared spaces in detention or reception centres, including the Navy base at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay. Telegraph Article.
GEO positioned to profit from detention of Haitian refugees. Americas Program Article.
INDONESIA will force 240 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers into immigration detention by the end of next week, at gunpoint if necessary... Austrailain Herald Sun.
Against the backdrop of the earthquake in Haiti, dozens of protesters gathered outside a Greenwich Village detention center on Thursday to demand the release of Jean Montrevil, a Haitian immigrant rights advocate and a community leader in New York who has been detained since December while awaiting deportation. New York Times Article.
The New York Times reports federal officials have used their role as overseers to prevent the media from reporting deaths inside the nation's immigration jails. Democracy Now Report.
New York immigration activists - including those who fight against deportations that break up families - are holding a vigil Tuesday for one of their own. Jean Montrevil, a founder of the local branch of the New Sanctuary Coalition and a legal U.S. resident born in Haiti, was detained by immigration authorities on Dec. 30 during one of his monthly check-ins and is now awaiting deportation at a York, Pa., jail. Feet In Two Worlds Article.
Demonstration organised by German NoBorders and No One is Illegal Activists. Video.
Several foreign nationals in Masaiti district were over the weekend picked up by a combined team of state police and immigration officers. Post (Zambia) Article.
The celebration was for one person: Adil Charkaoui, a man whose life the Canadian government turned into an Orwellian nightmare when it falsely accused him of being a terrorist. The Gazette.
Around 40 people have staged a lively protest outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta on Monday, 28 December. At the protest, a large banner in Bahasa and English said, "Reject the Indonesia Solution, Free the Refugees, No to Detention", and the protest attracted a lot of attention from passers-by and the local media. Full Scoop Article.
The effect of climate change on migration, is one of the largest aspects of social fallout resulting from rampant capitalism's destruction of the enviroment. Report by NoBorders South Wales.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is holding an untold number of people in secretively maintained detention facilities all over the United States. Democracy Now Video.
A Canadian citizen, who had staged a hunger strike to protest his planned deportation from Australia, has won a reprieve. Article.
An independent United Nations expert says Australia's Christmas Island immigration detention centre should be closed. ABC News.
Campaigners from all over Europe, Morocco and Turkey gathered outside the EU Council building in Brussels,
while the Justice and Home Affairs Council met to further the Swedish Program.
(Photo: Hagen Kopp) One focus of the protests was the strengthening
of Frontex, the EU military agency responsible for coordinating member state cooperation on border control.
Speakers addressed the effects EU border control had on refugees in the states bordering Europe as well as the expansion of the
immigration detention estate and the Dublin II regulations. The demonstration was coordinated by the NoBorders Network.
Report (with photos).
Brighton NoBorders on riot at Australian detention centre.
The head of Amnesty International, Irene Khan, says the Australian government should close its immigration detention center on Christmas Island. Article.
The Australian on revelations that a block of Guantanamo Bay-like cells is being used to house troublemakers inside the packed immigration detention centre at Christmas Island. Full article.
Behind Australian Doors: Examining the Conditions of Detention of Asylum Seekers in Indonesia.
Report.
ABC News on reports that the Federal Government is planning to double the size of the Christmas Island detention centre.
A total of 78 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers on board an Australian Customs vessel were to be transferred today to an Indonesian detention centre where detainees yesterday claimed they were beaten and robbed by guards, and slept 20 to a room on mattresses on the floor with no airconditioning. The Australian article.
The Trinidad and Tobago government are to establish a dedicated Immigration Detention Centre. Trinidad and Tobago Express article.
In These Times article on detention estate profiteering in US.
BBC coverage of Obama administration's 'new initiatives'.
Afghans held at an Australian-funded immigration detention centre in Tanjung Pinang, a town on an island south of Singapore, allege they are beaten at night. Full article.
Seriously ill immigration detainees can't wait for the reforms announced last
week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Miami Herald Article.
Organizers of a vigil against the mistreatment of federal detainees called for the closure of the nation's largest immigration detention center known as "Tent City" in Raymondville. Full article.
The Australian government said it may further expand its offshore detention center for asylum seekers as the opposition blamed weak border controls for an influx of refugees from countries such as Sri Lanka. Full article.
We wish them well! Full article.
The Indonesian navy arrested 260 migrants from Sri Lanka who were suspected of sailing in to seek asylum in Australia, officials and media reports said Monday. Full article.
All last week the people of Phoenix witnessed public outbursts by their sheriff, Joe Arpaio, as he railed against the Department of Homeland Security for supposedly trying to limit his ability to enforce federal immigration laws. He vowed to keep scouring Maricopa County for people whose clothing, accents and behavior betrayed them as likely illegal immigrants. Full article.
Human Right Watch calls for release of the 250,000 Tamils detained in camps. Full Article.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano proposes, among other reform ideas, holding nonviolent immigrants in minimum-security facilities. Full article.
A report on immigration detention released Tuesday by the Obama administration paints a picture of a costly, inappropriately penal system that is growing without basic tools for management and monitoring, while the government office nominally in charge struggles with high turnover and a lack of expertise. Full article.
Malaysia's government-linked human rights commission Friday called for better health conditions in immigration detention centres nationwide as 18 detainees die each month from disease. Straits Times article
New paper from the Global Detention Project.
The revolt at conditions in overflowing detention centres is causing scenes of chaos in the 'backdoor into Europe'. Full article
Sky News coverage of destruction of Calais camps
A private prison operator has plans to build a 2,200-bed detention center that holds illegal immigrants on 51 acres near two other local prisons. Full article
Weekly Immigration Wire from Rabble.ca: Full article
'Illegal' Afghans escape from Pekanbaru detention center. (Good luck!) Full article
The Telegraph covers the recent developments in Greece. Full article
AURORA | A local consortium of religious leaders and community representatives will gather for the fifth month in a row to protest the coming expansion of a privately managed detention center. Full article
Reaction to US governments lack of action on immigrant detention reform. Full article
The Lesvos NoBorders Website
ATHENS, Greece - The U.N. refugee agency says it is "alarmed" at the conditions at a Greek detention center where hundreds of illegal immigrants are being held, including scores of children. Full article
Letter published by IndyMedia
A federal appeals court in California Thursday ruled that a lawsuit filed on behalf of immigrants who have been detained for more than six months without receiving bond hearings can go forward as a class action. Full article
article on poor conditions in Malaysian immigrant detention centres.
Immigrant Detainees Staging Hunger Strikes to Protest Deplorable Confinement.
Amnesty International launch the Unlock the Camps campaign at the start the organization's International Council Meeting.
Small gain in US as one detention centre is closed. Article.
Calais Migrant Solidarity report.
Previously confidential reports from the American Bar Association on conditions at immigrant detention centers across the U.S. were analyzed as part of a scathing new study faulting the government for failing to meet its own standards at those facilities. Full Article
In immigration detention it falls to the detainees to prove their citizenship. But detainees don't have the constitutional protections, such as the right to legal counsel, that would help them prove their case. Full Article
Imagine that you, a U.S. citizen, were the victim of a crime to which an undocumented person was a witness. As a result of draconian Bush-era agreements dubbed 287(g), this undocumented person would be at a very real risk for deportation if she were to report what she has witnessed to the authorities. The police would then be denied vital information to apprehend your offender, leaving the entire community more vulnerable to repeat offenses. This is no way to prevent and solve crime in our communities, and in no way makes us safe. Full Article
'ATHENS - On the morning of June 12, Greek authorities flattened and cleared a squatter camp in the Greek port city of Patras that was home to hundreds of illegal immigrants from Afghanistan. Bulldozers crushed the makeshift houses, setting off a fire, while riot police arrested the few dozen inhabitants who hadn't yet run away.' Full Story
'A long-time lawful permanent resident fighting deportation will finally get a bond hearing after being held in immigration detention for five and a half years. Late Friday, a district court ordered that the government must provide Errol Barrington Scarlett with a hearing within 60 days before an immigration judge where the government must demonstrate that he poses sufficient danger or flight risk to warrant his continued detention.' Full Story
Activists gather outside a detention center in Ponte Galeria. They want to draw attention to the poor conditions inside the center where illegal immigrants are held. Details and video on NTDTV.
About 1,400 people are dying every week at the giant Manik Farm internment camp set up
in Sri Lanka to detain Tamil refugees from the nation's bloody civil war,
senior international aid sources have told The Times.
Full Story
Despite, maybe even partly because of, the barrage of demonizing rhetoric from the authorities and anti-immigrant media in the preceding weeks, and massive and aggressive policing, this weekend's trans-national demonstration in Calais may have won a significant public-opinion victory for No Borders and the 1,000+ migrants trapped in the Calais area by the British border controls that now operate on French territory. The main demonstration, on Saturday, passed off without a scrap of trouble, making the government's massively expensive and disruptive response look hysterical and foolish.
Here's some of the coverage from the regional paper, Nord Littoral:
... only in French unfortunately but I think you can see that quite a bit of it is sympathetic (quite a change-around from the paper's attitude a couple of weeks back). It includes a very nice, full-page interview with one of the No Border activists, Romain, and another with a local doctor describing the suffering (and consequent medical expense) caused by the authorities' refusal even to provide showers for the men trapped in the Calais area, living rough in the "jungle", and struggling to keep themselves clean - sometimes with no other alternative than filthy canal water.
We met quite a few of these men - the Iranian and Afghani bits of "the jungle" were just on the other side of the autoroute from the camp. The men I spoke to were all Iranians, and all had left Iran because of the regime. None had much inkling of the regime awaiting them in Britain, should they succeed in getting onto a lorry undetected and surviving the journey.
One of the No Borders people who'd been at the camp all week thought that some of the agents/traffickers may actually encourage them to try for the UK, to get even more money out of them. But many of them clearly want to come because they already speak a bit of English, or have friends or relatives in Britain, who are waiting for them.
One man we spoke to, in his forties, is a member of the Communist Tudeh party. He had to live on the run for a year, never in his own home, before deciding to leave Iran, leaving his young daughter in the care of his elderly parents. He thought he would be able to get asylum in Britain and then send for her. But he has been fingerprinted not only by the French police (several times) but also by the UK border police (I suppose when attempting to get into the fortified area around the ferry terminal - which is now effectively UK territory for the first time since the middle ages). So even if he gets onto a truck and survives the journey his application for asylum will not even be considered, and he would be returned to France (as the first safe EU country he'd entered) under the Dublin Convention. We tried to explain that he could be better off applying for asylum in France, and found some activists from Lille who were keen to help him. But his heart had been set on England; and he knows no French ...
Also met a nice lad of just 16 years old. No living relatives; parents both dead; speaking quite good English. And another man in his forties or late thirties with a kind, weatherbeaten face, and his foot smashed and in plaster, after some kind of run-in with the police. And others - tantalizing glimpses of rich and poignant stories, and fragile hopes that powerful forces they know little of are determined and well-equipped to smash.
The authorities now want to bulldoze the jungle. Their only answer to these men's needs is to obliterate them. After they have obliterated them, the next plan is a UK-style immigrant-prison, operated on behalf of the UK by Frontex (the EU border enforcement agency), in which UK laws will apply, permitting indefinite imprisonment (which is not allowed under French law). So the UK will not only export its borders into France, but also its own legal regime.
We were nearly deterred from going to the camp by the intimidating stream of propaganda (including some spectacular lies) from the press and the pro-Sarkozy mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, and the unbelievable police response: more than 2,000 police, including the feared CRS, were drafted in from all over France and they seemed intent on provoking any response from the protesters that would justify wading in.
When we got to the camp on Friday, the area was ringed by roadblocks and most people were being searched as they went in and out, sometimes repeatedly. (We ourselves weren't : perhaps a benefit of being white and middle-aged). A helicopter clattered overhead from early morning till late at night, at some considerable cost. Lines of police vans and, occasionally, squads of CRS in full riot gear lined a nearby autoroute slip-road overlooking the camp. The day before, a number of people had been arrested simply for handing out leaflets in Calais town centre. One of the first people we met, a friend from Yorkshire, had just been roughed-up by police on his way to buy toilet paper for the camp at a nearby supermarket: without challenge, a cop rammed him against the wall with a hand to the face, handcuffed him and threw him into their van, saying "we're not your English bobbies!" He was sure he was going to get badly beaten, but after ten minutes he was released - these cops were going off shift.
On Saturday we drove to the demonstration's start-point where trade union and party delegations (Sud, NPA and CNT), had assembled to wait for the No Borders group coming on foot from the campsite. We waited for them for two hours while they were held up and searched at roadblock after roadblock. Eventually the combined demonstration set off, about 1,300 strong according to local media, surrounded by more than 2,500 police of various kinds - plus water-cannons at strategic points - almost the only things moving in Calais that day.
We didn't go with them, certain there would at least be tear-gas and we weren't up to running, so we went to the beach - which we had almost to ourselves, the town being almost completely closed off, with police at almost every street intersection (and, being all from other towns, none of them were any use for directions).
Some cafes were open however, and the proprietress of the one where we had lunch was thoroughly on our side. Indicating the shuttered cafe next door she said: "C'est fou! C'est de la politique! C'est notre ami Sarko - un beau petit salopard!"
Which I think translates as, "a right little shit".
... and probably represents a wider body of Calaisien opinion now
than it did this time last week.
For more about the camp and demo see the report from
No Borders Wales
who were there in strength, or some of the links below.
Bob Hughes
A farcical curtain of steel has descended on Calais, and the massive campaign of demonisation of our camp by the local authorities continues in the press. The camp is now fully set up with approx 300 people from all over Europe. Many local people are visiting the site and a group of around 40 mostly Kurdish and Afghani migrants. It is nice big site, quite open for people to come walk around and a lot of local kids hanging out. It runs alongside the main motorway from the port out of town and is just a few minutes from the Jungle, the makeshift camps where migrants are living. Many of the migrants seem to be very young, one just 12 year old Afghani visited the camp last night. Migrants report that currently the controls at the border are very tight and that no one has been getting through for few weeks, consequently the number of migrants in Calais are at their highest in several years. Full Story
Camp Website (Mainly in French)
IndyMedia Comment
Main London NoBorders Site
