Oh, I do, I do. But the fact that France is still a nice place to be also puts into perspective the hardship of obtaining citizenship in the first place.
While I don't agree with these odd immigration policies, I believe that IF there is a need to control or limit immigration which I assume is there, at least to some degree, the better way to go would be to accept the status quo, hand out papers to those who are already here (as linca explained got done in Spain) and tighten regulations for those who newly arrive. That way there won't be any bad surprise later. It is inhumane to welcome people into the country and later drop, i.e. deport them.
To not grant citizenship to foreigners upon marrying a French citizen - is VERY bizarre to say the least.
Well, since these deportations take place, I'd still be interested in figures of torture and killings those deported actually experience... because much of the hardship actually seems to be the lower standard of living that awaits them. It sounds (is) right wing rhetoric. I've actually had to adjust before... but it still isn't a matter of life or death, like when linca is comparing the situation to the deportation of German Jews back to Germany in WWII.
It is a pity that the underlying "standard of living" argument somehow discredits the more serious concerns with regards to systematic deportations.
Your friends have decided to remain in France, and I wish them all the best; he'll have his citizenship, as you say, and hopefully, she's healed for good.
As for the matter of life and death, right now every few months people die, trying to escape the police that come to arrest them - do these people think being deported is a matter of life and death ? (Note that not having the proper papers to live in France is not a felony, in France). The known unknown number is that of thousands who die trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea - a less absurdly harsh policy, giving hope of actual migration, would also result in fewer such deaths. The unknown is that of statistics on what happens to the deported : the French state is not interested in them, and for a volunteer organisation, following up on thousands of people in a hundred countries, many of them not caring so much about human rights and free speech, isn't easy.
Deportations is not only a life and death matter (and I was not comparing the current deportation with those of the second world war, just pointing out the absurdity of saying "you can't deport people back to their own country") : making sure there are thousands of illegals in France is quite useful for those employers that rely on immigrant labor (mostly agriculture, food and house building - strangely, those people are traditionally UMP voters), and also has a cost in terms of unreceived taxes on that undeclared labor - which could be useful to fill the coffers of the Sécurité Sociale. More worrying, thanks to denunciations of parents that had come to register their kids for schools, and arrests of parents that were taking up their children after school, now they may stop sending those children to school... Un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de misères
Not all die. So there is still a very significant number who try to come to Europe but there are no exact figures, neither this way nor with regards to their forced return except the number of those actually deported (because these numbers are LePen voters' delight...).
Fact is this debate lacks facts - no matter who it is who is not going after these figures or who is deliberately withholding them.
What also strikes me is that you say that people (everyone?) has the right to stay in France (no citizenship needed? no Green card? no visa?) - and then, you talk of thousands of illegals in France.
So, again, it seems that you and I lack facts.
An unfair law that serves no purposes should be repealed even for one death.
Legally, some categories of immigrants have the right to remain in France and thus to get papers (Carte de séjour) without asking for the French citizenship. Ill people who could be healed if sent back to their country, family of people who have the right to stay in France (because the right to live with one's family is a human right) ; usually, foreign employees have no limit to their visas... But even for those being illegally in France, forcefully deporting them requires more arguments than simply wanting to appease racists. Un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de misères
I DON'T KNOW whether it is necessary.
"Family of people who have the right to stay in France (because the right to live with ones family is a human right)" - Sure.
What I mean is that the deleterious effects of the policy are established, even if some of the problems are not fully quantified. So the debate should be about the need to control or limit immigration ; and even if such a need were "proven" (which will have to depend on a whole lot of assumption about what is "good" for a country), whether the policies being applied are not overly harsh. Un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de misères
