r
responded in saying that it will detain anyone whom it believes requires further
investigations. Immigration lawyer
Simon Laurent, however, argues that ethnic profiling is being used to unfairly
target Muslims. Many
New Zealand
citizens who have never had
problems before are now being detained and interrogated.
*****
The
U.K.’s Sunday Telegraph is
reporting that a group of women, aged 18 to 24, were found locked in the cellar
of a motel in western Macedonia, being kept as sex slaves.
The women were predominantly from eastern European countries, lured from
their countries by promises of jobs as au pairs or waitresses, and then forced
into slavery. It is thought that
the women were ultimately destined to be moved into Western countries, such as
Britain
, to work as prostitutes.
This is not an isolated incident, however, and at least two other groups
of women have been found in western Macedonian cities, forced into sex slavery.
This area is one of
Europe
’s largest
human-trafficking centers, and the gangs who run these trafficking rings have
connections with criminals in
Britain
who control the
prostitution circuit.
Britain
is a prime target for sex
traffickers, due to the seemingly weak immigration controls and high demand for
sexual services.
*****
A
man believed to be one of several false council members who obtained passports
irregularly was arrested last week at Las Americas International Airport in the
Dominican Republic
after having arrived from
Spain
. According to DR1 News,
Fernando Beltre, from Azua, entered the country using an official passport that
states that he is a council member of the Municipal City Hall of Tabara Abajo.
Migration officials detained him on November 23 upon his arrival. Apparently,
Beltre traveled to
Spain
in June without learning of
the fact that mafia members who had issued official passports to false council
members had been caught. Beltre will be indicted if found to be involved in the
case.
*****
After
a series of riots and vandalism that wreaked havoc in
France
in November, Prime Minister
Dominique de Villepin has announced that tighter controls on immigration will be
implemented. Under the new regulations, marriages abroad between French citizens
and foreigners will no longer be automatically recognized in
France
. Instead, couples must be
screened by consular officers before the foreign spouse can be granted French
identity papers. This measure and another outlawing polygamy are hoped to be
adopted by parliament in the first half of 2006. President Jacques Chirac stated
two weeks ago that
France
needs tougher enforcement
of a law that allows immigrants to bring spouses and children to France, and
Villepin, while not questioning the law, would like to extend the time from one
to two years before an immigrant living in
France
can bring over family
members. The government is affecting these changes in response to the problems
leading up to the violence that
France
experienced last month in
the impoverished suburbs that are home to many North and West African
immigrants. In addition to tighter controls on immigration, the government is
planning to ease unemployment for youths and to fight racial discrimination.