France Plans To Reshuffle The Immigration System, Human Smugglers Are Threatened With 20 Years In Prison

Illustration of French water police patrols to anticipate smuggling of illegal immigrants. (Wikimedia Commons/Arnaud Lambert)

JAKARTA - President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to overhaul France's immigration system, imposing longer prison sentences for human smugglers and illegal asylum seekers.

Langkah untuk menangani imigrasi ilegal dilakukan saat negara tersebut sedang berjuang untuk menangani prosedur asylum yang panjang, yang mengakibatkan beberapa migran tembang, memiliki anak dan tetap tinggal bahkan ketika klaim mereka akhirnya ditolak.

The latest figures reveal France rejected 72 percent of the plaintiffs, but only about 12 percent were issued with orders of expulsion completely leaving.

The long process of state law appeals, procedural delays and lack of state resources, is seen as the reason for the low level of expulsion.

Under the new law announced this week, the maximum sentence for human smugglers will be increased from 10 to 20 years and companies that employ illegal immigrants can face a fine of 4,000 euros, reported by The National News December 23.

Meanwhile, asylum seekers who want to get a place to live must also take a French test and agree to uphold national values, such as freedom of expression, according to The Times.

The new draft immigration law will be formally discussed in parliament early next year.

It comes just four years after the 2018 law with a similar purpose passed during President Macron's first term of office, which also aims to ease the heat from exploding political issues.

"It's about better integration and better expulsion," French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told France Info radio.

"We want the people who work, not those who rob," he continued.

President Macron and Minister Darmanin have linked immigration to delinquency, both saying about half of the minor crimes committed in Paris were committed by foreigners.

President Macron put forward a new law as a way to tackle the rise of the right-wing political power of National Rally, which in June became the largest opposition party in parliament.

"We need policies that are firm and humane and in line with our values," he said.

"It's the best deterrent to extreme things that trigger anxiety."

Like many European countries, France struggles to persuade countries in North and West Africa to welcome back their citizens after they were ordered expelled.

The new bill will reduce the number of possible appeals for asylum seekers who fail from 12 to three, theoretically accelerating expulsion procedures.

It will also remove protection for foreigners arriving in France as children, making it easier to get rid of them if they are convicted of a crime, an act designed to tackle juvenile delinquency.

It is known, France has passed 29 different laws on immigration since 1980.