Hi there,

This year commemorates Democracy Now!’s 30th year of independent broadcasting. While there is so much uncertainty about the future of the planet right now, we will keep highlighting the activists, researchers, scholars, scientists, artists and ordinary people working for a more peaceful and just world. Thanks to a group of generous donors, all donations made today will be TRIPLED, which means your $15 gift is worth $45. Please donate today, so we can keep shining a spotlight on the grassroots movements fighting for democracy and challenging abuses of power around the world. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much!

Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

France: Bill Would Tighten Immigration Laws for Asylum Seekers

HeadlineFeb 22, 2018

In France, President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a bill Wednesday that would toughen France’s immigration and asylum laws. The bill would allow authorities to double the time they can detain migrants to 90 days—while shortening the deadlines for migrants to apply for asylum. It would also allow for a 1-year prison term and fines for migrants found to have illegally crossed into France. Amnesty International France Director Catherine Gaudard said the legislation unfairly sorts asylum seekers into “migrants” and “refugees.”

Catherine Gaudard: “This reductive discourse is nefarious for two reasons. First of all, it contributes to dehumanize persons who have been exiled, reducing them into a confrontation between good ones and bad ones, in some way. In fact, migrants are individuals who have their own stories, their own journeys, their own reasons for leaving their countries. And although they don’t all have the same status, they all have rights.”

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top