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Euro crisis: UK plans for rise in immigrants

The Home Office is drawing up contingency plans to cope with a possible big increase in immigration from Greece if the euro collapses.

EU nationals are largely entitled to work anywhere in the single market.
But Home Secretary Theresa May told the Daily Telegraph “work is ongoing” to restrict European immigration in the event of a financial collapse.
Labour MP Denis Macshane said Mrs May was “stoking up tension”, and restrictions were impractical.
The Home Secretary said “trends” were being examined to see whether immigration was rising from countries with stricken economies.
She said if the single currency broke up, people looking for work abroad may see Britain as an attractive alternative as it is a non-eurozone country.
Asked whether emergency immigration controls were being considered, Mrs May said: “It is right that we do some contingency planning on this [and] that is work that is ongoing.”
She said there was no evidence that migration was on the rise, but it was “difficult to say how it is going to develop in coming weeks”.
BBC political correspondent Robin Brant said the government had some room for manoeuvre because there are rules in place for extreme situations which allow for some temporary restrictions on immigration.

Spanish bailout

Details of the contingency plans followed yet more turmoil in the single currency after Spain’s fourth-largest bank, Bankia, asked the government for a bailout worth 19bns euros ($24bn; £15bn).
European markets fell again as the value of the euro slid.
But in January, a report from the government’s official advisers on migration, the Migration Advisory Committee, said EU migration had had “little or no impact” on the native employment rate.
Former Labour Europe Minister, Denis MacShane, says he was worried by Mrs May’s comments.
“Every government department has contingency plans for most things. It does frighten me a bit because Mrs May is stoking up tension and of course, if we ban every Greek from coming into Britain, the Greeks will ban every Brit from going into Greece – that’s a great start to the holiday season.”
Mrs May also told the Telegraph work is under way to deny illegal immigrants access to work, housing, services and even bank accounts.
“The aim is to create here in Britain a really hostile environment for illegal migration,” she said.
“What we don’t want is a situation where people think that they can come here and overstay because they’re able to access everything they need.”
Prime Minister David Cameron said last week the eurozone must decide soon whether it wants to stay together or break-up.
He told MPs: “If it wants to carry on as it is it has to build a proper firewall, it has to take steps to secure the weakest members or it has to work out it has to go in a different direction.
“It either has to make-up or it is looking at a potential break-up. That is the choice they have to make and it is a choice they can not long put off.”

Source: BBC News UK


Japan’s immigration control – Gulag for gaijin

AN EXTRAORDINARY story is making the rounds among the hacks and other expats in Japan. A Canadian freelance journalist who has lived in Japan for years fell into the ugly whirlpool of Japan’s immigration-and-detention system. For years human-rights monitors have cited Japan’s responsible agencies for awful abuses; in their reports the system looks like something dark, chaotic and utterly incongruous with the country’s image of friendly lawfulness.

Still the case of Christopher Johnson beggars belief. Returning to Tokyo after a short trip on December 23rd he was ushered into an examination room, where his nightmare began. Over the next 24 hours he was imprisoned and harassed. Most of his requests to call a lawyer, the embassy or friends were denied, he says.

Officials falsified statements that he gave them and then insisted that he sign the erroneous testimony, he says. Guards tried to extort money from him and at one point even threatened to shoot him, he says—unless he purchased a wildly expensive ticket for his own deportation, including an overt kick-back for his tormentors. Once he was separated from his belongings, money was stolen from his wallet and other items removed from his baggage (as he has reported to the Tokyo police).

The problems to do with Japan’s immigration bureau have been known for years. Detainees regularly protest the poor conditions. They have staged hunger strikes and a few have committed suicide. A Ghanaian who overstayed his visa died in the custody of guards during a rough deportation in 2010. (In that case, the prosecutor has delayed deciding whether to press charges against the guards or to drop the case. A spokesperson refuses even to discuss the matter with media outlets that are not part of the prosecutor’s own “press club”.)

Mr Johnson’s ordeal closely matches the abuses exposed in a 22-page report by Amnesty International in 2002, “Welcome to Japan?”, suggesting that even the known problems have not been fixed. One reason why the practices may be tolerated is that the Japanese government apparently outsources its airport-detention operations to a private security firm.

It is a mystery to Mr Johnson why he was called aside for examination, but he suspects it is because of his critical coverage of Japan. (Mr Johnson’s visa status is unclear: in an interview, he said his lawyer advised him not to discuss it.)

Reached by The Economist, Japan’s immigration bureau said it cannot discuss individual cases, but that its detentions and deportations follow the law, records of hearings are archived and the cost of deportation is determined by the airline. The justice ministry declined to discuss the matter and referred all questions to the immigration bureau. Canada’s department of foreign affairs confirmed to The Economist that a citizen was detained and that it provided “consular assistance” and “liaised with local authorities”.

Mr Johnson’s own rambling account of his saga appeared on his blog, “Globalite Magazine”.

You can find the whole story in The Economist Benyan blog.


The Gathering – Ireland 2013

Whether you’re Irish born, Irish bred or Irish in spirit, get involved & celebrate a year of Irish connections – The Gathering Ireland 2013!

Festivals and events

The Gathering will bring together hundreds of festivals and events throughout Ireland during 2013. They will celebrate the best in Irish music, art, literature, dance, culture, heritage, sport, film and food.

Fantastic New Year’s Eve Festivals will bookend the year, ensuring that 2013 both starts and ends with a bang! In between, take your pick from events such as St Patrick’s Festival, the Galway Arts Festival, the Wexford Opera Festival and Temple Bar TradFest, to name but a few. These will be familiar to many people but in 2013 they will all offer exciting new elements, making them bigger and better than ever for those visiting for The Gathering.

Great Gathering ideas

There are so many ways to get involved in The Gathering Ireland 2013. From family reunions to community festivals and twin towns to alumni gatherings, everyone is encouraged to work together to organise and host get-togethers. Reach out to your networks and connections overseas and invite them to come and visit in 2013. Here are some ideas…

Tracing your roots

There is a global Irish diaspora of 70 million. Are you one of them? Instead of waiting for you to find us, we’re inviting you back for The Gathering Ireland 2013. It might just be the perfect time to come and find out more about your forefathers and forge a deeper connection with our country.

When you start researching your family history, you never know what you’re going to find. And with no fewer than four recent US presidents claiming Irish family connections, the chances of discovering an influential relative are not as slim as they might at first seem!

In addition to the 1.3 million church records available online, there are national repositories of material, as well as local heritage and genealogy centres around the country. Download our guide, Tracing Your Ancestors (2.5MB .pdf) to get started or check out: www.irishgenealogy.ie, www.rootsireland.ie and www.nationalarchives.ie

You can also celebrate your Irish roots and honour your Irish ancestors by getting an official Certificate of Irish Heritage. These certs are issued by the Irish Government to those who have at least one Irish ancestor. You will even be offered help to track down the documents required to apply for the cert. In practice, that almost amounts to a free start on tracing your roots! Find out more at: www.heritagecertificate.ie

We hope this will be a chance for you to feel closer to Ireland and meet family that you never knew existed.


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