France Undergoes Heart Transplant? Growing Resistance to Deportations

From the Associated Press (June 19):  Many French Seek to Block Deportations — If authorities try to send 7-year-old illegal immigrant Ikram Belhout back to Algeria, they’ll have to get through Francine Le Cadre first. The 73-year-old retired social worker is among a swelling corps of volunteers resisting government efforts to step up deportations of immigrant families with children — including by hiding illegals from police if needed. ”This is resistance,” said Le Cadre, recalling how her father had been deported to Germany in World War II. ”Sometimes you have to do illegal things against the decisions your country takes.” Polls suggest illegal immigration is a top concern ahead of next year’s presidential and legislative elections, with many in France fearing that immigrants poach jobs, soak up rich state welfare payments and commit crimes. But the issue grows more nuanced when it comes to children who could be yanked out of school and sent abroad — at times to countries they have never seen.

KJ