Islamabad, Oct 3 (PTI) Pakistan’s caretaker government has set November 1 as the deadline for thousands of illegal immigrants to leave the country or face deportation as the government intensified its crackdown against those involved in militancy and smuggling, Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on Tuesday.
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Speaking at a press briefing after a high-level meeting of the Apex Committee chaired by caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar and attended by Army Chief General Asim Munir among others, Bugti said that soon law enforcement agencies will get directions against the illegal immigrants.
He said that the meeting held at the PM House took the decision to remove illegal residents under the National Action Plan which was devised in 2015 to deal with the threat of militancy.
“The first decision taken is about our illegal immigrants who are living in Pakistan through illegal means. We have given them a deadline of November 1 to willingly return to their countries and if they don’t, all law enforcement agencies (LEAs) of the state and provinces will deport them,” Bugti said.
He said that the meeting decided that the welfare and security of a Pakistani was the most important for the government and all stakeholders were “taken in the loop” regarding the decision to expel those living illegally.
He said an operation would be launched after November 1 by a task force already created in the interior ministry against the illegal properties and businesses owned by illegal immigrants or that were being run in collaboration with Pakistanis.
The minister said that no one would be allowed to enter Pakistan without a passport or visa after November 1 and anyone entering with valid documents would be deported. He said those having illegal national identity cards would also be targeted.
He said DNA testing would also be used to identify those having Pakistan’s identity cardholders despite not being Pakistani citizens.
Calling for an end to the applicability of “US citizenship at birth” rule for children born to “illegal immigrants”, Vivek Ramaswamy cited the 14th amendment.
Vivek Ramaswamy raised quite a few eyebrows during the second GOP debate on Wednesday, when he declared that he advocates ending the “US citizenship at birth” rule for children born to “illegal immigrants”. The 2024 Presidential elections candidate, Ramaswamy drew a lot of flak on social media for this comment.
Calling for an end to the applicability of “US citizenship at birth” rule for children born to “illegal immigrants”, Ramaswamy had cited the 14th amendment.
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“I favour ending birthright citizenship for the kids of illegal immigrants in this country,” Ramaswamy had said.
“Now, the left will howl about the Constitution and the 14th Amendment. The difference between me and them is I’ve actually read the 14th Amendment,” added Ramaswamy.
During the debate, Ramaswamy had highlighted how a Mexican diplomat’s kid even if born in the United States is not eligible to become a US citizen as per the rules under 14th Amendment.
“What it says is that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the laws and jurisdiction thereof are citizens. So nobody believes that the kid of a Mexican diplomat in this country enjoys birthright citizenship,” said Ramaswamy.
Here is a brief idea of the US laws concerning “citizenship at birth” and the 14th Amendment
According to the official US government website for “US Citizenship and Immigration Services”, the general requirement for acquisition of citizenship at birth is: “a person born in the United States who is subject to the jurisdiction of the United States is a U.S. citizen at birth, to include a child born to a member of an Indian, Eskimo, Aleutian, or other aboriginal tribe.”
The “US citizenship at birth” is applicable through the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The section 1 of the 14th amendment states that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
However, the 14th Amendment also rules that children born to diplomats and other recognised government officials from foreign countries, won’t get US citizenship even if born in America.
GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said Friday he would deport the children of undocumented immigrants with their families, despite them already being U.S. citizens.
“There are legally contested questions under the 14th Amendment of whether the child of an illegal immigrant is indeed a child who enjoys birthright citizenship or not,” Ramaswamy said after a town hall in Iowa.
Ramaswamy is not the only GOP candidate to question U.S. citizenship rules. Former President Trump announced in late May that on his first day back in office, he would seek to end birthright citizenship by way of an executive order.
Despite the GOP candidates’ plans, a majority of Americans said the U.S. should continue to provide birthright citizenship in a poll following Trump’s announcement. Only a quarter of those surveyed said it should end, with 15 percent saying they were not sure.
Members of Israel’s security forces clash with Eritrean asylum-seekers protesting an event organised by Eritrea’s government in the coastal city of Tel Aviv on September 2, 2023. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he wants Eritrean migrants involved in a violent clash in Tel Aviv to be deported immediately and has ordered a plan to remove all of the country’s African migrants.
The remarks came a day after bloody protests by rival groups of Eritreans in south Tel Aviv left dozens of people injured. Eritreans, supporters and opponents of Eritrea’s government, faced off with construction lumber, pieces of metal and rocks, smashing shop windows and police cars. Israeli police in riot gear shot tear gas, stun grenades and live rounds while officers on horseback tried to control the protesters.
The violence on Saturday returned to the fore the issue of migrants, which has long divided Israel. Its resurgence comes as Israel is torn over Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul plan, and supporters cite the migrant issue as a reason why the courts should be reined in, saying they have stood in the way of pushing the migrants out.
“We want harsh measures against the rioters, including the immediate deportation of those who took part,” Netanyahu said in a special ministerial meeting called to deal with the aftermath of the violence. He requested that the ministers present him with plans “for the removal of all the other illegal infiltrators,” and noted in his remarks that the Supreme Court struck down some measures meant to coerce the migrants to leave.
About 25,000 African migrants live in Israel, mainly from Sudan and Eritrea, who say they fled conflict or repression. Israel recognizes very few as asylum seekers, seeing them overwhelmingly as economic migrants, and says it has no legal obligation to keep them.
The country has tried a variety of tactics to force them out, including sending some to a remote prison, holding part of their wages until after they agree to leave the country or offering cash payments to those who agree to move to another country, somewhere in Africa.
Critics accuse the government of trying to coerce the migrants into leaving. Under international law, Israel cannot forcibly send migrants back to a country where their life or liberty may be at risk.
Netanyahu said Sunday he didn’t think deporting supporters of the Eritrean government would be a problem.
The Biden administration again shunted the responsibility of New York’s spiraling migrant crisis — this time by telling the Empire State’s private businesses to step up while it offers a measly $600 million to offset the multi-billion dollar crisis.
The proposal put forward by White House officials in a meeting with Gov. Kathy Hochul Wednesday suggested putting out a call to city companies to provide free services to the asylum seekers, including pro bono legal advice, The Post learned Thursday.
The request for handouts also extends to free help educating and consulting migrants on how to apply for work permits.
Meanwhile, the Biden admin said it would ask Congress for $600 million to help New York feed and house the crush of migrants arriving in the Big Apple under the president’s soft border policies.
Even if the Big Apple gets the paltry amount from the feds, the overall tally would be $746 million — just a fraction of the $5.2 billion already spent to care for the more than 107,000 asylum-seekers that have arrived from the southern border since spring 2022.
Mayor Eric Adams has also already warned the crisis could cost the city an eye-watering $12 billion by 2025.
The new strategy from the federal government — a slap in the face to NYC’s business community that demanded Biden take ownership of the immigration crisis — emerged just hours after Hochul trekked down to DC on Wednesday to meet with the president’s chief of staff, Jeff Zients.
The governor claimed she came out of Wednesday’s meeting “with a sense they are committed” after being promised a “surge of resources” into the city over the next couple of weeks.
Biden is again asking Congress for an additional $600 million for New York to care for migrants. AP
“They understand that a lot of time has passed and that this situation has only grown more dire,” the governor told NY1.
The proposal also came just days after the White House scoffed at the notion it is to blame for the influx, saying the Big Apple’s and state’s own issues caused the catastrophic mess.
New York City is currently caring for nearly 60,000 asylum seekers — and thousands of migrant kids are expected to start attending public school on Sept. 7, according to the Department of Education.
The flood continues to cripple the Big Apple’s resources, with officials scrambling to find places to house the roughly 3,000 migrants that have arrived each week recently, according to City Hall officials.
Meanwhile, New York City is still waiting for the “liaison” — a point person between the federal Department of Homeland Security and Mayor Adams’ administration promised during Hizzoner’s trip to Washington, DC on July 27.
Migrants who arrive over the English Channel in small boats could be forced to wear electronic tags under Home Office proposals.
The idea, first mooted more than a year ago, has resurfaced as Rishi Sunak attempts to get a handle on immigration and stop people illegally gaining entry to the UK.
The migrants would be GPS tracked in real time and required to report via text message or in person to immigration officers multiple times a day, the Telegraph reported.
Any attempt to remove the tag and abscond would result in any right to bail or to remain in the UK being automatically withdrawn.
It comes amid concerns the UK could run out of capacity in immigration detention centres, with officials asked to find alternative ways of ensuring that thousands of migrants who arrive illegally but cannot be detained do not abscond.
The new rules will stipulate that those on electronic tag must comply with any directions from the Home OfficeA dinghy carrying around 50 migrants drifts into the English Channel after being escorted out of French territory on Thursday. Experts say they resist any help from French vessels in order to reach the UK
One source told the newspaper: ‘Tagging is being discussed as an option.’
Another source said tagging could also free-up immigration detention centres to be used for prisoners to alleviate chronic overcrowding in jails which are close to their capacity.
They were quoted as saying: ‘They are looking at all of these options. Given the state of prison capacity, that could reach breaking point and the Government knows that.’
The approach has been dubbed ‘punitive’ and ‘draconian’ by left-wing campaigners, who argue that those fleeing to Britain for safety are being treated like ‘criminals’.
Disastrous immigration policies are crushing New York City with over 10,000 migrants continuing to arrive monthly demanding shelter, meals and services, new statistics show.
Despite the Biden administration claiming it is reducing the number of asylum seekers flooding into the country, figures seen by The Post show no sign of a slowdown.
In the first six months of this year, 66,117 migrants entered the country and gave their destination as New York to the border guards arranging hearings for them in immigration court — more than double the number arriving at the next most popular destination.
That equates to almost 10% of the total 671,721 migrants let into the US so far in 2023, per figures compiled by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, which uses data obtained from the Executive Office for Immigration Review.
Mayor Eric Adams says the city has received over 90,000 migrants in total since spring 2022.
The mayor’s office says 57,200 migrants are still in 194 shelters set up by the city as of this week, leaving 8.4 million NYC taxpayers — just 2.5% of the US population — to foot the bill to feed, shelter and provide for an outsize number of asylum seekers, many of whom are staying in the shelter system for months on end.
The bill for meeting the demands of the crisis is set to reach $4.2 billion according to Adams, who has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for $300 million but received less than half to date, and repeatedly expressed his frustration at the lack of help at the federal level.
According to the mayor’s office, there are about 57,200 migrants in 194 New York City shelters.
Biden has allocated just $142 million in relief aid for the city so far.
“New Yorkers have stepped up tremendously throughout this crisis … Let us be very clear: This is both disappointing and woefully insufficient,” mayoral spokesperson Fabien Levy said in a statement in May.
The second most popular destination within the US for migrants, per immigration court filings, is Los Angeles but it has seen an influx less than half of that of New York in 2023 with 29,883 people.
The Biden administration has repeatedly claimed it has got tough on immigration since the end of Title 42 measures in May and repeats how 45,000 people a month are allowed into the country through its cell app-based CBP One scheme.
However, the data compiled by the TRAC shows a much different picture with 1,989,942 migrants admitted to the country since Biden took office in January 2021.
New York City has been the top destination for migrants in the past six months.
That number grows significantly when those estimated to have made it over the border illegally and undetected is factored in. That figure is set to top last year’s estimate by the Department of Homeland Security of 600,000, meaning at least 2.6 million migrants have made it into the US under Biden.
Those numbers have skyrocketed in recent months. As Title 42 ended and chaos reigned at the border, the largest number of migrants since at least 2001 were allowed to flood into the US, with 147,783 cases recorded in May 2023, according to TRAC figures.
The Biden administration even touted a 70% drop in border crossings since the end of Title 42, but that’s not borne out by the TRAC data, which recorded 118,520 cases referred to immigration courts across the nation in June – the fifth highest number recorded since 2001.
Migrants getting processed by Border Patrol after crossing the border in Yuma, Arizona on August 6, 2023. Go Nakamura for New York Post
The TRAC data monitors the number of new filings with immigration courts for cases in any given month.
These reflect the number of people who have been screened by Customs and Border Protection or Immigration and Customs and Enforcement and let into the country with a Notice To Appear at an immigration court in the county of their final destination.
In New York, the number of immigration cases filed has tripled in the last four years. In one month of 2019 the number surpassed 5,000 cases across the entire state for the first time.
By 2022 between five and seven thousand cases were regularly being filed per month.
