ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: WHAT DID FRANCE DISCOVER THAT THE GOP CAN'T GRASP?

There’s a great number of happy people in France today as a result of the news that the upper house of the French parliament has passed a tough new immigration bill. The bill was passed by an overwhelming number of votes weeks after it was adopted by members of the lower chamber of parliament.

The French immigration reform bill makes it more difficult for unskilled immigrants to settle in France, which in the past has created discord among French citizens who work menial jobs. The new bill, expected to be signed into law very soon, adds a number of tough measures to France’s immigration policy.

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who drafted the bill, says it will bring France into line with other countries. Critics on the far-left, using the same verbal attacks as US leftists against anti-illegal immigration proponents, say the law is racist and accuse Sarkozy of pandering to the far-right, although the majority of French citizens are far from being right-wing and, according to polls, they overwhelmingly support the tough immigration legislation.

Minister Sarkozy has been making some noise about being a potential contender in presidential elections next year, and political observers believe he latched onto the issue of immigration as part of his platform. He recently told the BBC that France must be in control of immigration, rather than a passive recipient. (Hear that, George W.?)

One significant provision is a requirement for immigrants to sign a contract agreeing to learn French and to respect the principles of the French Republic. In addition it makes it more difficult for them to bring their families over to join them. It also offers no provision for so-called anchor babies who are afforded citizenship as a result of being born in the country.

According to the French government, the following new rules will be part of the immigration law:

– Only the qualified immigrants will be granted “skills and talents” residency permits.

– Foreigners are only allowed into France to work, and not live off benefits such as welfare and free healthcare.

– Foreign spouses of immigrants allowed to remain in France must wait longer before being granted residence cards.

– Migrants must agree to learn French.

– Migrants must sign a ‘contract’ stipulating they must respect the French way of life.

The new law also scraps the old one regarding workers receiving automatic citizenship after living and working 10 years in the country.

French law enforcement officials, who wholeheartedly support the new law, have argued that the weeks of riots by youths in the immigrant suburbs across France last November showed the system of immigration and integration was failing. These Islamic immigrants kept their own culture while denigrating the French culture and their refusal to assimilate into the French mainstream posed problems for that nation.

Now, how come the French figured this out before the Republican Party’s leadership?

Sarkozy countered criticism of the new law by pointing out that like a number of other Western countries, France has the right to choose the immigrants it needs.

Most immigrants living in France come from its former Northern African colonies, which are predominately Muslim. Their new law has been criticized by many in that region, including President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal. You might say he’s France’s President Vicente Fox of Mexico.

Perhaps the United States will have to suffer through a catastrophic incident such as a large-scale riot by illegal aliens before our leaders decide to really get tough on illegal aliens. As it is, many illegal aliens in the US are killing, raping and robbing American citizens each year.

France, a socialist country, decided — to its credit — not to allow it to get that far.

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Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he’s a staff writer for the New Media Alliance. He’s former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed “Crack City” by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He’s also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He’s a news writer for TheConservativeVoice.Com. He’s also a columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he’s syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. He’s appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc.