Illegal immigration becomes a top issue Macron visits the overseas province of Mayotte

French President Macron. (Source: China News Service)

On Tuesday, October 22, French President Emmanuel Macron came to the overseas territory of Mayotte to officially start the "Shikandra" military and social operation to deal with illegal immigration. In 2011, the province of Mayotte officially became a French territory, half of the residents here are foreign nationals, and the phenomenon of illegal immigration has become a source of anger and concern for the local population.

With an area of 374 square kilometres and a total of 256,000 inhabitants, Mayotte is now 48% foreign, up from 40% in 2012, according to the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Research (INSEE). In France, foreign residents account for an average of 6.5%. Mayotte's situation is peculiar, related to the country of the Comoros, which is adjacent to one of the poorest countries in the world, where many Comorians are smuggled.

In addition, 2015 data shows that half of the foreigners are illegal immigrants, about 66,000 people. Recently, illegal immigrants from african countries such as congo and Rwanda have arrived here. Local officials were quite unhappy with the status quo, and residents took action on several occasions. In the spring of 2018, the Mayotes blocked traffic for up to 6 weeks, affecting the island's economy.

The local population opposes illegal immigration, believing that it threatens the island's security and strains public resources. For example, in Mayotte Hospital in 2017, the mothers of three-quarters of the children born were foreigners, and many schools were understaffed, resulting in students taking turns in classes. The Mayotte residents' group wrote an open letter to Macron, saying that "illegal immigration is increasing at a rapid pace, threatening the existing balance and endangering the environment, education systems, health systems and urbanization systems".

Local residents demanded that the government prevent the arrival of ships carrying Comorians. In response to residents' demands, the government has tightened controls and stepped up the pace of deportations in recent months, while launching Operation Shikandra in August, particularly aimed at increasing the number of military and customs personnel, aiming to reach 25,000 deportations by the end of 2019.

According to Presidential Office data, France had dispatched a total of 22,000 people to Mayotte as of October 1, up from 15,000 in the same period in 2018. In addition, the government also strengthened labor censorship, cracked down on illegal workers, and demolished illegal homes. Republican Lawmaker Mansour Kamardine said that if the problems facing the local area are to be fundamentally solved, the government needs to greatly increase personnel and material support, and the current efforts are clearly insufficient.

He suggested that foreigners coming to Mayotte would need to live for a full 36 months, rather than the current limit of 18 months, before they could be eligible to apply for family reunification for their loved ones. Ramlati Ali, a ruling lawmaker elected from Mayotte, said the government should tighten residency controls and called for "Mayotte to be handed over to the Mayottes."

The Asylum Immigration Act passed in France in September 2018 has added special provisions for Mayotte, stipulating that children born locally must have their parents stay for 3 months before they are entitled to apply for French citizenship. In addition, local prison enforcement also enjoys the privilege of legal detention and interrogation for up to 5 days, which is set at less than 2 days in mainland France.