Finland to close all but one Russia border crossing to stop asylum seekers

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/22/finland-to-close-all-but-one-russia-crossing-point-to-stop-asylum-seekers

Finland has said it will close all but one crossing point on its border with Russia in an effort to halt a flow of asylum seekers to the Nordic nation, as Estonia accused Moscow of mounting “a hybrid attack operation” on Europe’s eastern border.

The announcement on Wednesday came after weeks of tension on the 830-mile (1,330km) border across which Helsinki accuses Moscow of guiding refugees and migrants in an apparent act of revenge for the Nordic nation’s cooperation with the US.

From midnight on Friday, said the Finnish prime minister, Petteri Orpo, the only open border crossing of Finland’s eight stations would be its northernmost at Raja-Jooseppi.

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Yes -- pursuant to the new philosophy of getting tough with this stuff (a.k.a. "locking barn door after horse is stolen").  Thread recently posted in "master thread" about illegals, I think.

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Finland to close border with Russia for two weeks, prime minister announces – Europe live

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/nov/28/geert-wilders-netherlands-government-nato-migration-europe-latest-news

 

Is this Trump in disguise.

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11 hours ago, Boiler said:

Is this Trump in disguise.

Well, it ain't Bidementia...

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Russia is trying to recruit foreign migrants, detained in a recent sweep at its border with Finland, for its war in Ukraine.

The BBC has seen evidence of several cases in which foreigners were rushed into a military camp on the border with Ukraine, days after they were picked up for breaching immigration laws.

The practice of coercing people in pre-deportation detention centres to sign contracts for army service in Ukraine is not new, but the numbers swelled as foreign migrants arrived at Russia's 1,340-km (833-mile) border with Finland.

Finland temporarily closed all eight of its Russian border crossings, accusing Moscow of channelling migrants and asylum seekers there as part of a destabilisation campaign after the government in Helsinki joined Nato earlier this year.

Analysis of court hearings in Karelia, one of three Russian regions bordering Finland, showed that in the past three weeks, 236 people were arrested for staying in Russia without valid visas, destined for deportation. The picture was similar in the other two border regions of Leningrad and Murmansk.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67647379

 

Now another story which has Intersectionality at its core. 

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‘Too much sadness’: asylum seekers in Finland caught in geopolitical drama
Moayad Salami crossed from Russia after treacherous journey from Syria – but now the border has closed

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/11/too-much-sadness-asylum-seekers-in-finland-caught-in-geopolitical-drama

 

Saleh al-Meri, Salami’s roommate, crossed into Finland from Russia at around the same time. The 25-year-old graduate from Yemen was studying in Russia when he made several unsuccessful attempts to enter Poland via Belarus. He returned to Russia after having problems with his leg, which contains a bullet from a gunshot wound sustained in Yemen in 2019.

After paying a taxi driver $400 and being charged another $250 for a bicycle, he crossed the border on 17 November.

After the border closure, four of his friends tried to follow the same route but were killed in a taxi crash in Russia after they were refused entry to the border. “There’s too much sadness about this story,” he said.

In Finland, he wants to do a master’s, and to bring the rest of his family over from Yemen. He is especially concerned for his father, who is wanted by Houthi rebels.

“I want all my friends to come here,” he said, adding that many have been forced to stay in Russia after the closure of the Finnish border. “One of my friends is already in jail because his visa expired and they said they will send him back to Yemen.”

 

French left and right unite to stop migration bill

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67683314

 

MPs from the far right, far left and moderate right and left voted on Monday to reject the bill.

The government says the bill aims both to control immigration and better integrate migrants.

The left argues its measures are too repressive, while the right says the version presented to parliament is not tough enough.

The bill would make it easier for the government to expel migrants who are sentenced to prison sentences of five years or longer and make it more difficult for migrants to bring family members to France, among other measures.

It is, however, significantly more lenient than a draft proposed by the Senate, the upper house of parliament which is dominated by the right, which would have severely reduced access to healthcare and benefits for illegal migrants.