Latest news with #Amadou
Boston Globe
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Citizens of nowhere
Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Some stateless people entered the United States and remain here legally, protected by asylum or another status. But like many undocumented immigrants, most live in the shadows, careful not to attract attention and unable to do anything that requires state identification. As such, many are unable to find regular work and can only get by on jobs that pay cash and don't ask too many questions. Others take the risky step of fighting for asylum, work authorization, and other protections. Advertisement Like other undocumented immigrants, some people who are stateless remain in the country illegally because they also have nowhere to go. Amadou was allowed to temporarily reenter the United States by the Biden administration. He lives in Ohio with his family. Huiyee Chiew One such stateless person is Amadou, a 59-year-old electrician from Mauritania, who arrived in the United States more than 25 years ago, fleeing conflict that had broken out between his home country and Senegal. (Amadou is a pseudonym. His name is being withheld to protect his identity.) Advertisement Like thousands of others without nationalities, he became a citizen of nowhere for reasons beyond his control. People may become stateless because they are born to parents without nationalities — one of the world's largest groups of stateless people are the Rohingya, a Muslim minority group who live in Myanmar and face persecution. Or they live through the dissolution of their home country, like Yugoslavia or the Soviet Union, or more recently Sudan or South Sudan, or their government restricts access to citizenship for some groups — like the Bedoons, an Arab minority in Kuwait, who Born and raised in Arab-dominated Mauritania, Amadou lived an uneventful life until a border dispute erupted with neighboring Senegal in 1989. The conflict escalated into ethnic violence, and the Mauritanian government stripped tens of thousands of Black Mauritanians of their citizenship and expelled them to Senegal. Amadou was one of them. Left with nothing and without any legal documents, he survived by doing farmwork. He often went hungry. In 2000, he fled to the United States in the hope of getting asylum. To enter the United States, he used a passport obtained by a friend with connections in the Mauritanian government. Amadou knew the passport deal was illegal, but he had no other choice. He was able to use the fraudulent passport to apply for a US tourist visa and boarded a flight for New York. Once here, he applied for asylum. In the years waiting for his asylum petition to be decided, he lived in Ohio, working as an electrician. But in 2007 his petition was denied and he was ordered to leave the country. The irony is that Amadou's asylum petition was denied in part because the court said that the conditions in Mauritania had improved and that he was unlikely to face persecution if he returned — which would have been relevant if Amadou was indeed still a citizen of that country. Advertisement Lynn Tramonte, the director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, is familiar with Amadou's case. She has witnessed how a lack of understanding among lawyers and immigration judges about statelessness in cases involving Black Mauritanians often leads to deportation. 'Every day [people like Amadou] get a reminder that no country claims you. It's like you are a ghost. But you are still a person,' says Tramonte. Amadou's former attorney, Aneesha Gandhi, says he was not immediately deported in 2007 because Immigration and Customs Enforcement was unable to obtain travel documents for him from the Mauritanian government — unsurprising given that it had revoked his citizenship. So instead, he was placed under an order of supervision and allowed to remain and work in the United States until a solution could be found. That meant reporting regularly to ICE. Amadou says he never missed a check-in. He complied with ICE's requirement to apply for travel documents through the Mauritanian embassy, but the officials there ignored his requests. As an electrician, Amadou always carries his helmet and tool bag to work. Huiyee Chiew And so years passed. Amadou worked in construction, married, and had three children. He and his wife, who is undocumented, settled down in an Ohio suburb. He allowed himself to believe he would be able to stay in the United States, even if he couldn't figure out a path to legal residency. ICE officials had told him so. Advertisement Amadou lives by his grandfather's words: 'Make it good, make it well, make it right.' He focused on working hard, paying taxes, following the law, and raising a happy family. But being stateless, he knew his life could be upended in an instant, no matter how hard he worked to make his immigration status right. Then Donald Trump took office in 2017. Stateless in the age of Trump President Trump has called the asylum system the ' Unlike the Obama administration, which prioritized the deportation of people who had recently been ordered to leave and allowed both ICE attorneys and immigration officers more discretion in individual cases, the first Trump administration targeted all noncitizens who had outstanding orders of removal, old and new, according to the In late 2018, ICE arrested Amadou without warning during a routine check-in. The officers, he recalled, were aggressive, questioning how someone like him with a removal order could have children here. He did not answer but lowered his head. They handcuffed him and took him into custody. Amadou's wife became the family's anchor after his deportation. Huiyee Chiew Amadou spent eight months in ICE detention before authorities finally obtained a temporary travel document to deport him back to Mauritania. The catch: His travel document, issued by Mauritania, only allowed him to stay in that country for 90 to 120 days. (The Mauritanian embassy did not respond to questions about Amadou's case.) Advertisement When Amadou landed in Mauritania, immigration officers barred him from entering the country, saying, 'You are not a Mauritanian.' With nowhere else to go, Amadou traveled to neighboring Senegal to meet relatives of his with the help of a friend. The only things he had were a cane to help him walk, because of a quickly deteriorating necrotic hip, and a plastic bag holding some clothes. 'You don't have papers, you don't have anything,' Amadou said. Back in Ohio, Amadou's family struggled to stay afloat. They didn't see Amadou again for six years. Living in limbo At the end of 2024, Amadou was granted humanitarian parole by the Biden administration, allowing him to temporarily enter the United States. He returned to his home in Ohio. Amadou's humanitarian parole, however, has an expiration date. He is now trying every possible avenue to find a legal way to stay. He has reason to worry. President Trump has called for mass deportations, enhanced ICE enforcement, and the rollback of parole programs. In January, he suspended asylum applications at the southern border, citing an ' Samantha Sitterley, a staff attorney at The bill, first introduced by Representative Jamie Raskin and Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland in 2022, addresses statelessness by establishing a federal definition, determination procedure, protective status, and a pathway to permanent residency and citizenship. It was written by advocates and experts in the field, including United Stateless, and stateless individuals themselves. If passed, the bill could end the legal limbo for stateless persons like Amadou. Advertisement But the chances of passing the bill seem slim for now. Realistically, Sitterley said, the Department of Homeland Security should at least adopt a statelessness definition to ensure a more consistent and humanitarian approach toward stateless people. David Baluarte, a law professor specializing in immigration at the City University of New York School of Law, and who previously worked with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on a study of statelessness, recalled that when he started working on the issue during the Obama administration, few even knew what 'stateless' meant. And although awareness has grown, political will to do anything about the problem has not. 'The perception [of the current administration] is that they [immigrants] are the problem: 'We need to get rid of them,'' he says. 'Congress is not going to prioritize immigration legislation right now.' He is also concerned about attacks on birthright citizenship. If that constitutional right were taken away, the United States would face a growing stateless population of children born within its borders to undocumented and stateless immigrants. Amadou prays regularly and gives thanks to God for helping him get through difficult times. Huiyee Chiew For Amadou, life remains uncertain. But his years away from his family have shown him to embrace what time he does have with them. After all, everything could change tomorrow.
Identity
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Identity
DJ Snake Drops 'Patience,' a Cinematic Reimagining of Amadou & Mariam's Iconic 'Sabali'
DJ Snake has unveiled 'Patience', a stunning new music video that reimagines Amadou & Mariam's beloved 2008 track 'Sabali' into a soul-stirring meditation on migration, identity, and heritage. Shot in Senegal and directed by Valentin Guiod, the short film stars acclaimed French actor Omar Sy alongside cameos from Amadou & Mariam themselves—marking one of the duo's final appearances following Amadou's recent passing. Blending striking visuals with emotional depth, 'Patience' tells the story of a young man's journey across borders, capturing both the beauty and heartbreak of displacement. 'Each time, I try to explore new inspirations,' DJ Snake said. 'I'd never really touched on West Africa, and this time, it all came together naturally. What's funny is, 'Sabali' means patience.' The video has already made waves on the global festival circuit, winning top honors at the Berlin Music Video Awards, Aesthetica Short Film Festival, and Kinsale Sharks. More than a visual companion, 'Patience' stands as a political and cultural statement—deeply personal for Snake, the son of Algerian immigrants, and Omar Sy, whose roots trace back to Senegal and Mauritania. Watch the music video here! DJ Snake – Patience (with Amadou & Mariam) (Official Short Movie) DJ Snake – Patience (with Amadou & Mariam) (Official Short Movie) Support SOS MÉDITERRANÉE's missions here: Listen to 'Patience' here: Join DJ Snake's Discord Server: Follow DJ Snake: Instagram: TikTok: Twitter: Website: CAST Sekou: Omar Sy Moudou: Alassane Diong Aida: Anna Thiandoum Assane:
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
French police fine black and Arab men ‘for being undesirable'
French police are fining young black and Arab men and chasing them out of public spaces for being 'undesirable', a report has found. Défenseurs des Droits, an independent citizens' rights organisation, criticised Paris police for engaging in what it said was systemic racial profiling to expel 'undesirable' people from city streets. The 37-page document describes an 'institutional policy' designed to discriminate on the basis of age, gender, ethnic, racial and economic status. Groups of young racialised men are 'evicted' or dispersed 'without observing any criminal or antisocial behaviour', authors say. The study looked at 1,200 fines and interviewed 44 young people. While the word 'undesirables' doesn't exist in the Code of Criminal Procedures, it is one of the most often-used options for categorising and filing reports in police software. Human rights groups have condemned French police for alleged ethnic profiling before. But the newest report also looks at how the practice of issuing repeated tickets and fines, which became widespread in Paris in the mid 2010s, can plunge young men into crippling debt as high as €32,000 (£27,500) even before their 20s. During the pandemic lockdown, for example, respondents interviewed for the study were stopped and fined 140 times more than the rest of the population. 'Although barely adults or still minors, these young men accumulate numerous fines and find themselves owing the state debts sometimes amounting to several thousand or even, in some cases, tens of thousands of euros,' the report stated. One young man, Amadou, received his first fine at the age of 14 and had since averaged 15 fines a year. At 19 he had accumulated 102 fines and a debt load of almost €32,000. Even before they enter the workforce, these young men are set up for failure and poverty in a cycle that predominantly hurts those from immigrant and working class families, the authors wrote. 'Repeated fines have significant long-term economic impacts for populations already in precarious situations, who are often unable to pay the amounts demanded,' they said. Abdul, 26, was diagnosed with a serious illness in 2020 and did not work for two years. When he returned to the workforce in 2022, the government automatically deducted €700, or half his salary, to pay down his debt of about €8,000. He has since gone back on benefits. 'If I kill myself so they take €700 from me every month, I might as well stay on welfare,' he said. Lamine, 24, was born in France to Malian parents who are both maintenance workers. He is now a binman and his salary is deducted every month to pay off his fines. For the study, authors compiled the fines of 19 respondents who averaged 38 between them and owed debts from €2,000 to €32,500. The average age of the men was 20. Collectively, this sample group owed €220,000 (£188,700). The fines included minor offences such as spitting, littering or 'noise pollution'. 'Combined, the amounts of these debts are disproportionate to the minor nature of the offences these fines punish,' the authors wrote. Police dispersal of youths also reinforces the idea that the young men, most of whom are born in France to immigrant parents, are 'out of place' in their own neighbourhoods, legitimising calls for the exclusion of marginalised populations, the authors claim. Police officers interviewed for the study acknowledged that some dispersals were carried out without disturbances being reported. The report also denounced locals who call the police on the youths, and use pejorative words such as 'harmful', 'gangs' and 'scum'. They also used racialised language such as 'young North African men' to describe them, again reinforcing the idea of 'undesirables' hanging about the neighbourhood. 'We ask them to leave because we know we'll be called by the residents. It's preventive,' one officer said. Laurent Nuñez, the Paris police chief, denounced the report as defamatory and cast doubt on the researchers' methodology, which he called 'more than questionable'. Expressing his 'frank indignation' at the report, he said: 'More than their blind questioning and recurring discrediting, these police officers ... need to be supported.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
French police fine black and Arab men ‘for being undesirable'
French police are fining young black and Arab men and chasing them out of public spaces for being 'undesirable', a report has found. Défenseurs des Droits, an independent citizens' rights organisation, criticised Paris police for engaging in what it said was systemic racial profiling to expel 'undesirable' people from city streets. The 37-page document describes an 'institutional policy' designed to discriminate on the basis of age, gender, ethnic, racial and economic status. Groups of young racialised men are 'evicted' or dispersed 'without observing any criminal or antisocial behaviour', authors say. The study looked at 1,200 fines and interviewed 44 young people. While the word 'undesirables' doesn't exist in the Code of Criminal Procedures, it is one of the most often-used options for categorising and filing reports in police software. Human rights groups have condemned French police for alleged ethnic profiling before. But the newest report also looks at how the practice of issuing repeated tickets and fines, which became widespread in Paris in the mid 2010s, can plunge young men into crippling debt as high as €32,000 (£27,500) even before their 20s. During the pandemic lockdown, for example, respondents interviewed for the study were stopped and fined 140 times more than the rest of the population. 'Although barely adults or still minors, these young men accumulate numerous fines and find themselves owing the state debts sometimes amounting to several thousand or even, in some cases, tens of thousands of euros,' the report stated. One young man, Amadou, received his first fine at the age of 14 and had since averaged 15 fines a year. At 19 he had accumulated 102 fines and a debt load of almost €32,000. Even before they enter the workforce, these young men are set up for failure and poverty in a cycle that predominantly hurts those from immigrant and working class families, the authors wrote. 'Repeated fines have significant long-term economic impacts for populations already in precarious situations, who are often unable to pay the amounts demanded,' they said. Abdul, 26, was diagnosed with a serious illness in 2020 and did not work for two years. When he returned to the workforce in 2022, the government automatically deducted €700, or half his salary, to pay down his debt of about €8,000. He has since gone back on benefits. 'If I kill myself so they take €700 from me every month, I might as well stay on welfare,' he said. Lamine, 24, was born in France to Malian parents who are both maintenance workers. He is now a binman and his salary is deducted every month to pay off his fines. For the study authors compiled the fines of 19 respondents who averaged 38 between them and owed debts from €2,000 to €32,500. The average age of the men was 20. Collectively, this sample group owed €220,000 (£188,700). The fines included minor offences such as spitting, littering or 'noise pollution'. 'Combined, the amounts of these debts are disproportionate to the minor nature of the offences these fines punish,' the authors wrote. Police dispersal of youths also reinforces the idea that the young men, most of whom are born in France to immigrant parents, are 'out of place' in their own neighbourhoods, legitimising calls for the exclusion of marginalised populations, the authors claim. Dispersals without disturbances Police officers interviewed for the study acknowledged that some dispersals were carried out without disturbances being reported. The report also denounced locals who call the police on the youths, and use pejorative words such as 'harmful', 'gangs' and 'scum'. They also used racialised language such as 'young North African men' to describe them, again reinforcing the idea of 'undesirables' hanging about the neighbourhood. 'We ask them to leave because we know we'll be called by the residents. It's preventive,' one officer said. Laurent Nuñez, the Paris police chief, denounced the report as defamatory and cast doubt on the researchers' methodology, which he called 'more than questionable'. Expressing his 'frank indignation' at the report, he said: 'More than their blind questioning and recurring discrediting, these police officers ... need to be supported.'
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Solar boom counters power shortages in Niger
Solar panels like the ones on the roof of Elhadj Abdou's house are an increasingly common sight in Niger's capital, which is often hit by power cuts. "There are no more power cuts here and there are no bills to pay, everything works on solar energy," said Abdou, who lives in Niamey's Lazaret neighbourhood. Solar energy is booming in Niger, one of the world's sunniest countries, with sales of increasingly cheap solar panels going up and new projects coming online. An unprecedented energy shortage in 2023 proved a turning point. Neighbouring Nigeria suspended much of its electricity exports to the west African nation as part of regional sanctions against the ruling junta that toppled civilian president Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023. Haoua Amadou, Niger's energy minister, said the measure led the country's electricity production to fall by 30 to 50 percent and forced state-owned power company Nigelec to impose planned power cuts that can last several days, especially in Niamey. Nigeria has since resumed delivering electricity "but only providing 46 megawatts instead of the usual 80 megawatts", Amadou said. Despite efforts to strengthen local production capacity, Niamey is still subject to controlled power shutdowns. As a result, people and companies are increasingly turning to solar energy to fill the gaps. - New lithium batteries - "For the past two years, the solar market has been booming... demand remains high", said Djibril Tata, a solar equipment supplier whose sales are growing. Another supplier, Hilaire Houndegnon, said he too had been benefiting from the bonanza. "Business is good," said Houndegnon, reporting that sales had "more than doubled", with some 450 panels sold last year. Experts say that recent lithium batteries, which last longer than previous models, along with Niger's increasingly qualified workers have contributed to the solar boom. Panels, mostly imported from China, are regularly sold directly on the street. The abundant supply has made solar equipment more accessible. Prices for top-quality solar panels have been halved to under 50,000 CFA francs (about 75 euros). "Even on a small budget, you can power a few light bulbs, a television and a fan," said technician Mahamadou Issa. - Phone-charging for a fee - Ali Amadou, a fruit street vendor in Niamey, has acquired a tiny solar panel, turning it into a side business. "At night, I can turn the light on, during the day I charge cell phones," said Amadou, who charges about 100 CFA francs (0.15 euros) for the service. Solar power is also popular in remote rural areas for powering drinking-water pumps. International projects, funded by the World Bank or Arab humanitarian organisations, equip schools and hospitals to refrigerate vaccines and medicines. Access to electricity in the vast desert country remains below 20 percent but new projects are under way and the junta, whose goal is to reduce its foreign dependency, is expected to keep up the pace. Amadou, the energy minister, said a 19-megawatt project was under way near the central city of Agadez, while another more ambitious 200-megawatt project was among others being studied. The country has been plagued by violence from groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Since coming to power in 2023, the military rulers have severed relations with France, Niger's former colonial master. They have quit several international and regional organisations that they see as too subservient to France or failing in the fight against jihadism. bh/pid/djt/rlp-jj
