Latest news with #amnesty
The National
a day ago
- Politics
- The National
UAE arrests 32,000 over six months in visa overstay crackdown
More than 32,000 people were arrested for flouting UAE visa rules in the first half of the year under a renewed crackdown launched following the end of a nationwide amnesty campaign. About 70 per cent of those held for breaches of entry and residency rules between January and the end of June were subsequently deported, the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP) said on Tuesday. Authorities had previously warned that enforcement action would be stepped up after the four-month visa amnesty drive, which ran from September 1 to December 31. Maj Gen Suhail Al Khaili, director general of the ICP, said the inspection campaigns would continue, in an effort to ensure all sections of society abide by the law. He said visa offenders and others assisting them would face legal action and financial fines if caught out and urged employers against hiring illegal workers. Why was amnesty campaign important? The government's visa amnesty aimed to offer a reprieve to people living in the country without valid documentation, who may be reluctant to come forward due to fears over being jailed or fined. It gave them a crucial grace period to settle their legal status or leave the country without facing legal action or heavy financial penalties. It is also an opportunity for many to step out of the shadows and grasp the chance of a fresh start – whether in the UAE or back in their home country. There are several reasons why people may try to remain in the country without valid documentation. Although some may be seeking to evade detection, others will have lost jobs and businesses or split from a spouse, leaving them without a sponsor. More than 236,000 people living in Dubai alone without valid residency documentation benefited from the UAE government's visa amnesty drive, officials said before the close of the scheme. What are the visa rules? Most residents living or working in the UAE have a two or three-year visa in their passport. That has since been replaced with the Emirates ID. In April 2022, visa changes were introduced by the UAE Cabinet and more categories were added. This included an expansion of golden visas and the introduction of green visas, with several of the new categories aimed at self-employed people and business owners. The new rules came into effect in September that year. What are the overstay fines? The financial penalty has been standardised at Dh50 a day for tourists or residents who overstay their visas, following updates by the ICP in October 2022.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Michael McDowell pushed for British amnesty for IRA members without trial, UK files reveal
Michael McDowell argued as attorney general in 2000 that the British government could avoid a struggle to pass Westminster legislation to give 'on-the-run' IRA members an amnesty. Instead, Mr McDowell, who is now a member of Seanad Éireann, repeatedly suggested that the British could use a centuries-old law to grant pardons without prosecuting any of them. This seems to have been met with astonishment by British officials. The difficulties posed by Sinn Féin's demands for 'on-the-run' IRA members – some of whom were sought for offences such as murder – to be given guarantees features in British archive files released on Tuesday. The treatment of the IRA 'on the runs', better known simply as 'OTRs', became a major controversy in 2014 when it was revealed that nearly 300 IRA members had been given so-called 'comfort letters' saying they were not then wanted by British police. READ MORE The issue emerged in February 2014 when John Downey, an alleged IRA member, faced trial in London for the July 1982 Hyde Park bombing, which killed four British soldiers and seven horses. His Old Bailey trial collapsed when it emerged that he had received his comfort letter in 2007 even though there was an active warrant for his arrest. The trial judge halted the trial after ruling this was an abuse of process. Under Mr McDowell's proposal in 2000, which went farther than the comfort letter tactic later used, the British government would have been able, he said, to avoid bringing strongly opposed immunity legislation before Westminster. The idea 'first surfaced' at a meeting between Irish and British officials in Dublin in early November 2000 when the British side was told Mr McDowell believed London could grant 'pardons before convictions' to IRA members. The proposal was outlined in greater depth to the British side in November 2000 at 'a hastily arranged' meeting, where Mr McDowell was described in a British note as being 'quite a student of the English legal system, and admired its flexibility'. However, British officials doubted the idea from the off, saying a royal pardon could be used only after sentence, while a free pardon could expunge the effects of a conviction. Mr McDowell came back to his idea when he was included in the Irish delegation, which included Bertie Ahern , then taoiseach, which travelled from London with British prime minister Tony Blair for an EU meeting in Zagreb, Croatia, shortly afterwards. Here, Mr McDowell again argued that wanted IRA members could be given 'a prosecution amnesty', citing the decision by the British not to prosecute Soviet spy Anthony Blunt for treachery. 'His basic thesis seemed to be that our legal system was sufficiently flexible to allow immunity to be granted without the need for primary legislation,' the Northern Ireland Office's political director, Bill Jeffreys, told an official in the British attorney general's office. He said he had told Mr McDowell his proposal ran counter to the views of the British attorney general, who was 'unwilling' to give immunity to individuals on general public interest grounds. However, if Mr McDowell was arguing that the Northern Ireland secretary of state could 'pre-empt prosecution in a whole class of cases' then that would be 'an entirely new departure'. Widening the grounds for immunity 'seemed to me to run entirely against the trend, and would be very difficult to justify in today's conditions, when we would be expected to seek the necessary powers from parliament', Mr Jeffreys also said. Separately, the files also show the efforts Sinn Féin made to ensure leading IRA figures in the United States such as Gabriel Megahey would not be deported. Now, 25 years later, they are now facing fresh expulsion attempts by Donald Trump's administration. Bill Clinton , US president at the time, had wanted to 'tie off the loose end' created by the six men's issues before he left office, fearing the incoming George W Bush presidency would be less sympathetic. In 1997, US secretary of state Madeleine Albright 'persuaded the US attorney general to suspend deportation action' against the men on 'the foreign policy grounds that it would contribute to the NI political process'. The importance of the OTR issue to Sinn Féin is evident throughout the files, with the party's Gerry Kelly 'grumbling' to Northern Ireland Office officials 'that the lack of movement was causing Sinn Féin great difficulties'.
Al Jazeera
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
New amnesty law for human rights abuses in Peru prompts fury, action
Lawyers for victims of human rights abuses committed during Peru's decades-long armed conflict have pledged to appeal to international bodies to overturn a law passed by the country's Congress, which would grant amnesty to prosecuted military and police members, as well as other forces. 'We're not only going to the domestic arena to seek its invalidation, but we've already taken some action at the international level,' lawyer Gloria Cano, director of the Pro Human Rights Association, said during a news conference on Thursday. A congressional commission on Wednesday approved the bill granting amnesty to members of the armed forces, national police and local self-defence committees, said legislator Alejandro Cavero, third vice president of the country's Congress. Cano also said her association had already alerted the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and planned to go to the United Nations, as well. After the Peruvian Congress passed the bill, Volker Turk, the UN's national human rights coordinator, said on X that 'impunity does not hide the crime, it magnifies it.' Amnesty International earlier urged the legislature to side with victims and reject the bill. 'The right to justice of thousands of victims of extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, torture, and sexual violence would be violated,' the rights group said on X. A coalition of human rights organisations in Peru said the new law could wipe out 156 convictions and another 600 cases that are being prosecuted. The law, which awaits President Dina Boluarte's approval, benefits uniformed personnel who were accused, are still being investigated or are being tried for crimes stemming from their participation in the country's armed conflict from 1980 to 2000 against left-wing rebels. Boluarte has not made any comment on the amnesty, even before its passage. The bill was presented by Congressman Fernando Rospigliosi, from the right-wing Popular Force party of Keiko Fujimori, daughter of the late former leader Alberto Fujimori. Fujimori's decade as president from 1990 was marked by ruthless governance. He was jailed for atrocities – including the massacre of civilians by the army – but released from prison in 2023 on humanitarian grounds. The new law specifies that a humanitarian amnesty will be granted to people more than 70 years old who have been sentenced or served a prison sentence. Critics have warned that the legislation would hinder the search for truth about the period of violent conflict, which pitted state forces against Shining Path and Tupac Amaru rebels, and killed about 70,000 people. 'Granting amnesty to military and police officers cannot be a reason for impunity,' Congressman Alex Flores of the Socialist Party said during debate on the bill. There have been numerous attempts in recent years to shield the military and police from prosecution in Peru for crimes committed during the conflict – but opponents of amnesty have found success before at international bodies. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has at least twice previously declared amnesty laws in Peru invalid for violating the right to justice and breaching international human rights standards. Human rights advocates believe that Peru's membership of the Inter-American System of Human Rights and the obligations this entails make the amnesty law unconstitutional. Amnesty laws passed in 1995 in Peru shielded military and police personnel from prosecution for human rights abuses committed during the conflict, including massacres, torture, and forced disappearances. Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that the majority of the conflict's victims were Indigenous Peruvians caught between security forces and the Shining Path. It also found that there are more than 4,000 clandestine graves across the country as a result of the two decades of political violence. In August 2024, Peru adopted a statute of limitations for crimes against humanity committed before 2002, shutting down hundreds of investigations into alleged crimes committed during the conflict. The initiative benefitted the late Fujimori and 600 prosecuted military personnel.
Daily Mail
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump vows 'no amnesty,' signaling escalation of mass deportations
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday there would be no amnesty for illegal immigrants working on farms and in the service industries. His clarification comes weeks after he floated providing assurances for certain migrant workers to help the American farming industry. 'There's no amnesty,' Trump said. 'What we're doing is we're getting rid of criminals, but we are doing a work program.' Agriculture businesses have warned the White House of potential impacts they could face should they lose migrant workers, prompting Trump to reconsider deporting them. But on Tuesday administration officials were firmly against giving immigrant workers any leeway. 'There will be no amnesty, the mass deportations continue but in a strategic way,' Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a press conference Tuesday. 'Ultimately, the answer on this is automation, also some reform within the current governing structure.' Rollins then suggested those receiving Medicaid might want to take advantage of the openings left by migrants. 'And then also, when you think about, there are 34 million able-bodied adults in our Medicaid program,' she said. 'There are plenty of workers in America.' The last major mass amnesty in the United States occurred in 1986 when President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act into law, granting legal status to approximately 2.7 million undocumented immigrants. MAGA-aligned supporters of the president were quick to question his initial suggestion of an amnesty policy, fretting that an influx of new citizens would push large states like California into reliably Democratic turf. However, Trump's reversal was celebrated on the right. 'I am a hard no on any amnesty,' Florida Republican Rep. Randy Fine wrote on Tuesday. 'Deport them all.' Conservative pundit Charlie Kirk wrote: 'Yesterday, the internal D.C. Amnesty push got smoked out. Already, everybody is saying that amnesty is dead, a total nonstarter, won't happen. That's good.' The announcement comes as the White House's deportation push continues full steam ahead trying to remove the over 10 million migrants estimated to have illegally entered the country under President Joe Biden. Last month, Trump floated the idea of special treatment for migrant service workers during an interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo. 'I'm the strongest immigration guy that there's ever been, but I'm also the strongest farmer guy that there's ever been, and that includes also hotels and, you know, places where people work, a certain group of people work,' the president said at the time. 'We're working on it right now. We're going to work it so that, some kind of a temporary pass, where people pay taxes, where the farmer can have a little control as opposed to you walk in and take everybody away.' He also raised the possibility via Truth Social, writing: 'Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming.' He further elaborated on these sentiments in a press conference later that same day. 'Our farmers are being hurt badly by, you know, they have very good workers, they have worked for them for 20 years,' he said. 'They're not citizens, but they've turned out to be, you know, great. And we're going to have to do something about that. We can't take farmers and take all their people and send them back because they don't have maybe what they're supposed to have, maybe not.' At the time, Trump vowed there would be 'an order' coming soon. The Department of Homeland Security told the Washington Post the administration has carried out 239,000 deportations since inauguration. On Monday, Trump ramped up his deportation efforts as heavily-armed ICE agents stormed a popular park in downtown Los Angeles searching for illegal immigrants. Mayor Karen Bass (pictured) blasted the administration's 'military operation' and described the show of force as a 'political stunt' meant to 'terrorize immigrants.' Immigration agents were seen roaming through MacArthur Park and driving through the streets in armored tanks while some were patrolling on horseback. 'This morning, I went to MacArthur Park where I saw federal agents, military vehicles and federalized troops – another example of the administration ratcheting up the chaos by deploying what looked like a military operation in our American city,' she said. 'What I saw today looked like a city under siege and under occupation.' Bass said children were at summer camp when the ICE agents descended on the park. 'To have armored vehicles deployed on the streets of our city, to federalize the National Guard, to have the U.S. Marines who are trained to kill abroad, deployed to our city – all of this is outrageous and it is un-American,' she added. The mayor emphasized that 'there are entire sectors of our economy that rely on immigrant workers.' The constant raids across Los Angeles have driven the migrant workforce into hiding, sparking concerns over the sanctuary city's already rocky economic state.
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Mass deportations to escalate as Trump vows 'there will be no amnesty' for migrants
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday there would be no amnesty for illegal immigrants working on farms and in the service industries. His clarification comes a week after he floated providing migrant workers with amnesty for certain industries that rely on immigrant labor. 'There's no amnesty,' Trump said. 'What we're doing is we're getting rid of criminals, but we are doing a work program.' Agriculture businesses have warned the White House of potential impacts they could face should they lose migrant workers, prompting Trump to reconsider deporting them. But on Tuesday administration officials sung from the same playbook. 'There will be no amnesty, the mass deportations continue but in a strategic way,' Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Tuesday at a press conference. 'Ultimately, the answer on this is automation, also some reform within the current governing structure.' 'And then also, when you think about, there are 34 million able-bodied adults in our Medicaid program. There are plenty of workers in America,' she added. The last major mass amnesty in the United States occurred in 1986 when President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act into law, granting legal status to approximately 2.7 million undocumented immigrants MAGA-aligned supporters of the president were quick to question his initial suggestion of an amnesty policy, fretting that an influx of new citizens would large states like California into reliably Democratic turf. However, Trump's reversal was celebrated on the right. 'I am a hard no on any amnesty,' Florida Republican Rep. Randy Fine wrote on Tuesday. 'Deport them all.' Conservative pundit Charlie Kirk wrote: 'Yesterday, the internal D.C. Amnesty push got smoked out. Already, everybody is saying that amnesty is dead, a total nonstarter, won't happen. That's good.' The announcement comes as the White House's deportation push continues full steam ahead trying to remove the over 10 million migrants estimated to have illegally entered the country under President Joe Biden. Last month, Trump floated the idea of special treatment for migrant service workers during an interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo. 'I'm the strongest immigration guy that there's ever been, but I'm also the strongest farmer guy that there's ever been, and that includes also hotels and, you know, places where people work, a certain group of people work,' the president said then. 'We're working on it right now. We're going to work it so that, some kind of a temporary pass, where people pay taxes, where the farmer can have a little control as opposed to you walk in and take everybody away.' The Department of Homeland Security told the Washington Post the administration has carried out 239,000 deportations since inauguration.
