Immigration bill: Centrist senators introduce text containing numerous censored measures

The group, chaired by Hervé Marcel, intends to review numerous right-wing measures introduced into immigration law in December. Measures rejected by the Constitutional Council as unrelated to the original draft, such as tightening the conditions for family reunification, the crime of illegal residence or increasing the conditions for access to certain social benefits for foreigners.

However, if these 32 censored articles were included in a specific law, the Constitutional Council would have to rule on the merits of these measures.

Introduced at the end of January and now registered with the Senate services, the centrist Union bill intends to include provisions “necessary for the implementation of a fair and effective migration policy” without “any distrust of the Constitutional Council,” according to the explanatory note to the text.

The centrist text includes 16 censored measures, some of which irked the president’s camp when they were included in a government bill in December after negotiations between the right and the government. So it plans to tighten the conditions for family reunification by increasing the length of residence required to qualify from 18 to 24 months, excluding spouses under the age of 21 from the system, and requiring applicants to have a “basic” level. French language. .

Gérald Darmanin rejects this idea

An extension of up to five years on the residence period required for foreigners who are not working to benefit from personal autonomy allowance and family benefits has also been reinstated. However, the centrists do not mention individual housing assistance (IHA), which was discussed a lot in December. Their text also proposes the crime of illegal residence, punishable by a criminal fine, as well as the impossibility for foreigners with an irregular status to benefit from discounts on transport in Ile-de-France. On the other hand, the much discussed deposit required of international students in France to plan their return is not integrated into the text, but they will nevertheless have to “prove annually” the “real and serious” nature of their studies.

These measures “were adopted by the Assembly and the Senate, I would like to believe that they can be adopted again,” assured Hervé Marcel after the Council’s decision. Republicans have asked the government to include these measures in the bill. At the moment, the LR group in the Senate has not announced its intentions regarding this centrist bill.

On the other hand, the door on the government side must remain closed. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin rejected the idea on Thursday evening on TF1.