Quick takesFrance’s emergency anti-terrorism laws; Russian air strikes’ toll; DHS deportation campaign
The French government plans to propose constitutional amendments aiming to shield state-of-emergency measures from legal challenges; Russian air strikes in Syria, which began 30 September. The Russian strikes have killed 2,132 people, a third of them civilians; DHS is set to launch a campaign to deport illegal immigrant families who arrived in the United States since the beginning of 2014.
France: Government to propose shielding emergency measures from legal challenges
The French government plans to propose constitutional amendments aiming to shield state-of-emergency measures from legal challenges. The new measure will also allow for stripping French nationals of their nationality. The government believes the changes are necessary to protect France from the threat of French nationals returning home after fighting in the ranks of ISIS. In the wake of the 13 November terror attacks in Paris, the French government announced a state of emergency for a period of three months. The special policing powers allowed by the state of emergency are based on ordinary laws which can be challenged at the constitutional court. The government’s proposed constitutional reforms require the approval of a three-fifths majority in the upper and lower houses of parliament. Debate on the proposal will start on 3 February 2016.
Syria: Russian air strike have so far killed 2,132 in Syria
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Tuesday released the latest figures relating to Russian air strikes in Syria, which began 30 September. The Russian strikes have killed 2,132 people, a third of them civilians, since they began on September 30. The breakdown of those killed: 598 ISIS fighters; 824 fighters from Al-Nusra Front and other rebel groups; 710 civilians, of whom 161 were children and 104 women.
Deportations: ICE to launch deportation raids beginning in January
DHS is set to launch a campaign to deport illegal immigrant families who arrived in the United States since the beginning of 2014. The raids will be conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and will likely begin in January. Much of the attention to border crossings since early 2014 has focused on unaccompanied minors, but at the same time about 100,000 families have made it across the border, fleeing violence in their home countries. The raids by ICE agent will target only undocumented immigrants who have been ordered by an immigration judge to be removed from the United States.
