18,000 Illegal Aliens, But Missionary Faces Deportation
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A new report from state statistics bureau SSB estimates that the number of undocumented immigrants in Norway is twice that previously thought. Meanwhile, an 80-year-old American immigrant is being told to leave the country.
Politicians from two of Norway’s conservative parties, the Progress Party and the Christian Democrats, are protesting the pending deportation of Douglas McQueen.
The Progress Party usually takes a hard line against immigration, but thinks an official order that McQueen leave the country by July 15 is both punitive and inhumane.
“Here we have a person who has behaved well, and we reward that by throwing him out of the country,” said Jan Arild Ellingsen of the Progress Party. “McQueen has become a victim, while people who are here illegally for a very long time get to stay. That, to me, is completely unreasonable.”
McQueen left the US more than 50 years ago, to do missionary work overseas. He’s been based in Norway for several years, but now an immigration appeals board has turned down his attempt to become a permanent resident.
“It was a surprising message to get,” McQueen told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). “It’s getting tougher and tougher every day.”
Several Norwegian church groups refuse to accept McQueen’s deportation order. Bishop Tor B Jørgensen thinks the authorities don’t understand a missionary’s lifestyle.
Jan Sahl of the Christian Democrats plans to bring the case up in Parliament when it reconvenes in the fall. “I’m assuming he won’t be deported on July 15,” Sahl said.
A group that helps immigrants and refugees in Norway, SEIF, has estimated there are between 5,000 and 10,000 illegal aliens in Norway, living a life in hiding. Some experts are skeptical of SSB’s estimate of 18,000, not least because it’s hard to document undocumented persons.
Immigration agency UDI is financing two projects aimed at learning more about the status of illegal aliens in the country.
(Posted on June 24, 2008)
Comments
Just saw between the lines on this one, maybe… Could it be that they cut him loose because as a missionary he was for and working toward letting in all the others they don`t want?!? Hmmm…
Posted by Tim Mc Hugh at 7:54 PM on June 24
Norway is drinking the poison, and carefully straining out anything that might be healthy.
Posted by Schoolteacher at 8:10 PM on June 24
You know, Tim Mc Hugh may have a valid point. Just maybe, due to the high rate of missionaries siding with illegals, they might possibly want this guy out of the country. It would be interesting to see what the govt. has to say on this one. One must question the reasons this American missionary has for staying in Norway. I would like to see what he has been working on there.
Posted by roller at 10:33 PM on June 24
Well, Norway is very secular, so a missionary presence isn’t really that suspicious. But I do agree that we need to know all of the facts first.
Posted by at 11:02 AM on June 25
What sort of missionary is he?
Why are they deporting him?
Eaxctly what activities is he engaged in that they object to?
Who are these church groups that are objecting? Do they have a name?
This is a very poorly written article that leaves much unexplained. It is not possible to have an opinion or to comment with so little information. I read some of the other afticles on the Aftenposten, and they were equally vague and poorly written. Is this representative of the quality of Norwegian journalism today? If so, it’s rather pathetic.
Posted by ghw at 4:11 AM on June 28