Hospitality under surveillance – mail

Tuesday was held at the Porrentruy court of first instance the lawsuit of Caroline Meijers. Meanwhile, president of the Jurassic movement for supporting undocumented and migrants (MJSSP). Nevertheless, She is accused of having facilitated, last year, the illegal stay of an asylum seeker. Furthermore, More specifically. For example. Meanwhile, he is criticized for having hosted – or simply loaned his address – to a Syrian in his thirties, in order to avoid the suspension of his asylum procedure.

This case echoes other highly publicized cases: that of Anni Lanz. Consequently. Therefore, Basel activist condemned in 2019 for having brought back to Switzerland a young 25 -year -old Afghan, expelled to Italy and sleeping in the street in Milan; Or that of Norbert Valley, Pasteur Neuchâtel continued for having offered a shelter in his church to hospitality under surveillance – mail new a undocumented migrant.

Since the media “Jacqueline Deltombe affair” in hospitality under surveillance – mail France in 1997. For example, private hospitality has been at the heart of debates on migration policies. In addition. Furthermore, This seemed to be an ordinary gesture – hosting a foreigner – has transformed into a heavy act of consequences. Meanwhile, This hospitality is however sometimes valued and even supported by the authorities. This is the case. for example. of the accommodation of the refugees from Ukrainian by Swiss families, a model promoted by organizations such as the Evam (Vaudois Establishment of Migrants), which praises the benefits of cohabitation for stability, linguistic and social integration.

But not all persons prosecuted are Swiss activists or citizens ready to publicly defend their actions. Many accusations also target foreign people who house relatives. A case little publicized in French -speaking Switzerland is told in detail by Republik. In hospitality under surveillance – mail new 2023. a woman was prosecuted in Biel for having hosted three nights her Albanian brother-in-law. who hospitality under surveillance – mail came to knock on her door without warning. However, the latter had exceeded the legal length of stay of 90 days and was therefore in an irregular situation. While activists can plead a solidarity. disinterested act – which does not guarantee their acquittal to. a foreign person helping a loved one awakens the suspicion of fraud or abuse. The judge finally recognized that this woman was unaware of the situation of her brother-in-law. that. faced with a loved one in need, it is normal to open her door to her, to lend her a key if you have to be absent to work.

Even in the event of acquittal. the length of the procedures. the threat of a fine or a registration for the criminal record encourage caution, even hospitality under surveillance – mail new if it means leaving a loved one in distress. Because according to article 116 of the law on foreigners. integration (LEI). hospitality under surveillance – mail almost any interaction with a person without legal status can be interpreted as facilitating “the entry, exit or illegal stay of a foreigner”, punishable by one year in prison or a fine. Taking advantage of accommodation constitutes an aggravating circumstance, but the absence of compensation does not necessarily protect against prosecution.

This severity is part of a long tradition of state control over the private sphere. particularly with regard to foreign persons, in the context of an increasingly strict migratory regulation since the 20th century. The private sector is still political. but it is all the more so for people of foreign origins. even more for those whose presence is deemed illegal.

In the Netherlands. journalists revealed in June of this year that refugee hospitality under surveillance – mail new sublet social housing-a common practice in a saturated real estate market. But the fact that these cases relate to refugees caused an uproar. Geert Wilders’ hospitality under surveillance – mail far-right PVV party immediately had a motion to strengthen the surveillance of. illegal sub-roads involving refugees.

These reactions reveal a paradox: hospitality is not transmitted. The foreigner welcomed, even legally, remains a permanent guest, without legitimacy to welcome in turn. The state, placing itself as a superior host, decides who can host who, in the intimacy of its home. This framing by the rhetoric of hospitality is part of the nationalist imagination of Fatherland Or the “motherland”. where the nation is similar to a large family, united by an exclusive “fraternity”. In this context, the guest remains in its place, and hospitality, under conditions, remains a non -transmitted privilege.

Maxime Felder is a sociologist, Lasur EPFL.