In September, an amendment to a sweeping immigration bill proposed the use of genetic testing to verify the bloodlines of would-be immigrants who want to join family members already living in France.This amendment is vociferously rejected by many in France including the Urban Affairs Minister who is threatening to resign over the issue. A few days ago the new Immigration Museum opened in Paris with Sarkozy and his Immigration Minister glaringly absent from the low-key festivities.
What many people don't know is that Canada has been asking many immigrant parents wanting to reunite with children left behind in their home country to submit to DNA testing. This has been going on under the radar for 16 years. Refugee-rights groups here say the costs are prohibitive, and it disproportionately targets people from war torn countries, where documents are often untraceable. I first heard of this practice a few years ago when I worked for a politician and met with a Rwandan family who were being forced to submit to this procedure or forget about bringing their two children to Canada from Rwanda where they were living with elderly grandparents. About 1000 of these tests are conducted in Canada each year. Read more.
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