around forty irregular migrants ordered to leave their emergency accommodation

In Corrèze, around forty irregular migrants received a letter from the prefecture indicating that they had to vacate their emergency accommodation. The reason given is the over-occupancy of housing. A collective decided to help them.

Nadia (her first name has been changed) left Ivory Coast four years ago. There, she says she is in danger. When she leaves her native land, without resources, she crosses three countries in one year. Arriving in France, she gave birth to her daughter, now three years old. Since then, both have occupied emergency accommodation in Tulle. But a week ago, Nadia received an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF). “I spent almost four years doing the paperwork, volunteering, taking French lessons, going to associations, everything that was necessary to get regularized.she says. After all the steps I took, everything fell through.“

It was then that a second piece of bad news came for Nadia. Immediately, the Ivorian woman received a letter from the Corrèze prefecture ordering her to leave her accommodation. For her, who was about to be hired as a maintenance worker, it was a shock: “There, I just want to work, meet my needs, the needs of my daughter. To be like the others, that is. I don't ask for anything else.“

Like Nadia, in Tulle, three families, or a dozen people, are ordered to move as quickly as possible. To justify these expulsions, the prefecture invokes a “suroccupation“emergency accommodation. In a press release, she assures that she is working”the acceleration of exit pathways from emergency accommodation to supported housing solutions (CHRS, social housing, rental intermediation, etc.) in order to free up places“However, regarding illegal immigrants, she specifies that “people in an irregular situation and who do not meet the conditions for regularization cannot access assisted housing“, and that the state services will begin “procedures for implementing obligations to leave the territory“.

When the OQTFs were issued, a citizen collective was formed to help them. “We are told that emergency reception places must be freed up to accommodate other people, while [les personnes expulsées] could leave these places to be completely independent if they had authorization to work“, deplores Dominique Grador, of the “Corrèze Solidarité” collective.

In Corrèze, around forty migrants are subject to orders to leave their emergency accommodation. A meeting with the prefecture is planned for November 7. The collective wants to offer sponsorship of these refugee people by citizens. In the meantime, Nadia and the other families hope to be able to maintain their habitat.