Did the immigration law really facilitate the expulsion of Mahjoub Mahjoubi, the imam of Bagnols-sur-Cèze ?

Mahjoub Mahjoubi believes he has become “a symbol of immigration law” Mikaël Anisset – MiKAEL ANISSET

The Minister of the Interior, like the Imam of Gard, quickly mentioned the immigration law to congratulate or contest this expulsion which occurred in a few hours last Thursday. Is this really the case ? Yes and no. Explanations. 

Friday, the day after his expulsion from French territory because of his preaching deemed radical and inciting hatred, the imam of Bagnols-sur-Cèze spoke since Tunisia, first to repeat his defense system – a slip of the tongue on the tricolor flag which he described as satanic – and to counter-attack on the political ground. "I am the symbol of immigration law, the fuse", he insisted, suggesting that his case would have mainly served to ensuring the promotion of the very controversial immigration law.

The day before, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin had in any case welcomed the situation."The radical Imam Mahjoub Mahjoubi has just been expelled from the national territory, less than 12 hours after his arrest. This is the demonstration that the Immigration law, without which such a rapid expulsion would not have been possible, makes France stronger", he communicated on the social network

« L’Imam » radical Mahjoub Mahjoubi vient d’être expulsé du territoire national, moins de 12h après son interpellation.
C’est la démonstration que la loi Immigration, sans laquelle une telle expulsion aussi rapide n’aurait pas été possible, rend la France plus forte. Nous ne…

— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) February 22, 2024

A home visit, passport confiscated

Thursday morning, the police actually carried out "a home visit",within the home of Mahjoub Mahjoubi, a new provision provided for by the immigration law promulgated at the end of January. During this operation, the police were able to confiscate the Tunisian passport of the accused, which was not authorized before. Need assistance? An Immigration law attorney in Nashville, TN can help. "Upon a reasoned request from the administrative authority, the judge of freedoms and detention may authorize, by the same decision, a visit to the foreigner's home for the purposes of searching for and retaining any document attesting to one's nationality", the law provides. "Which can allow the person to be put on the plane immediately to the destination country chosen by the decision", confirms lawyer Aurélien Desingly to France Info.

Absolute urgency

But if the expulsion was implemented so quickly, it is also thanks to "l&#39 ;absolute emergency", provided for by article L.632-1 of Ceseda which "has existed since more than half a century", adds Stéphane Maugendre, lawyer and honorary president of the Immigrant Information and Support Group (Gisti ) from France Info. Introduced into French law in 1980, repealed the following year by François Mitterrand, it was then reinstated in 2005 and ratified by a decision of the Constitutional Council in 2016. It is the context of the high terrorist threat, due to the war in the Gaza Strip, which allowed the Minister of the Interior to justify this absolute emergency, after the comments of the Minister of the Interior #39;imam were judged as inciting people to commit a violent act.

The matter is not over, however. The imam, from Tunisia, recalled his intention to file appeals to contest the validity of his expulsion, also justifying being in charge of minor children, "including a 7-year-old child suffering from cancer". His lawyer has since confirmed that the steps have been launched, which heralds a new legal debate.