On Tuesday, 7 April 2009, more than 100 undocumented migrants and supporters marched from the refugee café "Refugees Welcome" to the Department of Social Affairs and the Department of Migration of the Canton of Zurich. They demanded valid identity papers and protested against their identity cards being taken away.
At both offices, the refugees left a letter of protest, in which they demanded official identity cards. Some of the sans-papiers only have a small paper issued by their emergency centers. However, these papers won't protect them from police repression. Also, they can't get certain items at the post office or borrow books in libraries with this paper.
The protesters pointed out that since the occupation of a church in winter 2008/09, systematic police controls in and around emergency centers have increased. After the occupation, the Department of Migration of Zurich forbid the emergency centers to issue provisional identity papers. Especially refugees, who have to move from one center to another every week were stripped of their identity papers.
The undocumented migrants argued, that this way they're deliberately subjected to repression. They protested against their attrition and criminalization by the authorities. Neither at the Department of Social Affairs nor at the Department of Migration, the responsible officials appeared to receive the letter.
A 10-minute film documents the demonstration and refugees explain the context of their protest.
