Exorcising fallen angels in migrant garb
IN the movie, “The Pope’s Exorcist” (based on the true story of Fr. Gabriel Amorth), the chief exorcist of the Diocese of Rome knew from his over 30 years and 100,000 exorcisms that to exorcise the possessed child, he must call out the name of the King of Hell himself — Asmodeus.
Otherwise, the devil and his legions of 200 rogue angels scattered over 900 godforsaken places will raise an army and destroy the Church. From reel to real.
The Church may be represented by the Five DestiNations — the United States, Canada, Australia, the UK and New Zealand.
Each of these countries — including the UK in Europe — is said to be threatened by an invasion of evil hordes. Unless stopped, the nation will suffer economically, culturally and demographically.
Britain’s sacked home secretary, Suella Braverman, has warned Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that “the Conservative Party under his leadership faces “electoral oblivion” if Sunak does not intensify the crackdown on illegal immigration.
Braverman — of Indian origin herself — said migrant numbers were “putting unsustainable pressure on public finances and public services, undermining community cohesion, and jeopardizing national security and public safety.”
Further, Braverman claimed that the Labor Party’s Human Rights Act allows foreign terrorists, rapists and pedophiles “who should have been removed but are released back into our communities where they reoffend ... because of their human rights.”
Current Home Office Minister James Cleverly continues the policy of his predecessor, adding international students into the exorcism fray.
In February 2024, a Home Office official blog announced that workers and foreign students could not bring their dependents and raised the minimum income for family visas to 38,700 pounds at par with skilled workers’ earnings threshold.
The impact is shown in the Home Office’s report: a reduction of 300,000 migrants/students. (https:// www.gov.uk/government/publications/legal-migration-statementestimated-immigration-impacts/ legal-migration-statement-estimated-immigration-impacts-accessible)
One devil going down, four to go.
The name of the devil is ‘Immigrant’
In the US, the undisputed Republican presidential nominee also warns of an invasion that America has never seen before.
Donald Trump said: “This invasion … is like a military invasion. Drugs, criminals, gang members and terrorists are pouring into our country at record levels. We’ve never seen anything like it. They’re taking over our cities … poisoning the blood of our country.”
Evidently, the name of the evil that these countries seek to cast away, the devil inside the nation’s body, is “Immigrant.”
And there will be no deal with the devil.
After four months of lobbying and amendments, a bipartisan group of US senators unveiled an $11.8 billion deal on border, aid for Israel and Ukraine, described by President Biden as “the toughest and fairest set of border reforms in decades.”
Both the majority and minority Senate leaders — Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell, respectively — gave their blessings to the bill that would finally secure the southern border of the United States.
Then, GOP’s exorcist-in-chief went social, encouraging Republicans to reject the border deal “unless we get everything” that the Republican Party has demanded. It is an open secret that Trump wishes to use the border and immigration issue in his expected presidential campaign against President Joe Biden.
The bill must have a House counterpart to move forward.
House Speaker Mike Jonhson immediately warned that “even if it meets that bar in the Senate,” it is doubtful that he “would bring it to the floor in the House, where hard right lawmakers are vehemently against it.”
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell retracted his support because Trump’s “hostility to the agreement” complicates the bill, despite his strong backing of the proposed border compromise and efforts to send tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine. McConnell retreated to the camp of the MAGA GOP.
Meanwhile, 326,415 legal immigrant visa applicants still must get their interview appointments at consular posts worldwide, according to the National Visa Center’s March 2024 visa backlog report.
Two devils down. Three to go.
‘The devil we know’
Australia took a less conjuring act.
Aware that Australia alone cannot solve the country’s persistent labor shortage, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) opted instead to simply reduce the number of skilled workers from overseas without sponsors (subclass 189 skilled independent) from 32,100 to 30,375 and limited those with regional, state and territory sponsors: skilled regional — from 34,000 to 32,300; state and territory nominated — from 31,000 to 30,400.
Instead, the government’s migration planning levels for 20232024 increased the number of employment-sponsored skilled workers from 35,000 to 36,825.
Spraying the needed skilled workers with the holy water of restrictions apparently gives fewer migrants and international students an aura of acceptability.
At the beginning of the new academic year this month, Australia’s universities reported “historically high applications from international students to study in 2024.”
ICEF Monitor says, “Almost 1 in 5 study visa applications were refused in the first half of Australia’s fiscal year (July 2023-June 2024), regarded as “a higher rate of refusal than in the past three years” — and an expected 90,000 fewer foreign students admitted in the academic year.
Three devils down, two to go.
Immigrants to blame
With a series of municipal, mayoral and provincial by-elections this year, followed by the 45th federal election in October 2025, Canada’s elected and top officials have put the blame for the housing crisis and lack of jobs for native Canadians squarely on the shoulders of immigrants and international students.
After issuing more than 650,000 study permits in 2023, Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced a two-year cap on new international student permits, which will result in just 360,000 study permits this year.
This is on top of a multi-year immigration plan that aims to admit 485,000 new immigrants in 2024, 500,000 in 2025, and 500,000 in 2026.
A large majority of Canadians believe that higher immigration is fueling the housing crisis and putting pressure on the health care system.
According to an October 2023 Leger poll, “about three-quarters of respondents agreed the increase in immigrants is adding strain to both the housing market and health-care system.”
Nearly two-thirds of respondents, or 63 percent, said the volume of newcomers is also adding pressure to the country’s education systems.
This national sentiment was not lost on Minister Miller, who announced that “as for the target admission levels for the next three years, Canada would stop ramping up immigration from 2026 onwards, as the country grapples with high inflation and a housing crisis.”
Four devils back to migration hell, the last one remaining to smite.
Following the steps of the churches of the UK, the US, Canada and Australia, New Zealand changed its permanent migration rules, altering the 100 points minimum to qualify to just 6 points. The 94-point reduction is illusory. Previously, overseas skilled workers may qualify for permanent residency by getting 100 points and 180 points to be invited. Now, only skilled workers who have worked for two years in specific occupations with higher wage thresholds may apply.
International students must have studied a degree level 7 qualification or above. The qualification must also be on the Qualifications Eligible for Post Study Work Visa list, and the job must be related to the qualification earned; proof of funds was raised to NZ$20,000.
After graduation, these students face the two-year work requirement to qualify for residency.
In 2023, New Zealand Immigration posted that of the 3,557 study permit offshore applications from the Philippines, only 1,943 were approved — a 55 percent decline. Last angel in migrant garb down. As one of Miley Cyrus’ lyrics prophesied: “Angels like you can’t fly down hell with me.”
And the exorcism rites continue.