A/HRC/41/44 deportation by State authorities has been happening for several decades.20 In one European country, a number of citizens have been prosecuted and some have been convicted and given heavy fines for providing housing or sanctuary to migrants. 21 For instance, some members of an NGO, Refugees Welcome to the Arctic, were arrested in 2016 and charged with “assisting illegal residence” after trying to help Syrian refugees threatened with removal to another country move into a place of safety in a church. All three of them were fined by the public prosecutor. One of them refused to accept the fine and his case went to court. He was acquitted in 2017, on the basis that although he was careless and his behaviour risky, it had not been proved that it was criminal. 22 Prosecution or suppression of humanitarian lawyers who provide legal advice to irregular migrants 13. There have been instances of harassment and threats to immigrant rights lawyers. In April 2017, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, a respected NGO in one North American country that represents immigrants in deportation proceedings received a “cease and desist” letter23 from that country’s Department of Justice demanding that it drop representation of its clients and close down its asylum advisory programme. The NGO was accused of breaking a rule that was put in place to protect people from lawyers or notaries who take their money and then drop their case.24 They were, however able to successfully challenge the letter in court.25 Punishment of cities which provide sanctuary to irregular migrants 14. In some States, some cities have adopted and executed resistance or non-cooperation policies in opposition to certain legislation or actions taken by the central Governments of their countries that these cities have interpreted as inimical to the human rights of irregular migrants and refugees.26 That has often included the provision of affirmative benefits to them.27 Such cities have faced a backlash from their central Governments aimed at punishing or suppressing them for their adoption of this kind of oppositional stance. Prosecution or intimidation of humanitarians and others who participate in or support street protests in solidarity with irregular migrants 15. In one European country, lawsuits were instituted by the authorities in 2007 against some persons who had supported a national day of solidarity that was observed that year by pro-immigrant civil society groups and measures were later introduced that allowed the Government to gather and store information about supporters of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants.28 In another European country, some persons who participated in community protests against a raid on a migrant family were indicted and charged with breach of the peace.29 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 See Liz Fekete, Francesca Webber and Anya Edmond-Pettitt, “Humanitarianism: the unacceptable face of solidarity”, p. 3. Ibid., p. 55. Ibid. See Department of Justice, letter, 5 April 2017, available at www.nwirp.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/05/Dkt-1-1-exhibit.pdf. See Rachel B. Tiven. “The airport lawyers who stood up to Trump are under attack: the Department of Justice is perverting a rule to shut down immigration-rights lawyers”, The Nation, 19 May 2017. Northwest Immigrant Rights Project v. Sessions, order No. 2:17-cv-00716, available at www.nwirp.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Dkt-33-order-granting-tro.pdf. See Kristina M. Campbell, “Humanitarian aid is never a crime: the politics of immigration enforcement and the provision of sanctuary”. Ibid. See Liz Fekete, “Europe: crimes of solidarity”. Ibid. 5