drag

FAILED asylum seekers and foreign offenders are being left in Britain for up to a year because their governments are dragging their feet over travel papers, a Home Office file reveals.

The official guide, published by the department, shows deportations are crippled by delays from overseas embassies.

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Egypt, Guinea and Burkina Faso are among the worst offenders — taking six to 12 months to issue the documents needed to put its citizens on a plane home.

By contrast, Italy, Belgium and Sri Lanka can turn the paperwork around in less than two weeks, while India averages one month.

But the file also shows no reliable timescale is available at all for dozens of countries — leaving removals at the mercy of slow or unpredictable foreign bureaucracies.

The delays mean some migrants remain in Britain long after their claims have failed, with taxpayers footing the bill for hotel rooms, benefits and legal fees while they wait.

Yesterday, fed-up protesters raised St George’s Cross and Union flags outside some of the 210 hotels being used to house migrants — as PM Sir Keir Starmer announced plans to overhaul the failing asylum system.

Among those targeted was the Castle Bromwich Holiday Inn in Birmingham.

Outside the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf, East London, a group of protesters gathered with one holding a banner that read: “Enough is enough protect our women and girls.”

Another said: “Tower Hamlets council house homeless Brits first.”

There were also protests outside the Holiday Inn in Solihull, West Midlands, and the Manchester South Hotel.

At least 15 people were arrested at protests relating to migrant hotels on Saturday.

Following the release of the Home Office file, Reform UK demanded ministers get tough.

Deputy party leader Richard Tice said: “Foreign countries know Starmer’s Britain is a pushover, so it’s no wonder they are dragging their feet when it comes to accepting deportations.

“Britain needs to start using its diplomatic and economic power.

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“Countries that refuse to take their criminals back should not get off scot-free but instead face serious sanctions.

“Unfortunately, with this meek Labour Government, we will continue to be seen as a meek nation on the global stage.”

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp also hit out, saying: “Countries that do not fully and promptly co-operate should suffer visa sanctions — where we don’t give visas to citizens of those countries to come here.

‘TOO WEAK’

“Then, they would pretty soon fall into line.

“The legal power exists to do that but this Labour Government is too weak to use it.”

There is currently a 106,000-strong backlog of asylum claim cases, including at least 51,000 appeals.

Last week, official statistics showed a record 111,000 people applied for asylum in the UK during the first year of Labour coming to power.

The Government has said its latest plans would introduce independent panels to hear appeal cases to speed up the process and deport failed asylum seekers quicker.

A new commission will prioritise cases of those living in costly asylum hotels and foreign national offenders.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “We cannot carry on with these completely unacceptable delays in appeals as a result of the system we have inherited, which mean that failed asylum seekers stay in the system for years on end at huge cost to the taxpayer.”

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She added: “Overhauling the appeals system so that it is swift, fair and independent, with high standards in place, is a central part of our Plan for Change.”

But the new scheme could take months to implement and record numbers of people continue to cross the Channel on small boats.

Tory Mr Philp said: “The Government is too weak to do what’s really needed — such as repeal the Human Rights Act for all immigration matters and deport all illegal immigrants immediately upon arrival.”

The Home Office said: “For some countries receiving returnees from the UK, establishing their identities and nationalities can take time.

“Where that is the case, we work with their respective governments closely to drive timings down to the minimum possible.”

Aug. 19 (UPI) — A federal appeals court barred West Texas A&M University from enforcing a ban on drag shows on campus, overruling a lower court’s decision that said drag shows did not necessarily enjoy First Amendment protections.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled 2-1 in favor of the LGBTQ+ Spectrum WT student group and two of its student leaders who sued the school in March 2023, after university president Walter Wendler unilaterally canceled their then-upcoming charity drag show by arguing such performances were comparable to blackface and against his religious beliefs.

The appeals court ruling puts a hold on Wendler’s ban, allowing the student group to host drag shows on campus amid litigation.

“FIRE is pleased that the Fifth Circuit has halted President Wendler’s unconstitutional censorship and restored the First Amendment at West Texas A&M,” JT Morris, supervising senior attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which filed the lawsuit, said in a statement.

“This is a victory not just for Spectrum WT, but for any public university students at risk of being silenced by campus censors.”

In March 2023, Spectrum WT was planning a drag show for adults on West Texas A&M University to raise money for the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit — but was barred from hosting the event by Wendler, who issued a ban on drag shows.

In a March 21, 2023, letter to students, Wendler stated he believes humans are created in God’s image and that drag shows do not preserve human dignity.

“As a performance exaggerating aspects of womanhood (sexuality, femininity, gender), drag shows stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminate against womanhood,” he said.

“Drag shows are derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny, no matter the stated intent,” he continued. “Such conduct runs counter to the purpose of WT.”

Spectrum WT then sued the school and held its performance off campus.

Before the court, Wendler argued that drag shows are not express conduct protected by the First Amendment right to free speech, and that drag shows should be restricted due to lewd conduct.

In September, the lower court agreed with Wendler that not all drag shows are inherently expressive and entitled to First Amendment protections, finding Wendler was right to cancel the performance because of “potential lewdness.”

Writing on behalf of the majority, Circuit Judge Leslie Southwick, a President George W. Bush appointee, said the district court erred by concluding the student group was not likely to succeed on the merits of their First Amendment argument.

“Because theatrical performances plainly involve expressive conduct within the protection of the First Amendment, and because we find that plaintiffs’ drag show is protected expression, discrimination among such shows must pass strict scrutiny,” Southwick said in the ruling.

“President Wendler did not argue, either before the district court or on appeal, that restricting the intended drag show would survive strict scrutiny.”

Southwick also found that the group suffered ongoing irreparable injury to their free speech First Amendment rights as Wendler had canceled their planned show and would permit no future shows going forward.

Circuit Judge James Ho, a Trump appointee, in dissent agreed that drag shows are not inherently expressive and that if universities allow men to act as women in campus events, such as drag shows, “they may feel compelled to allow men to act as women in other campus events as well — like women’s sports.”

“What a university allows in an auditorium, it might have to allow on an athletic field, too.”

UPI has contacted West Texas A&M University for comment.

Aug. 4 (UPI) — Florida’s Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier is demanding guest lists, surveillance footage and personal information from people who attended a drag Pride event in Vero Beach on June 29, according to Scott Simpson, organizer for Qommittee, a national volunteer network defending drag artists’ rights.

The group says that no laws were violated in the event, and Florida’s statewide “drag ban” has been blocked by federal courts. But state officials are “weaponizing existing laws to bully, intimidate, and surveil our community,” Simpson said.

Simpson’s group has publicized Floridians’ rights and called for organizing.

“This is serious government overreach designed to intimidate drag performers into silence,” he said. “They want performers to stop performing. They want venues to stop booking drag shows. They want our community to stop gathering and celebrating who we are.

“Going to a drag show should not mean you forfeit your anonymity or land your name in a government database,” Simpson said. “We cannot let that happen. Every drag performer and venue in Florida must stay loud, stay proud, and protect themselves while continuing their art.”

This isn’t the first attack on Vero Beach’s drag community. Linda Moore, the vice mayor of Vero Beach, is being investigated by Uthmeier for a “Pride Tea Dance” held last month at the Kilted Mermaid, a wine bar she owns in the town on the Atlantic coast. But it’s unclear what charges Moore might face and questions remain concerning Uthmeier’s legal basis for the investigation.

Uthmeier’s office cited evidence that the event was promoted as being open to all ages and included sexualized adult performers who “wore revealing attire and burlesque outfits while interacting with the children.”

“In Florida, we don’t sacrifice the innocence of children for the perversions of some demented adults,” Uthmeier said in a statement.

But Moore said the bar has hosted it for at least the past five years.

“We have the event every year; it’s our gay pride event, and it is all ages,” Moore said. “It’s a family-friendly event, and then once the drag show actually starts, we tell the parents who have small children that they can’t stay for the show.”

Simpson’s Qommittee website clarifies drag performers’ rights and realities, as well as Florida’s laws on drag shows open to all ages versus shows for adults only. It also tells performers how to protect themselves if they’re targeted by government officials and to keep performing and keep showing up at drag shows.

“This intimidation campaign wants us to self-censor out of fear,” Simpson said. “We will not give them that victory.”

Ilona Verley, who rose to fame in the first season of Canada’s Drag Race, was involved in a car accident last week that left them with serious injuries.

The beloved Two-Spirit drag performer revealed the shocking news in an Instagram post uploaded on 24 June.

“This past week, I almost lost my life, I’m really scared & traumatized about what the future holds,” Ilona wrote.

“I’m so thankful to my dear sister @kikiwannakaikai for working with my mom @sandiverley to put this @gofundmeca together to help with my recovery.

“Any support financially or via sharing is so appreciated from the bottom of my heart, I am so thankful to be a member of so many incredible communities who have raised me, now I ask please help me heal.”

Additional information on Ilona’s injuries was revealed on their GoFundMe page, which was created to help raise funds for their medical expenses.

“Their injuries include: A bone deep laceration across the forehead into the upper nose, A deep laceration in one eyebrow, Broken nose (including exterior gashes), Dislocated Jaw, Severe abrasions across the entire left side of their face, Concussion, Fractured spine, Full-body trauma & deep tissue bruising,” the description revealed.

“Ilona has been fitted with a soft spinal brace and is on a majority bed rest for the next month – 2 months. Further spinal injuries are suspected, unfortunately, at this time, will be non-visible on initial imaging until scar tissue develops often 5-7 days later (this will be reassessed at a follow up appointment this coming week).

“Ilona will be scheduled to a rehabilitation program once well enough and cleared by doctors to move on from bed rest when their body allows, and will remain under their mother’s care during this time.”

Since creating their GoFundMe account, Ilona has raised $20,000 (CAD) out of their $24,000 goal.

The funds will help cover “monthly living costs during the first month – 2 month initial recovery and the many unexpected medical expenses that are not covered during this critical healing period.”

Ilona is also set to receive support from their drag mother, Alma Be, who’s raising money for their recovery with a local event titled Pidge Fest.

“‘She almost Pidged for real!’ Hello Vancouver, a little over a week ago, my drag daughter @ilonaverley was involved in a terrible accident. She sustained many injuries that will require her to be out of commission for the next few months,” Alma announced on Instagram.

“A successful GoFundMe has been running for the past few days where people far and wide have been able to show their love for Ilona. I wanted to throw a local event, and I’m happy to say that 10 drag artists have graciously donated their art, and we will be putting on a show right here on Davie Street! If you know Ilona, then you know how often she says Pidge and all the different meanings The word carries.”

Our thoughts are with Ilona as well as their family, friends and fans.

For more information on their GoFundMe, click here.