An Algerian migrant, referred to as Medhi F., has been granted refugee status in France despite a past conviction for the sexual assault of a minor. Medhi F., who identifies as transgender, had been sentenced in 2019 to four years in prison for the crime against a 15-year-old.
In 2020, Medhi sought asylum with the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA), arguing that returning to Algeria would result in persecution due to his transgender identity. OFPRA rejected the application, but Medhi appealed the decision to France’s National Court of Asylum (CNDA). In 2023, the CNDA overturned OFPRA’s decision, claiming Medhi no longer posed a threat to society despite being a convicted pedophile.
OFPRA escalated the matter to France’s Council of State, but it upheld the CNDA’s ruling in July, declaring that being a convicted pedophile provides insufficient grounds to refuse or revoke refugee status by itself.
Former President Donald J. Trump has frequently lamented that “France is no longer France” and is warning against the U.S. following its path as a society ahead of the November elections.
“We’ve seen what happened when Europe opened its doors to jihad. Look at Paris, look at London; they’re no longer recognizable,” he said in May, adding, “We can’t let that happen to our country.”