On migration, Europe washes its hands by looking abroad

In a latest attempt at externalising migration management, Italy and Albania struck a deal that would see Italy building an identification and a deportation centre in Albania for people rescued at sea by the Italian coast guard and navy. The two centres, which would be paid for and staffed by Italy, should be operational from 2024, and should hold up to 3,000 people every month.

The deal immediately raised questions as to its impact on people transferred to the centres. Who would be held accountable for any rights violations in those centres? How could a person address violence and abuse, and what remedy would they get? What would happen to people in the deportation centre when no deportation would be possible, for instance because there are no readmission agreements between Albania and the country of origin?

As the Italy-Albania deal is being scrutinised by the European Commission, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the government's plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful, because it would put people at risk of being harmed and sent back from Rwanda to countries where they face persecution. The judges ruled that this plan would be unlawful even if the UK were to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights or repeal its own Human Rights Act.

The European Commission ruled out a similar deal between Austria and Rwanda, via an agreement with the UK, only days before the UK Supreme Court’s decision.

These latest attempts from European countries to externalise migration and border management put people in situations of increased vulnerability to violence and abuse during international transfers and inside far away centres, where they would be detained potentially for long periods, with unclear options to report and seek justice for such abuse.

What keeps missing is a truly new - and humane - approach focused on routes that allow people to move and settle in safety and dignity.

BORDERS

Finland: Frontex to deploy officers against people crossing from Russia

The EU's border agency Frontex is deploying 50 officers to Finland in response to an increase in people attempting to cross its eastern border with Russia. Finland plans to close all but its northernmost border crossing with Russia, with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo accusing Moscow of "systematic and organised action" to facilitate the entry of migrants.

Slovakia to deploy army at Hungarian border

Slovakia's new government announced the deployment of police officers and troops along the Hungarian border against people entering the country irregularly. Specific deployment details were not provided, but Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok stated that the government aims to deploy "massive forces" in border areas with Hungary where people are found to cross.

CHILDREN

Spain: migrant children wrongly classified as adults in Canary Islands

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, warn that Spanish police are incorrectly classifying many child migrants as adults, amid significant new arrivals in the Canary Islands. Amnesty International's investigation reveals 12 out of 29 interviewed migrants under 18 were wrongly labeled as adults, breaching Spanish and international laws. The authorities' failure to distinguish children from adults has led to overcrowded and inadequate conditions in detention centres.

DETENTION AND DEPORTATIONS

Belgium: minister wants to confiscate passports of undocumented people

Belgian Secretary of State for migration Nicole de Moor has proposed changes concerning Belgium’s return policy, to speed up the deportation of undocumented people. Such changes to national legislation include confiscating passports, assigning mandatory residence addresses, establishing "return offices" in 43 municipalities for individual case follow-up, alongside detaining people in closed centres. The proposal has been voted in first reading in the home affairs committee.

Germany: federal and regional governments agree on tougher migration policy

Chancellor Olaf Scholz and regional leaders in Germany have agreed on stricter migration policies that aim to speed up deportation procedures, ease home searches to establish migrants’ identity and limit social benefits for asylum-seekers. The federal government also agreed to look into whether asylum procedures could be carried out outside the European Union.

Nordic countries tighten cooperation on deportations

Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden are set to enhance cooperation in deporting undocumented people, as announced in a joint press conference in Copenhagen. The ministers have agreed to strengthen diplomatic cooperation and to organise joint flights through Frontex. They further vowed to “assist stranded irregular migrants in North Africa with voluntary return.”

HEALTH

France: Senate votes to suppress basic health coverage for undocumented people

In the first reading of the reform of the national immigration law, the French Senate voted several provisions that would seriously harm undocumented people in France.

The French Senate voted to eliminate the aide médicale d’Etat, which provides basic free healthcare for undocumented people, and replace it with "emergency medical assistance", which would only cover life-threatening conditions and acute pain. This was voted despite recent research showing that the current system is cost-effective and benefits public health overall. Thousands of French doctors oppose this reform and vowed to continue caring for undocumented patients.

The Senate further rejected the government’s proposal to automatically grant temporary residence permits to undocumented workers working in high-demand occupations, and instead made them? conditional on the prefect’s approval. The proposal does aim though to grant one-year residence permits to undocumented people who denounce their slumlords.

The text voted by the Senate restricts access to citizenship, family reunification and social benefits for regularly residing third-country nationals, and speeds up deportation procedures. The reform will be examined by the other chamber of the French Parliament (Assemblée Nationale) in the coming weeks. More info can be found on NGO Le Gisti’s dedicated page.

JUSTICE

UK: hundreds of domestic abuse victims reported to immigration enforcement

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales revealed that hundreds of victims of domestic abuse have been reported to immigration officials by all 43 police forces in England and Wales, along with the British Transport Police, over the past three years. The Commissioner emphasized that this practice discourages victims from coming forward and enables perpetrators to avoid justice, and called for firewalls to prevent such reporting and ensure justice for all victims.

RESIDENCE PERMITS

Sweden: government considers withdrawing residence permits for “shortcomings in lifestyle”

The Swedish government is considering legislation that would allow the withdrawal of residence permits of people who “do not adhere to basic norms and live in an honest and well-behaved way," according to Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard. This could involve circumstances like holding debts or suffering from substance abuse. Former judge Robert Schott is mandated to explore potential grounds for revoking residence permits, with a final report expected at the start of 2025.

?

WORK

EU proposes platform to match non-EU workers with EU employers

The EU Commission has proposed the creation of an online platform, the EU Talent Pool, to enable employers and job-seekers in third countries to match based on skills, particularly in sectors facing labour shortages. The platform does not change the EU’s restrictive work permit rules. Participation in the platform will be voluntary for each EU country.

UK: migrant workers’ exploitation linked to employer sponsorship scheme

In a new report, the Work Rights Centre documents how exploitation faced by thousands of migrant workers in the UK is due to failures in the country’s employer sponsorship system, and its prioritization of immigration control over workers' rights. For instance, workers who are scammed into fake jobs fear their visa will be cancelled if they report it to the Home Office, and feel they have no alternative but to accept being exploited or to take on risky and precarious cash-in-hand jobs. The report recommends reforms to reduce migrant worker dependency on sponsors, the creation of a special body for reporting abuse, and the appointment of a migrant commissioner to develop a welfare strategy for migrant workers.

PUBLICATIONS

Action Aid Italy, Detained: An X-Ray Examination of the Immigration Detention System in Italy

Fundamental Rights Agency, The European Border and Coast Guard and fundamental rights

?

BOOKMARKS

?? Bruzz reports about the prevalence of undocumented people in emergency shelters in Brussels. [Dutch]

?? In a new podcast, La Cimade tells the stories of people ordered to leave France. [French]

?? The Guardian reviews myth-busting book ‘How migration really works’ by Hein de Haas. [English]

?? InfoMigrants reports about irregular migration from the Kerkennah Islands, Tunisia. [English]

???? Jacobin writes about the strikes of undocumented workers building the Paris Olympic Games infrastructure, and their calls for decent work and residence permits. [English]

?? PICUM sums up recent research about the effects of regularisation on people in Geneva, Switzerland. [English]