Officials are almost constantly talking about getting tough on migration all across Europe. In Sweden, it appears as though they are actually ready to take serious action.
Whereas in England, for example, lawyers can always be relied upon to find the most ludicrous ‘reasons’ for criminal migrants not to be deported, Sweden Democrat Justice Committee chairman Henrik Vinge this week said:
It is good that greater consideration is given to the perspective of the victim and the public rather than the perspective of the criminal.
This followed the announcement of new measures designed to bring about a sixfold increase in the number of criminal migrant deportations. A report also tells migration minister Johan Forssell that re-entry bans should be extended, “and in many cases not be time-limited at all.”
Special investigator Ola Sjöstrand suggests that the criteria for expulsion should be lowered to the “minimum level according to Sweden’s international commitments” and, significantly, that the examination of legal challenges should be conducted not by a general court but by the Migration Board.
Upon the report’s presentation, Forssell celebrated that “Sweden will now have the toughest regulations for criminal deportations in the entire Nordic region.”
Sweden currently deports around 500 criminal migrants each year. The government, encouraged by the Sweden Democrats, hopes to boost this figure to 3,000.
One obstacle to more removals has been prosecutors ‘forgetting’ to request deportations, according to Expressen. Vinge said on Wednesday that “previously, serious violent criminals and rapists have been allowed to stay in Sweden even though they should have been deported, because the prosecutor has failed to request deportation.
That will no longer be possible now.
The measures will now be sent to the Riksdag for approval. If they pass, enforcement should begin in January 2027.
