Europe Gets Tough: Sweden and Netherlands Crack Down on Illegal Migration

Sweden which used to be a country that was friendly to immigrants is now paying them to go back home. Currently, Sweden’s government wants to offer up to $34,000 to immigrants who are currently living in the country without legal documents on the condition that they will have to leave the country and go back to their home countries.

This is a huge improvement compared to the previous offer which was around 978 USD per adult. The government believes this will make as many people take the offer and leave Sweden to avoid the consequences of the Coronavirus.

New stringent measures on irregular migration to the Netherlands underway

The Netherlands is also tightening its screws on the issue of Illegal migration. The new Dutch government led by Geert Wilders’ party has plans to bring drastic changes in the way they handle asylum seekers and illegal immigrants.

Here’s what the Netherlands plans to do:

1. Declaring an “asylum crisis” enables a reaction to be made without seeking parliamentary authorization.

2. Cease issuing of the open-ended asylum permits

3. No asylum seeker should be allowed to bring his or her family members into the country easily.

4. Perhaps suspend all new asylum applications for about two years

5. Tightening a country’s borders about human trafficking and migration laws.

The Dutch government claims that these steps are required to address issues in housing, healthcare, and education. This is because the Dutch government led by the minister in charge of migration, Marjolein Faber, wants to make the Netherlands as unfriendly as possible to asylum seekers.

New Perspective of Europe about Illegal Migration

Sweden and the Netherlands are not an exception to this rule, as they belong to the overall picture in Europe. Most countries are now putting measures that seek to limit the influx of aliens in their countries and control immigration. This is so as more voters cast their votes for political parties that seek to limit the number of immigrants in the country.

What is the reason European countries are doing this?

1. Concerns over the expenses incurred in the hosting of immigrants

2. Concerns about cultural changes

3. Stress on public facilities such as housing and health are some of the problems faced.

4. Political parties that employ the anti-immigration card in their campaigns

These new policies may have issues. There are rules in the European Union about how the countries should be treating asylum seekers and some of these new plans may not be in line with the rules.

What This Means For Immigrants and Asylum Seekers

For those, who would like to immigrate to Europe or for those people, who are already in Europe, but do not have any documents, life can become worse. Governments that were once liberal about immigration are now seeking ways of minimizing the number of people who can come into the country or those who can overstay.
While Europe struggles with processes of illegal migration and channel crossing, other countries will follow the same practice to secure their borders. Maintaining the equilibrium between assisting needy people in other countries and responding to domestic issues continues to be a major issue of concern to most European countries.