The European Parliament has definitively approved a new EU law allowing the creation of controversial deportation centers outside the bloc and searches of residences; it was supported by conservatives along with far-right parties.
On Wednesday, the European Parliament approved a law aimed at speeding up the expulsion of migrants without legal rights to remain in the EU, thanks to support from center-right and far-right political forces.
The so-called "return regulation" has become the most stringent change to the bloc's migration policy in decades. It is considered controversial as it will allow EU countries to create deportation centers outside the union, known as return centers, based on agreements with non-EU states.
Such centers may be used as transit points where people await deportation to their country of origin, or as places for the long-term accommodation of migrants, including without a set time limit and without guarantees of subsequent expulsion. Only unaccompanied minors will be exempt from the measure, while families with children will be able to send them to these centers.
The law was approved by 418 votes to 218, with 30 abstentions. After the results were announced, supporters of the law applauded, while some right-wing deputies chanted, "send them back," referring to illegal migrants.
Deputies from the opposite side responded by chanting, "shame on you."
The vote confirmed the formation of a center-right majority in Parliament on migration issues. The center-right European People's Party (EPP) was again supported by the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, as well as the far-right factions "Patriots of Europe" (PfE) and "Europe of Sovereign Nations" (ESN). Several deputies from the liberal group "Renew Europe" also supported the bill.
However, the EPP still excludes formal cooperation with parties it considers excessively radical, including the German far-right "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) and the French "National Rally." EPP leader Manfred Weber has repeatedly rejected the possibility of official alliances with such forces.
Nevertheless, within the EPP, their votes are seen as key to tightening migration legislation, allowing for the formation of an alternative majority instead of the traditional centrist coalition of the EPP, Socialists and Democrats (S&D), and "Renew Europe."
Socialists and left-wing deputies generally opposed the law, arguing that it could undermine the basic rights of migrants.
"This regulation threatens to legalize legally questionable practices that would have been unthinkable in the EU just a few years ago," said Ana Catarina Mendes, Vice-President of the S&D group.
In addition to return centers, the new law also provides for the possibility of searches of the "residences or other relevant premises" of illegal migrants – a measure that NGOs and civil society representatives compare to the notorious raids of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Among other things, the law provides for longer detention periods, stricter entry bans, and new powers to search for illegal migrants.
The maximum detention period for illegal migrants awaiting expulsion is increased from six months to two years, with the possibility of a further six-month extension and no time limit for individuals deemed a security threat.
Entry bans are also significantly tightened: in most cases, their duration will increase from five to ten years, and for individuals considered a security threat, a lifetime ban is possible.
The law also changes the appeals process. Currently, deportation is automatically suspended during judicial proceedings. The new act removes this automatic guarantee, transferring the decision to suspend the return order to the courts on a case-by-case basis.
