By Chinasaokwu Helen Okoro
A new migration proposal unveiled by the European Union on Tuesday has revealed plans to step up the deportation of people with no legal right to stay in the bloc.
It also suggests allowing member countries to set up so-called “return hubs” in non-EU countries where rejected asylum seekers would await deportation.
The new plan would also create common regulations across the 27-member bloc so that immigration authorities can enforce a deportation order issued by another EU country..
Currently, only about one in five people ordered to leave the bloc actually do.“It needs to be clear that when someone is issued a return decision, they are actually being told to leave, not just the country, but the entire European Union,” said EU Commissioner for Migration, Magnus Brunner.“
To support this, we are creating the possibility for member states to directly enforce return orders issued by another member state without having to go through all the procedures again.
Another national procedure from scratch.”We are creating the scope for member states to explore new solutions for return,” Brunner said at a press conference in Strasbourg.
The EU wouldn’t be setting up the centres but wants to create a legal framework that would allow states to negotiate bilaterally with non-EU countries willing to take rejected asylum seekers.
Current rules only permit EU countries to deport rejected asylum seekers back to their country of origin or a country they transited from, unless they agree otherwise.
Immigration remains a highly sensitive topic in most of the bloc’s member states and comes after EU leaders demanded “innovative solutions” to deal with the issue.
The plan has faced heavy criticism from rights groups who say it undermines the right to asylum and opens the door to the prolonged detentions.
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