The European Union has finalised a new regulation aimed at increasing deportations of undocumented migrants, allowing authorities to conduct home raids and detain individuals for up to 30 months. Critics have accused the EU of creating a system similar to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Trump administration.
The regulation, agreed in talks between the European Council, Parliament, and Commission, enables national authorities to search homes and seize belongings to enforce deportation orders. People deemed uncooperative or a flight risk can be detained for up to two years, extendable to 30 months, compared to the current 18-month limit. Benefits may also be cut for those refusing to comply.
The law also permits the creation of offshore return hubs outside the EU, where undocumented people would be held pending deportation. Several EU countries are in talks with African nations to establish such centres, though no agreements have been announced. Detention of unaccompanied minors and families with children is allowed as a last resort, with consideration for the child's best interests.
EU officials hailed the law as a key step in migration management. Magnus Brunner, the European commissioner for migration, said it gives 'more control over who can come to the EU, who can stay and who needs to leave.' However, critics argue it weakens procedural rights and endorses harsh enforcement. Mélissa Camara, a Green MEP, said the text 'endorses ICE practices by allowing authorities to conduct home raids.'
The agreement follows a shift to the right in the European Parliament after the 2024 elections. Regina Doherty, an EPP lawmaker, said the law targets those who have been found not to have the right to remain, not legal migrants. Silvia Carta of the Platform for Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants warned it would 'expose hundreds of thousands of people to harm and violence.'
The regulation caps a lengthy overhaul of EU asylum and migration procedures launched in 2020, aiming to avoid a repeat of the 2015 migration crisis. Currently, only about 20% of people with no right to stay in the EU are successfully returned.
