The European Parliament has voted in favour of plans to establish offshore return hubs for migrants with no legal right to stay in the EU, raising concerns among human rights groups about potential abuses. The proposal, backed by an alliance of centre-right and far-right MEPs, aims to increase the deportation rate of undocumented migrants, which currently stands at only one in five.
Under the new rules, individuals deemed a security risk or likely to abscond could be detained for up to two years, an increase from the current 18-month limit. The legislation also introduces criminal sanctions for obstructing return decisions and grants authorities broader powers to impose lifetime entry bans and conduct age checks to determine if someone is under 18.
The vote paves the way for EU member states to strike deals with non-EU countries to create return hubs, where deported individuals would be held pending removal to their home countries. Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Greece, and Denmark are already working together to establish such hubs outside Europe. Unlike the UK's abandoned deal with Rwanda, the concept applies to people denied asylum, not those seeking to make a claim.
Critics, including the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner, have warned that these hubs could become 'human rights black holes' where monitoring is impossible, leading to prolonged detention and legal limbo. The International Rescue Committee described the vote as a 'historic setback for refugee rights', while French Green MEP Mélissa Camara called it a 'vote of shame' that could result in the detention of children without proper legal grounds.
The proposal, adopted with 389 votes in favour, 206 against, and 32 abstentions, now moves to negotiations with the EU Council of Ministers to finalise the law. Far-right MEP Charlie Weimers proclaimed that 'the era of deportations has begun', signalling a shift in the parliament's traditionally more moderate stance on migration.
