Sweden: government plans to deport “dishonest” migrants

The Swedish government announced on Tuesday that it wanted to require migrants to commit to living “honestly”, opening the way to expulsions for association with criminal groups or threats “to Swedish democratic values”.

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“A prerequisite for successful integration is that people who want to live in Sweden also adhere to basic standards and live honestly,” Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said at a press conference. with the Sweden Democrats (SD), a far-right party which supports the government.

The Swedish executive will launch a review of Swedish legislation to see if it is possible to invoke specific grounds to revoke residence permits, said Gender Equality Minister Paulina Brandberg.

She has already given examples of “failures in lifestyle”, such as welfare fraud, debt, drug addiction, illegal means of living, association with criminal groups and extremist groups “threatening the fundamental Swedish values.

This revision of the law will have to examine “whether it is possible and appropriate to include statements which seriously threaten Sweden’s democratic values”.

“A basic principle of Swedish immigration law is that only Swedish citizens have an unconditional right to reside in Sweden,” Ludvig Aspling, spokesperson for the Sweden Democrats responsible for migration issues, told journalists. .

A former judge, Robert Schott, will have to render his conclusions by mid-January 2025.

For his part, Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer announced that he had requested a report on the possibility of extending the revocation of nationality, particularly in cases of serious crimes, terrorism or lies when applying for nationality .

In some cases, this would amount to rendering certain people stateless.

“I personally see no objection to it. But this is part of a review and we will see what comes out of it,” Strommer told Swedish public radio.

Conservative leader Ulf Kristersson came to power last year by forming a majority bloc with the support of the SD. He is committed to fighting immigration and crime.

Sweden has received large numbers of immigrants since the 1990s, mainly from conflict-ridden regions including the former Yugoslavia, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran and Iraq .