Denmark to vote on refugee family reunion bill

Migrants, mainly from Syria, walk on a highway near Rodby, Denmark on September 7, 2015.

“Denmark is in a situation where we have received so many asylum-seekers in the past year that our very small – you know we are one of Europe’s smallest countries – our welfare economy is under a lot of pressure”, said Marcus Knuth, a Danish government spokesman.

Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen’s liberal Venstre party won the vote with the support of the Social Democrats and the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party. 70 others and one MP abstained were not present.

Wedding rings and other items of sentimental value will be exempt.

Immigration Minister Inger Stojberg told legislators after the three-hour debate that she welcomed the engagement generated by the bill, which comprised more than a dozen measures.

A spokesperson for the Danish government confirmed that body and luggage searches will be carried out but said asylum seekers will “always be able to keep assets which are necessary to maintain a modest standard of living, e.g. watches and mobile phones”. Several nightclubs have imposed strict admission rules, requiring patrons to prove their ability to speak Danish, German, or English. The initial draft of the law included a lower threshold – around $436 – and didn’t include any exceptions to confiscated items.

Denmark is not the only country targeting refugee possessions, reports Reuters. It expects a further 25,000 asyum seekers to arrive this year, Stojberg said.

‘So the criticism that all of a sudden we were doing something wrong we find highly, highly unfair.

“The alternative is that we continue to be [one of] the most attractive countries in Europe to come to, and then we end up like Sweden”.

People who have suffered tremendously, who have escaped war and conflict, who’ve literally walked hundreds of [kilometers] if not more and put their lives at risk by crossing the Mediterranean should be treated with compassion and respect, and within their full rights as refugees.

“All Danish citizens and refugees coming here receive universal health care; you receive education from preschool to university, and you receive elderly care; you receive language training and integration training free of charge, paid for by the government”, Jensen said of the proposal, according to CNN.

The measures, which include extending the reunification time period after which family members outside can rejoin refugees in the country from one year to three years, were passed by an overwhelming majority on Tuesday.

Denmark had already tightened its immigration laws past year, reducing benefits for asylum seekers, shortening temporary residence permits and stepping up efforts to deport those whose applications are rejected. Denmark’s Parliament is expected to vote allow police seizing valuables wort…