Sweden may expel up to 80000 asylum seekers

Sweden is planning to deport up to 80,000 asylum seekers over the next few years, a government representative said on Thursday.

The proposed measure was announced as Europe struggles to deal with a crisis that has seen tens of thousands of migrants arrive on Greek beaches, with the passengers – mostly fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan – undeterred by cold wintry conditions.

But he later tweeted to say he had not taken a position on how many migrants had grounds for asylum, it being a matter for the authorities and the courts.

“You can seek asylum in Europe but there are a lot of safe countries where you won’t be troubled by war and persecution, so you don’t necessarily have to end up in Sweden”, said Victor Harju, a spokesperson for the interior ministry.

According to a report from the Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri, 45 percent of asylum applications from 2015 are likely to be rejected.

“Minister Johansson said: “(We must act) otherwise we would basically have free immigration and we can’t manage that”.

“I think it is in any event 60,000 people, but it could be up to 80,000”, Mr Ygeman was quoted as saying by the Dagens Industri paper.

Sweden’s migration agency has been put on alert to deport up to 80,000 asylum seekers this year, a month after Stockholm reversed its open-door policy and introduced ID checks on its borders.

It is also working on making it more hard for companies to hire immigrants without proper documents to decrease the incentives to stay in Sweden. After Germany, the country was the top destination for asylum seekers previous year.

He estimated that Sweden would reject around half of the 163,000 asylum requests received in 2015.

Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday said the United Kingdom will give sanctuary to unaccompanied child refugees from Syria and regions around it, but won’t take in 3,000 of them who have already reached Europe, reported the BBC.

Diederik Samson – leader of the Socialist PvdA party, a key partner in the government – told De Volkskrant newpaper that a core group of nations should be willing to accept a set number of refugees coming from Turkey, if the other migrants can be sent back.

MACEDONIA and SERBIA: Macedonia has begun to intermittently close its Greek border, allowing passage only to refugees wishing to go to Germany or Austria.

In late 2015, Sweden reinstated border controls for all travelers to the country, which includes those from EU-member countries.

Almost a quarter of Switzerland’s population is foreign and immigration is a major political issue, especially as Europe grapples with its biggest migrant crisis since World War II. It has called for tougher vetting of migrants entering the European Union. Syrians, Iraqis and Afghanis were by large the most represented nationalities but by no means the only ones. Many applicants running away from poverty in West Africa, Pakistan and Bangladesh also are turned away.

“It is essential to make sure genuine asylum-seekers have their asylum applications processed quickly”, Natasha Bertaud, the commission’s spokeswoman on migration, said.