EU Parliament approves 'strictest-ever' migration law

The European Parliament gave the final green light to a new EU law allowing controversial return hubs outside the bloc and home searches, as conservatives voted with far-right groups to pass the legislation. The European Parliament on Wednesday approved a law aimed at speeding up the return of migrants with no legal right to remain in the EU, thanks to backing from centre-right and far-right political groups. The “return regulation” is the bloc's toughest shift in migration policy in decades. It is considered controversial as it would allow EU countries to set up deportation centres outside the bloc, known as return hubs, through agreements with non-EU countries. These hubs could serve either as transit facilities, where people await return to their country of origin, or as locations where migrants remain for an extended period, potentially without a time limit or guarantee of onward return. Only unaccompanied minors would be exempt from the measure, while families with children could be transferred to the hubs. The law was approved by 418 votes to 218, with 30 abstentions. After the result was announced, supporters of the bill applauded, while some MEPs on the right of the chamber chanted "send them back", in reference to irregular migrants. Lawmakers on the opposite side responded with chants of "shame on you". The vote confirmed the emergence of a right-leaning majority in Parliament on migration issues. The centre-right European People's Party (EPP) once again aligned with the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and the far-right Patriots for Europe (PfE) and Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN).Several MEPs from the liberal Renew Europe group also back the bill. The EPP continues to rule out formal cooperation with parties it considers too extreme, including the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and France's National Rally. EPP leader Manfred Weber has repeatedly rejected the prospect of formal alliances with such forces. But the EPP sees their votes as crucial for tougher migration legislation, creating an alternative majority to the traditional centrist coalition of the EPP, Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and Renew Europe. Socialists and left-wing MEPs largely opposed the legislation, arguing that it could undermine migrants' fundamental rights. “This regulation risks normalising legally questionable practices that would have been unthinkable in the EU only a few years ago,” Ana Catarina Mendes, vice-president of Socialists and Democrats group (S&D), said in a statement. Beyond the return hubs, the new law also features a provision to search a “place of residence or other relevant premises” of irregular migrants, which NGOs and civil society compare to the notorious raids conducted by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Other provisions include longer detention periods, tougher entry bans and new powers to locate irregular migrants. It raises the maximum legal detention period for irregular migrants waiting to be returned from six months to two years, with a possible six-month extension and an unlimited duration for persons considered as posing a security risk. Entry bans would also become significantly stricter, rising from five to ten years in most cases, with the possibility of lifetime bans for those considered a security risk. The legislation would also change the appeals process. Under current rules, deportations are automatically suspended while legal challenges are pending. The new law would end that automatic safeguard, leaving courts to decide on a case-by-case basis whether a return order should be suspended.