EU lawmakers agree on migration policies easing deportations, drawing criticism

BRUSSELS (AP) — European lawmakers voted Tuesday to approve new immigration policies that allows nations to deny asylum and deport migrants because they either hail from a country designated safe or could apply for asylum in a country outside the 27-nation bloc.

The vote at European Parliament in Strasbourg, France ratified a decision in December in Brussels when ministers across the EU agreed to a list of safe countries. The new rules would come into effect in June and allow for sending back not only asylum-seekers from those countries, but also third-country nationals who only transited through those countries before reaching Europe.

Center-right lawmakers allied with the far right on the two votes, with 408-to-184 in favor on the measure regarding safe countries of origin, and 396-to-226 on the measure regarding safe third countries.

“We are delivering another key building block for a functioning, credible asylum system,” said Lena Düpont, a German lawmaker from the European People’s Party. “By enabling manifestly unfounded asylum applications to be rejected more quickly and efficiently in the future, we are speeding up asylum procedures, relieving the burden on member state systems, and helping people avoid being stuck in legal limbo for years.”

According to the new rules, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Kosovo, India, Morocco and Tunisia would be considered “safe countries of origins.” EU candidate countries would too, unless there are “relevant circumstances” like armed conflict, according to a parliamentary statement.

Authorities across the 27 EU nations will soon be able to deport people to — and slash asylum claims from — those countries, which opponents of the measure said could endanger some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

“So-called ‘safe countries of origin’ are not safe. This Parliament has passed resolutions on many of these countries, condemning deteriorations in their rule of law, democracy, and fundamental rights. Today’s vote ignores the reality of the facts,” said Cecilia Strada, an Italian lawmaker in the Socialists and Democrats Group in European Parliament that voted against the designations.

Human rights groups said the designations could result in people being deported to countries they do not know, similarly to what U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has done.

“The new ‘safe third country’ rules are likely to force people to countries they may never have set foot in — places where they have no community, do not speak the language, and face a very real risk of abuse and exploitation,” said Meron Ameha Knikman, senior advisor for the International Rescue Committee.

Last May, the EU endorsed sweeping reforms to the bloc’s asylum system, with the European Commission issuing the new Pact on Migration and Asylum. The pact, among other things, called for increasing deportations and setting up “ return hubs,” a euphemism for deportation centers for rejected asylum-seekers. “Asylum could also de facto become impossible to obtain in many member states,” said French lawmaker Mélissa Camara.