The Migration Board is forced to cease most transport

Just over a year ago, the Migration Agency took over the transport to and from detention at, among other things, doctor's visits, execution of rejections and interrogations, and then body-visited the defense forces.

Although the Aliens Act lacked support for body visitation, the authority leaned against the Work Environment Act, according to sources at SVT Nyheter.

Since then, the question has been investigated by the lawyers at the Swedish Migration Board's legal unit, who have concluded that the Aliens Act is above the Work Environment Act, and that there is no legal support for visits.

The ST trade union has notified the responsible manager of the JO and on Thursday the transport operations were basically stopped completely. The authority now runs only transports that do not involve any risks - which means that most except voluntary executions are excluded.

In a document from the Swedish Migration Board that SVT Nyheter took part in, the authority estimates that around 3,000 transports annually will now fall on the Swedish Prison and Probation Service's lot. In 2019, according to the document, there were 94 cases where drugs or tools, including knives and cutting tools, were found during visits.

Dag Bönke, now acting deputy head of the Migration Board, confirms the new law interpretation.

- The legal investigation has come to the conclusion that we lack the power in accordance with the Aliens Act to do this, he says.

- This means a significant reduction in the transports we carry out, as we are required to request assistance from the Prison and Probation Service. So far, some hospital visits and two departures have been re-booked.

The Prison Service's transport services are already overloaded, but according to Bönke, the new law interpretation does not mean a total stop for transport.

- It means rebooking, longer waiting times and a slower system, but it's not so black and white that it's all or nothing.

The Migration Board now only has the right to visit the bodyguards in their own premises, but not before transport. In order for them to be empowered to do so, too, an adjustment is required, according to Bönke. However, he does not know when, or if, such a change will be implemented.

- We have signaled the need and have a dialogue with the government office, he says.

"It is a very surprising message," Claes Nöjd, Deputy Director of the National Prison Service's national transport service, NTE, told the Seko newspaper.

- We do not have the resources to take over the Migration Board's transport immediately.

Satisfied, the newspaper says that the two authorities must continue the dialogue about how the transfer should go, and that it takes a long time to recruit new staff.