Refugees are about to board a train heading from Germany to Denmark (Deutsche Welle)

The German Parliament approved a series of measures that would tighten the country's immigration policy and facilitate the deportation of refugees, while British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called on the House of Lords to approve his controversial immigration bill, which stipulates that immigrants arriving illegally in the country should be deported to Rwanda. .

The measures approved by Parliament yesterday, Thursday, give the German police new powers that facilitate the search for refugees against whom deportation decisions are issued from Germany, and also stipulate that the maximum period of detention before deportation is 28 days, up from only 10 days, to give the authorities sufficient time for the deportation process. .

The German government estimates that this package of measures will increase deportations of asylum seekers from Germany by about 600 additional deportations annually.

In statements she made in this regard, German Interior Minister Nancy Weiser said on Thursday that the new measures aim to facilitate the deportation of illegal refugees more quickly and effectively. She added, "We will make sure to force people who have no right to stay in our country to leave it more quickly."

Vizer pointed out that implementing the current immigration policy more strictly led to an increase in deportations of asylum seekers last year by 27%, as 16,430 illegal immigrants were deported from the country.

Weiser stressed the need to deport more refugees and immigrants whose asylum applications were rejected by the German authorities to their home countries, which she believes would pave the way for securing resources for those who should be received in Germany, as she put it.

Noting that the new measures may not target those fleeing war-torn countries, Weser explained, "I say to those fleeing war and terrorism, they can count on our support."

Human rights organizations criticized the new measures approved by the German Parliament, and an organization called “SOS Humanity,” which is concerned with rescuing refugees whose boats break down at sea, said that the exposure of refugees fleeing war, and the organizations that provide them with assistance, to prison sentences is horrific.

Germany is seeking to reduce the number of refugees, after recording an increase in the number of asylum and immigration seekers of more than 50% last year, in addition to receiving a million Ukrainian refugees, which the relevant authorities say constitutes a dilemma and limits their ability to absorb refugees.

Sunak calls for the adoption of a controversial law in Britain

In the context of laws aimed at reducing the flow of refugees to Europe, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak - yesterday, Thursday - urged the House of Lords to approve the controversial bill he put forward on immigration, which stipulates the deportation of refugees arriving in Britain through methods that the authorities consider illegal to Rwanda.

Sunak said during a press conference that passing the bill constitutes an “urgent national priority,” and called on the Lords to pass it “as quickly as possible, so that we can begin sending planes” to Rwanda.

The British House of Commons had approved the controversial bill with a comfortable majority, after stormy discussions and division within the Conservative Party, amid pressure exerted by the right-wing movement in the party to pass the bill, which led to the resignation of a number of party leaders.

The draft law, which considers Rwanda a safe country to which asylum seekers can be deported, was referred to the House of Lords for a vote, amid rising voices criticizing it and demanding that it not be approved.

Sunak said that his government's plan to deport illegal refugees would bear fruit, and stressed that the law represents a "useful deterrent" to discourage refugees and migrants from entering Britain illegally, especially through small boats across the English Channel.

Official figures indicate that about 30,000 refugees entered Britain last year in boats that crossed the Channel, and the number of refugees reached a record high in 2022, exceeding 45,000 people.

The British Home Office also indicates that 358 refugees entered its territory last Wednesday alone.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies