EU moves to allow migrant deportations to centers outside the bloc

Europe is moving to sharpen its deportation powers after EU lawmakers and member states struck a deal on rules that would let countries send migrants ordered to leave the bloc to centres in third countries.

The agreement marks part of a wider hardening of EU migration policy as right‑wing parties intensify pressure across the continent, despite a 26% drop in irregular arrivals last year to the lowest level recorded since 2021.

The legislation, which still needs formal sign‑off from EU governments and the European Parliament, was first put forward by the European Commission last year.

According to the commission, the measures would simplify procedures and hand governments additional tools to remove people while remaining within the bounds of fundamental rights.

The commission says that, at present, only about 20% of those ordered to leave actually depart.

Under the new framework, EU countries would be permitted to set up so‑called “return hubs” beyond the bloc’s borders for people whose asylum applications have been denied or who have otherwise been told to leave the EU.

People facing deportation could be transferred to hubs in countries with which they have no personal connection.

“With the new rules, we have more control over who can come to the EU, who can stay, and who needs to leave,” European Commissioner Magnus Brunner said.

Home raids

The proposed law lengthens detention periods and adds penalties for failing to cooperate, including entry bans, fines and possible criminal sanctions.

It would also allow authorities to confiscate belongings, gather biometric data and carry out searches of homes.

As a last resort, coercive measures could be used to obtain fingerprints.

The agreement further authorises officials to search migrants and “relevant premises”, wording that rights groups say is too sweeping and could open the door to home raids.

Human rights advocates and NGOs assisting asylum seekers in the EU say some of these practices are already taking place and have become more common in recent months. They point to an increase in deportations from Germany and other countries involving recognised refugees sent to Greece and other EU border states.

In those countries, they say, authorities in some cases conduct night‑time home searches to detain people and move them to detention centres or airports for deportation, at times without giving them the chance to collect their belongings.

Minos Mouzourakis, a lawyer and advocacy officer at Greece‑based non‑profit Refugee Support Aegean, said the draft law amounted to “a recipe for extremely damaging and extremely dangerous practices” in Europe.

French Green lawmaker Mélissa Camara said: “The legalisation of return hubs outside the European Union, the green light for the detention of minors, home visits inspired by ICE practices: The legal arsenal serving a xenophobic ideology is now complete.”