BREAKING:
The European Parliament just voted in favor of the Return Directive which will make it easier to start mass-deport illegal migrants.
Chants of “send them back echoed in the chamber after 418 MEPs voted in favor while 218 were against.
Once passed by the Council, the new regulation will establish a common, more efficient system for deporting illegal migrants, boosting the currently very low deportation rates of around 20% of those who have had their asylum application denied and issued a deportation order.
It will introduce:
- Mandatory cooperation with obligations and penalties: Individuals subject to a return decision must actively cooperate (such as providing documents, information, and remain available) with non-cooperation leading to detention.
- Extended detention periods: Detention can last up to 30 months to prepare a deportation.
- Mutual recognition of return decisions across the EU: A deportation order from one Member State will become more easily recognized and enforced in others, preventing migrants from evading deportation by moving between EU states.
- Return hubs in third countries: Allows transfers to “return hubs” in non-EU countries via agreements that respect human rights.
This expands options beyond direct return to the country of origin, enabling more flexible and potentially faster deportations.
- Faster enforcement and investigative tools: Shorter voluntary departure windows (generally ≤30 days, or immediate), quicker forced removals for non-compliance and security risks migrants and new powers for searches and seizures to gather evidence against illegal migrants combined with longer entry bans of up to 10 years and stricter rules for migrants classified as security threats who try to re-enter Europe after a previous deportation.
Done deal: Mass deportations from Europe will soon become reality✈️