...
By Hollie Silverman
News Editor
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
European Union (EU) lawmakers recently approved measures enabling member states to deport rejected asylum-seekers to offshore “return hubs,” the Associated Press reported on Sunday.
The move aligns closely with tactics praised by right-wing parties and echoing enforcement approaches associated with the Trump's administration's mass deportation efforts of illegal immigrants.
Newsweek reached out to the European Union by email Sunday for comment.
Read More on News
Why It Matters
Countries including Russia, China, Venezuela, and Afghanistan are just some of those the U.S. has been unable to repatriate immigrants to, meaning they are often stuck in ICE detention.
Over the past 14 months, the Trump administration has struck multiple deals with countries in Eastern Europe, Africa, and Latin America, at times in exchange for other benefits. Some agreements have seen legal challenges over conditions that the roughly 300 immigrants deported under the program have faced.
The union's plan marked a significant shift in Europe’s migration enforcement, enabling deportations to facilities outside the EU and expanding detention and entry-ban powers at a time when only about one in five people ordered to leave are actually returned.
Human rights organizations warned the hubs risked becoming “legal black holes” beyond effective EU oversight and compared the package to “ICE-style” enforcement seen in the U.S., intensifying a transatlantic debate over deterrence versus protection in asylum systems.
...
What To Know
Members of the European Parliament (MEP) voted 389-206, with 32 abstentions, to ease the creation of detention facilities outside EU territory and increase penalties and entry bans for migrants who refuse to leave, while authorizing returns to third countries under bilateral deals, according to AP.
Any EU nation can now negotiate on its own or in small coalitions to deport migrants to facilities yet to be built outside the 27-nation bloc.
The vote came as part of the EU’s broader Pact on Migration and Asylum, with new rules set to take effect June 12, and as far-right and conservative parties pushed for higher return rates and tougher border enforcement.
The European Parliament’s version backed detention for up to 24 months for people awaiting return and endorsed tougher, potentially indefinite entry bans in some cases, while positioning the regulation as a cornerstone of efforts to increase returns, according to Agence France-Presse.
What Is a 'Return Hub?’
A “return hub” is an offshore detention and processing facility located outside EU territory to which migrants whose asylum claims were rejected can be transferred under bilateral agreements, pending removal to their country of origin or another accepting state.
Which Countries Are Involved?
Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and Denmark entered talks with mainly African governments to host offshore sites, reflecting momentum among a group of member states pursuing externalized returns, AP reported.
Italy advanced a separate but related model by operating migrant detention centers in Albania for rejected asylum-seekers under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s approach, which EU officials and analysts cited as an example of external processing and returns, according to AP.
Far-right and some conservative parties in Europe have praised President Donald Trump’s deportation policies. The AP reported Belgium’s far-right Vlaams Belang party as well as Germany’s far-right AfD party said earlier this year they want to form a police group focused on finding and deporting migrants similar to U.S. efforts.
Legal Standards and Pushbacks
EU and international law prohibit returning people to places where they face persecution under the non-refoulement principle, but humanitarian groups documented widespread pushbacks at EU borders and described daily abuses last year, raising concerns about due process and oversight, according to a coalition report cited by AP.
The EU’s border agency Frontex said its mandate focused on external borders and on coordinating returns logistics while respecting fundamental rights, countering claims it conducts interior raids, AP reported.
What People Are Saying
Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president said, per AP: “We have learnt the lessons of the past. And today, we are better equipped.”
Marta Welander, EU advocacy director at the International Rescue Committee, told AP: “It will strip people of rights and protections based solely on their migration status in Europe and pave the way towards a new punitive EU asylum and migration regime, designed to deter, detain and deport people seeking safety.”
François-Xavier Bellamy, French MEP from the European People’s Party, after the vote said, per France 24: “The decisive changes introduced by this regulation will make it possible to simply guarantee this straightforward principle: if you come to Europe illegally, rest assured that you will not stay here.”
Charlie Weimers, Sweden Democrats MEP, said in a social media post after the vote: “There is a new consensus in Europe. The era of deportations has begun.”
French lawmaker Mélissa Camara, who voted against the measure, said, per AP: “History will remember that the so-called moderate right-wing group sounded the death knell of what remained of the cordon sanitaire.”
She added that the return hubs are places far from Europe “where fundamental rights cannot be effectively monitored.”
What Happens Next
Conversations between the European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission will finalize the “return regulation,” with observers expecting limited contention over remaining issues such as search powers and detention limits, according to parliamentary coverage.
This story contains reporting from the Associated Press.
In a polarized era, the center is dismissed as bland. At Newsweek, ours is different: The Courageous Center—it's not "both sides," it's sharp, challenging and alive with ideas. We follow facts, not factions. If that sounds like the kind of journalism you want to see thrive, we need you.
When you become a Newsweek Member, you support a mission to keep the center strong and vibrant. Members enjoy: Ad-free browsing, exclusive content and editor conversations. Help keep the center courageous. Join today.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines