Fearing Voter Backlash Over Immigration, Europe’s Politicians Tighten Rules

livemint.com:

European leaders are tightening asylum rules and seeking to restrict migration under political pressure from opponents who charge that Europe’s mainstream parties have lost control of the numbers of people who are coming into the bloc. European Union member states and lawmakers agreed on new asylum rules Wednesday after years of failing to rework a system that collapsed during the migration crisis of 2015. Back then, over one million people came to the bloc, swelling support for far-right parties.

Hours earlier, on Tuesday, the French parliament backed an immigration bill that increases the government’s power to deport foreigners and limits access to welfare and citizenship to dissuade asylum seekers from coming. Britain recently passed preliminary legislation aimed at permitting the deportation of failed asylum seekers to Rwanda, while even in Germany—a country long open to migrants—officials are working on plans to send some asylum seekers to Africa while their cases are decided. Europe’s tightening laws on asylum and migration face criticism from nongovernmental organizations who say they will inflict more pain on people escaping wars and poverty.

Potentially more troubling for officials, some experts say the measures being designed will fail to achieve their central aim: a clear reduction in the number of asylum seekers reaching Europe. While European governments have grappled for years with migration rules, the political imperative for action has recently increased. Authorities say the number of asylum claims in Europe could top one million this year, the highest level since the 2015 crisis.