European lawmakers cleared the way Thursday for tougher penalties for irregular migrants and their potential deportation to so-called return hubs outside the bloc.
The measures, criticised by human rights groups, are part of a tightening of Europe’s immigration rules in response to pressure across the 27-nation bloc to curb migration.
The European Parliament approved the package with support from right-wing and far-right groups in a 389 to 206 vote in Brussels – bringing it a step closer to final approval pending negotiations with the European Commission and Council of the European Union. Thirty-two members abstained from the vote.
The reform would notably allow for the opening of centres or “return hubs” outside the EU’s borders to which migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected would be sent.
EU moves closer to backing ‘return hubs’ for migrants: A right-wing turn on asylum policy
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European governments have sought a tougher stance amid a souring of public opinion on migration that has fuelled far-right electoral gains across the continent.
Far-right parties in Europe have praised the hardline deportation policies of US President Donald Trump and have called for the EU to adopt a similar approach.
With migrant arrivals down in 2025, focus in Brussels has turned to improving the repatriation system, which currently sees about 20 percent of people ordered to leave actually returned to their country of origin.
‘Legal black holes’
“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,” said centre-right French parliamentarian François-Xavier Bellamy.
Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and Denmark have already entered into negotiations with governments mainly in Africa to host sites to hold migrants denied asylum.
The reform also envisages harsher penalties for migrants who refuse to leave, including through detention and entry bans.
It has proven divisive.
Some in the bloc, including France and Spain, have questioned the effectiveness of return centres, which the International Rescue Committee (IRC), an NGO, has described as “legal black holes”.
“They will be located outside of EU territory, where policymakers cannot guarantee that people’s rights will be upheld,” said the IRC’s Marta Welander.
‘ICE-style’
Proponents say the hubs could act as a deterrent and discourage migrants from attempting to reach Europe in the first place.
Critics instead point to the hurdles faced by similar projects.
Britain abandoned a scheme to deport undocumented migrants to Rwanda, while Italian-run facilities to process migrants in Albania have faced legal challenges and a slow uptake.
EU member states gave their green light to the package – first proposed by the European Commission last year – in December.
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Negotiations with parliament after the vote are likely to zero in on a small number of issues, including the extent of search powers that could be granted to authorities seeking out irregular migrants, observers say.
A group of 70 rights groups warned in February that the reform would allow for “ICE-style immigration enforcement” – a reference to the heavy-handed practices used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the United States under Trump.
“This vote marks a dangerous turning point, as centre-right forces break the cordon sanitaire to align with the far right and push through a deeply repressive agenda,” Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants advocacy officer Silvia Carta said following the vote.
“This toxic alliance is paving the way for mass detention, family separation, and deportations – normalising abuse we’ve seen with ICE in the United States, and putting countless lives at risk.”
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
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