The far right is increasing its influence in Europe’s new immigration policies

Inside United Kingdomconservative government Rishi Altar He put forward a rule that would speed up deportations, launching the so-called ‘Bibby Stockholm'”floating prison“Asylum seekers have to wait for the resolution of their demands and submitted an emergency law to implement the plan to transfer immigrants to Turkey.” rwanda After the Supreme Court defeat. Inside GermanySocial democrat’s manager Olaf Scholz It also aims to accelerate “large-scale” deportations and extended preventive detention for irregular immigrants from 10 days to 28 days. During, France This Monday, debate begins in the National Assembly on a law that will make deportations easier, asylum harder and tougher family reunification conditions.

These three examples add to the measures taken for years aimed at preventing the arrival of irregular migrants through fences and walls within the borders of the European Union (EU), detention centers in the image of prisons and similar ones, and the outsourcing of border control to third parties. Countries such as Tunisia, Libya or Turkey, where respect for human rights is questionable to say the least.

thirty years

The assimilation of the immigration policies of the far right, as explained, dates back more than three decades since the rise of these parties in the 90s. Tjitske AkkermanResearcher at the University of Amsterdam, ‘Far-right parties and migration policies in the EU’, article in ‘CIDOB Migration Yearbook 2018’. And in most cases, these measures are adopted by traditional parties “pressureAkkerman emphasizes “What the Ultras think about their good results at the ballot box.”

It deserves a separate section SpainBecause restrictive measures predate the emergence of the far right. Blanca GarcesResearcher at CIDOB, Spain’s “lab” Europe’s immigration policies since the late 1980s. And the proof is Melilla fence or Africa Plan In 2006, an experiment in externalizing borders to “regulate migration flows” from sub-Saharan Africa.

Tendency to copy the extreme immigration agenda, 2015 refugee crisis. An estimated one million people are fleeing conflict Syria, Afghanistan And Iraq They reached the continent and many countries, especially Eastern Europe, turned to harsher rhetoric and legislation. “In Germany, it was much more expensive. It was one of the most open countries to welcome refugees so far,” says Garcès, recalling the slogan popularized by the then chancellor. Angela Merkel: ‘Wir schaffen das’, we will understand. Images of citizens holding “welcome refugees” banners at Frankfurt or Munich train stations still remain on the retina. Today, the Berlin Administration follows the same dynamic as its neighbors and imposes harsh restrictions.

Fight for the story

“The far right won the battle for the story. This led us to believe that this was an unmanageable situation. Immigration is presented as a problem. threatening to our values, economy, culture; “It is something that must be completely destroyed and stopped at all costs,” he continues. Claudio FrancavillaLawyer specializing in EU Human Rights Watch (HRW). And according to all experts consulted, this assimilation of extreme propositions occurs in most cases in both traditional right-wing parties and progressive parties. The situation of the new German left force that broke away from Die Linke is paradigmatic. Sahra WagenknechtHe is a defender of communist essences and has extreme views on the right to asylum.

Francavilla is very critical of the migration policy of the EU, which is currently trying to create the migration and asylum pact and signed agreements with great difficulty. Libya anyone Tunisia. “These show that the EU prefers the death, mistreatment and suffering of migrants to the presence of these migrants in Europe,” he underlines. Xavier Crombé, coordinator of Médecins Sans Frontières’ (MSF) operations in France, draws attention to the “increase in violence” in these transit countries. “Many migrants arriving at our centers tell stories of sexual violence, torture and trauma linked to fear of dying at sea or crossing the Sahara Desert, or the isolation and ill-treatment they suffered in detention centres.”, Add. Felix Braunsdorf, head of MSF’s Political Advocacy in Germany, expressed his regret that these agreements did not include anything. “Guarantees in case of human rights violations“Although previous similar agreements have seen an increase in abuses against immigrants.” Therefore, according to Braunsdorf, the EU is “once again complicit in abuses.”

questionable results

However, the result of all these policies is not a decrease in the number of arrivals. According to this frontexIn the first 10 months of the year, the number of irregular crossings detected at the EU’s external borders increased by 18%, the highest figure in this period since 2015. In the United Kingdom, there were 17% more irregular crossings between June 2022 and June 2023. immigrants were registered compared to the previous period. “If people get desperate, there’s no one to stop them. We have data that shows that even when you make it very, very difficult, people who want to go to Europe keep trying,” HRW’s lawyer warns.

On the other hand, legitimizing the propositions of the far right with such policies causes citizens to no longer see these formations as marginal and to see them as options at the ballot box. “Traditional parties believe that choosing harsh measures over effective measures will guarantee them votes. The problem is that, although they have adopted these arguments for decades, the far right continues to rise,” says Crombé. As the leader of the French National Front noted at the time, Jean-Marie Le PenIt turns out that voters prefer the original to the copy.

This has been proven by a study conducted by. Werner Krause, Denis Cohen And Tariq Abou-Chadi and published by the University of Cambridge in 2022. “There is no certainty that tougher immigration policies will reduce voter support for the far right. Rather than improving, Solutions for successful migration and integrationThese policies tend, to some extent, to confirm the far-right’s demand to limit immigration. As a result, such measures can further normalize far-right discourse and ultimately increased public support in the future,” Krause explains to El Periódico de Catalunya of the Prensa Ibérica group.

Francavilla, Crombé and Braunsdorf also advocate changing the current anti-immigration rhetoric. “We are not at the end of history. We can return to a positive narrative about immigration, to sensible immigration policies,” says the HRW lawyer. “As a humanitarian organisation, we are witnessing a very worrying trend, but we cannot resign from ourselves“says Crombé. “What we see in Europe today is not a refugee crisis, it is a political crisis. A route change is urgently needed. Braunsdorf emphasizes that the EU must adopt policies that protect human life and minimize risks to people’s health and well-being.