Sweden Looks to Deport Migrants Failing to Live ‘Honourable’ Lifestyles

Police officers patrol in the Rosengard district of Malmo, Sweden, on Wednesday, Jan. 23,
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Oliver JJ Lane

Sweden could revoke residency from migrants who have “shortcomings in lifestyle” including associating with criminal gangs or committing benefit fraud as part of a crackdown.

Sweden’s right-wing coalition government has said it is investigating passing legislation to tighten up requirements on migrants to the country, including asking them to live lives compatible with basic standards of probity. A government statement says a special investigation will review the law and could ultimately seek to “remove foreigners from the country due to shortcomings in their way of life”.

These “lifestyle defects” that could see migrants moved on could include, reports the Swedish state broadcaster SVT, committing benefit fraud or otherwise taking advantage of the welfare system, expressing contempt of the democratic system, living dishonestly, abusing others, or being involved in criminal gangs.

Speaking on the plan, Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said in future she wanted to see the behavior of migrants once in Sweden have more bearing on their right to stay. The plan has received some criticism, SVT notes, citing Centre Party leader Muharrem Demirok who said: “We must ensure that no one is deported just because they do not live up to the Sweden Democrats’ image of what Swedish values ​​are.”

On the motivations for the change, a government policy paper reports: “The extensive immigration of recent years in combination with lack of integration has contributed to Sweden today facing major challenges with exclusion and crime. In order to break and reverse the negative development, the government is implementing extensive reforms to achieve a responsible, tight and long -term sustainable migration policy.”

While Sweden has long been among the most liberal nations in Europe on mass migration, throwing its borders open during the 2015-16 migrant crisis, the consequences of those decisions appear to have pushed some voters rightwards, and after years of left-wing government it is now ruled by broadly a right-wing coalition. Among the parties contributing to government are the right-populist Sweden Democrats, which is not a formal part of the coalition but props it up in a supply-and-confidence agreement.

Because of this system the Democrats don’t control any government ministries and the Migration Minister Stenergard, for instance, is drawn from the ‘liberal-conservative’ Moderate party.

The Sweden Democrats do have some direct power in certain regions of Sweden through local government, however. Another remigration initiative presently being considered in Sweden is one mooted in the city of Linköping, where the Sweden Democrat council group leader says the region should consider hiring migration ‘influencers’ to speak on the benefits of voluntary repatriation on social media, reports newspaper Aftonbladet.

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