Icelandic authorities have withdrawn previous support for Venezuelan migrants and expelled 180 migrants who had recently arrived in the Nordic country.
This change of policy was initiated by the Icelandic Parliament. Change the policy Immigration policy will be on par with other Nordic countries. Iceland Monitor.
The bill is also extremely popular among the left-leaning Green party, and among its internal provisions it includes provisions that would allow Iceland to ignore the demands of the United Nations and its open-border immigration policy.
The law will reportedly impose stricter requirements for residency and family relocation.
In particular, as the climate has become increasingly hostile towards Venezuelans, authorities have recently deported 180 people who had emigrated from Venezuela. carried out According to the Icelandic Migration Service and the European border agency Frontex: Iceland Review.
The change in policy marks a major departure from Iceland’s recent policy of granting asylum to Venezuelans almost without question, and has been months in the making. For example, earlier this year the Immigration Review Board upheld several decisions by the Immigration Department to deny asylum claims for Venezuelans.
But Venezuelan supporters have protested against the country’s anti-government stance and say the Icelandic government’s withdrawal of aid is problematic because the situation in Venezuela has not improved since a year ago.
But the number of Venezuelans trying to move to Iceland has also surged: in 2018, there were 14 migrants, but by 2022, that number had risen to more than 1,200. Iceland Review Added.
Human rights groups, including the Icelandic Red Cross, Amnesty International and UNICEF, oppose the change to the law.
For example, the bill allows the Icelandic government to ignore human rights laws such as the UN Human Rights Convention and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Reykjavik Grapevine.
The just-passed bill would also allow the government to deny services such as health care if 30 days pass and an asylum request remains unapproved.
At least one political party also opposed the bill. Þórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir, a lawmaker from the left-liberal Pirate Party, slammed the bill, saying, “This bill sends the message that people should leave the country or risk being forced onto the streets without support or basic services.”
Still, Iceland’s other major political parties, including the Independence Party, the Progress Party and the Left-Green Party, all voted in favor of tougher immigration policies in the country.
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