EU agrees to allow deportations to third-country return hubs as migration policy tightens
By Amina Ismail
June 1 (Reuters) — European Union lawmakers and member governments reached a political agreement on Monday that would allow countries to deport migrants who have been ordered to leave the bloc to facilities located in third countries — a major shift in the bloc's approach to managing irregular migration.
The deal, part of a broader overhaul of EU migration rules, comes as right-wing parties gain ground across the continent. Even though irregular border crossings fell 26% last year — the lowest level since 2021 — the political momentum for tougher enforcement has intensified.
Under the compromise, EU states would be permitted to establish so-called “return hubs” outside the bloc for migrants whose asylum claims have been rejected or who have overstayed their visas. People could be sent to hubs in countries with which they have no prior connection. The European Commission, which proposed the legislation last year, says the new rules would speed up procedures and give governments broader enforcement tools while still respecting fundamental rights.
EU countries have long struggled to ensure that rejected applicants and visa overstayers actually leave. According to the Commission, only about 20% of those ordered to depart currently do so.
“With the new rules, we have more control over who can come to the EU, who can stay, and who needs to leave,” said European Commissioner Magnus Brunner, who oversees migration policy.
The draft legislation still requires formal approval by EU governments and the European Parliament, a step expected in the coming weeks.
Home raids and broader enforcement powers
The deal extends detention periods and introduces penalties including entry bans, fines and possible criminal sanctions for non-cooperation. Authorities would be allowed to seize belongings, collect biometric data and search migrants’ homes. The text permits coercion as a last resort to obtain fingerprints.
It also allows searches of “relevant premises” — a term human rights groups criticise as overly vague and potentially authorising night-time home raids similar to those used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Activists and NGOs working with asylum seekers across the EU say some of these practices are already underway and have escalated in recent months. They point to a rise in deportations from Germany and other states of recognised refugees to Greece and other EU border countries. In some cases, they say, authorities carry out pre-dawn home searches to detain individuals and transfer them to detention centres or directly to airports, sometimes without letting them pack their belongings.
Minos Mouzourakis, a lawyer and advocacy officer at the Greece-based non-profit Refugee Support Aegean, warned the draft legislation amounted to “a recipe for extremely damaging and extremely dangerous practices” across Europe.
French Green lawmaker Mélissa Camara was more blunt: “The legalisation of return hubs outside the European Union, the green light for the detention of minors, home visits inspired by ICE practices: The legal arsenal serving a xenophobic ideology is now complete.”
(Reporting by Amina Ismail; additional reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Layli Foroudi and Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Cynthia Osterman)