The European Union is potentially moving towards an alarming expansion of immigration detention and forced returns.
European Union
The proposed EU Returns Regulation, currently under consideration by the European Parliament and Council, would replace the 2008 Returns Directive. If passed, it would significantly increase the use of detention, limit voluntary return options and introduce third-country return agreements with potentially devastating consequences for migrants and refugees across Europe.
Among the most concerning provisions is the extension of maximum detention periods from 18 to 24 months, with further possibilities for indefinite detention in so-called ‘security cases’. The proposal would also see more children detained and for longer. Despite detention never being in the best interests of the child, unaccompanied children and children with their families could be detained for up to two years.
The regulation would expand the grounds for detention, making it easier for authorities to detain people based on broad justifications. Additionally, the proposal allows the use of electronic tagging and monitoring technologies. Research shows that such technologies constitute alternative forms of detention rather than alternatives to detention. As stated in the IDC report, electronic tagging “substantially curtails (and sometimes completely denies) liberty and freedom of movement, leading to de facto detention… and has been shown to have considerable negative impacts on people’s mental and physical health, leading to discrimination and stigmatisation.”
These technologies pose a threat to personal liberty through heightened surveillance and indiscriminate data collection, while creating connotations of criminalisation both for individuals wearing the devices and for communities that see them. There are serious concerns about the potential for these technologies to further restrict people’s liberties, undermine human rights, and increase surveillance without proper safeguards, accountability mechanisms, or due process protections.
Equally troubling is the proposal to return people not to their country of origin, but to third countries with which the EU has return agreements (“return hubs”). There is no meaningful guarantee that people will be sent somewhere safe or that their rights will be upheld. While the regulation claims to include human rights safeguards, these are difficult to enforce and will leave many at risk.
For those ordered to leave the EU, voluntary return options will be severely restricted. Many will be given just 30 days to leave before facing forced deportation. The regulation also introduces punitive measures, including financial penalties and the removal of return assistance for those deemed uncooperative. This approach ignores the reality that people have lives, families and relationships and need time to make arrangements, appeal decisions, or prepare to leave with dignity.
In another deeply concerning shift, the proposal allows — and will ultimately require — one EU Member State to enforce a return order issued by another. In cases where a person leaves one EU country and claims asylum in another, this will make it easier to remove people without fully considering changes in their circumstances, or new risks they may face if returned. At the same time, procedural safeguards are being eroded, increasing the risk of people being deported before their appeals have been heard.
These proposed measures amount to a fundamental shift towards a harsher, more punitive immigration system — one that favours immigration detention and removal over rights, fairness and protection.
IDC is concerned that the proposed changes will lead to more people, including children and many vulnerable adults, being detained for longer, subjected to unjust removals and denied access to due process.
We call on the European Parliament and Council to reject this proposed expansion of detention and forced returns. Detention should never be the default approach to migration governance. There are alternatives that are effective, respect the rights and dignity of people and are a fraction of the cost of immigration detention.
The EU must uphold its obligations under international human rights law, protect people from harm and ensure that due process and dignity remain at the centre of migration policy.
Please see IDC`s longer analyis on the proposed EU returns regulation here.
