Green MP calls for dialogue over forced removals in EU migration policy

Early information and dialogue—not stricter enforcement—should be the focus of EU migration policy to encourage more rejected asylum seekers to leave voluntarily, Green Party MEP Alice Bah Kuhnke told Swedish public broadcaster SVT.

Her comments follow the European Parliament’s recent approval of a new law allowing migrants to be detained for up to 24 months and transferred to so-called “return hubs” in third countries with no prior connection to them.

“It was a heavy day when this decision was pushed through,” Bah Kuhnke said in an interview with SVT’s 30 minuter, criticising what she called a dangerous narrative that portrays migrants as inherently harmful. “The idea that people who flee are evil, that they have bad intentions and must be removed at any cost—this narrative is now shaping legislation.”

While acknowledging that those denied asylum must leave, she rejected calls from centre-right and far-right parties for a US ICE-style deportation force. “We cannot have police breaking into homes and dragging people away,” she said, instead advocating for clearer communication about protection criteria and dignified treatment for those facing removal.

Pressed on whether dialogue alone would suffice, Bah Kuhnke admitted improvements were needed but insisted early, transparent conversations could make a difference. “In some cases, it has worked,” she said. “But we need to refine the approach.”

The new EU rules, backed by conservatives and far-right groups as a “deportation era,” allow for prolonged detention and third-country transfers—a shift Bah Kuhnke called “deeply regrettable.”