Sweden deports siblings to Somalia as promised pause stalls

Aliya and Najib were deported to Somalia on Tuesday as Sweden’s proposed stop to so-called teenage deportations remains pending, SVT reports. The siblings said they had expected their deportations might be halted.

They were 17 when they received temporary residence permits as relatives of their mother, who has refugee status. Now 22, they are no longer considered part of her core family, unlike their younger siblings, and are not entitled to remain in Sweden, SVT reported. Aftonbladet had previously reported on their case.

“I’m very disappointed. They say on social media that they want to stop them, that they want to pause them. But in reality, nothing is being paused. Why doesn’t it apply to us?” Aliya said.

Najib said news reports had suggested the deportations were being stopped, but that they were leaving that night. Aliya said she had completed an upper-secondary economics programme and worked as an assistant nurse before receiving her deportation decision. Being sent away from a country she considered home was painful, she said.

Several left-wing and centre-left parties have promised measures to stop the deportations, but disagreements in talks on forming a government have delayed action. While those talks continue, the parties are working on a proposed stop law in parliament’s social insurance committee.

Jennifer Merelaid Hankins, the Left Party’s migration policy spokesperson, said having a centre-left government would have helped advance the issue. She said the party was pursuing the law in parliament so work could continue alongside government negotiations.

Tags: deportations, Sweden, Somalia