Sweden to Deport Up to 80,000 Refugees

Sweden is preparing to deport a maximum of 80,000 of the 163,000 refugees who entered the country last year. Anders Ygeman, the Swedish Minister of the Interior, told the Dagens Industri newspaper that at least 60,000 and up to 80,000 will be deported, either voluntarily or forcibly. Sweden saw the arrival of about 163,000 refugees in 2015, the highest number of registered refugees in a European country relative to its total population. Swedish newspapers have reported that refugees whose asylum requests have been rejected may go into hiding to avoid deportation, making it more challenging for police to locate and deport them. The Minister of the Interior described this issue as a 'major challenge.' Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has promised that the government will provide more resources to the police. Since last year, when Sweden faced an unprecedented wave of refugee arrivals, it has revised its 'open doors' policy and implemented stricter controls at its borders. European countries faced an influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees in 2015, primarily from Islamic countries like Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. In Germany alone, more than one million refugees registered their applications.