While the United States is overwhelmed along its southern border, unchecked immigration is shaping discourse and deciding the elections all across Europe. Europe’s failure to curb immigration betrays the rights of those within its borders as hundreds of immigrants are dying trying to reach European shores.
Unchecked immigration is not a human right. It’s human destruction for all parties.
The European Union fielded roughly 380,000 irregular border crossings last year, up 17% from the previous year and the most on record since 2016. Experts predict that up to a million could seek protection in the EU by the end of this year as the bloc waits for the adoption of its new immigration overhaul.
Failure to stem rising European immigration simply swaps one group’s suffering for another’s, namely that of a country’s own citizens.
Take the tragic events of New Year’s Eve 2015 in Cologne, Germany. The celebrations that night escalated as men, mostly of North African Arabic descent, mobbed and assaulted hundreds of women, shocking the nation and driving sociopolitical matters to the fore.
Fast forward to 2022, as the same country saw a 51% jump in asylum applications last year. Simultaneously, violent crimes soared in number. More than 7,000 sexual assaults were perpetrated in Germany by immigrants in 2022 alone.
The established link between immigration and crime is not a new one. Where the U.S. neglects to report the immigration status of prisoners, crime statistics from across the EU reveal immigrants often commit a disproportionate share of crime.
Sweden’s foreign ministry sought to downplay the correlation between immigration and a surge in gang-related crime. But the government’s own data tell a different story. A 2021 report showed that those born to nonnative parents are registered as a crime suspect at a rate 2.5 times greater than those born to native Swedes.
The doubling of foreign-born residents subsequently led Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson to blame her country’s failure to integrate newcomers as a reason for the wave of crime. Segregation has created parallel societies, she asserted, fueling gang violence that garnered international headlines and turned the tide of popular opinion against immigration in the Scandinavian nation.
Likewise, in Germany, former Chancellor Angela Merkel declared multiculturalism an utter failure and called on immigrants to do more. The country long known for its embrace of immigration witnessed a swift progression from “we can do this” to “too many are coming,” as Germany now aims to make itself less attractive to asylum-seekers in 2024.
To be sure, the actions of a few do not characterize all immigrants and asylum-seekers. However, they do demand a thoughtful response from EU officeholders and European leaders.
Human rights activists now fear the EU’s immigration overhaul could serve to undermine European values of human dignity and human rights. But in highlighting the plight of one group of people, they ignore the rights of others.
So, what would a thoughtful response entail? For starters, governments must commit to even greater transparency in crime reporting and acknowledge, rather than dismiss, correlations. They must serve both those victimized by and accused of violent crimes through thorough investigations and prosecutions with follow-through deportations of convicted offenders. Doing so sends a clear message that such behavior will not be tolerated by host nations.
Secondly, EU member states must do more to distinguish between economic migrants and refugees. From a burgeoning population in Africa to war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East, Europe remains a favored destination for both those fleeing conflict and those seeking to improve their economic situations.
Where human rights groups criticized the bloc’s new migration and asylum rules, the head of the EU’s border control agency offered praise. “If you don’t need our protection, you will be returned,” Frontex’s Hans Leijtens said of asylum-seekers. Germany now leads the way with new legislation that will make it easier to deport rejected asylum-seekers and make way for those in real need.
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Absent a reduction in numbers, Europe’s governments cannot focus on the necessary work of effective integration. Europe’s immigration reform offers leaders valuable pause to find a better way forward in the integration of accumulated diversity. Those nations hardest hit with asylum applications will need to work harder to expedite asylum applications, prioritize the removal of those who don’t qualify, and effectively integrate those who do.
While the EU’s new policy may rile human rights groups, so too ought the consequences wrought by mismanaged immigration. Human rights belong not just to immigrants. They also belong to Europe’s citizens.
Alyssa Blakemore is a writer living in Northern Italy. She holds a master’s degree in global studies and international relations and previously worked as a refugee resettlement volunteer in the U.K.