Response to interpellation 2023/24:315 on reduced return
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns the decreased return rate and the government's measures to increase it. M argues that the government has taken powerful measures, such as additional directives to investigations, review of detention rules, more effective tools for internal foreign national control, and a major investment in the 2024 budget bill 1 2. M emphasizes that the return rate fell during S's last term due to deficient policy 2. M also argues that cooperation between agencies and cooperation with third countries has intensified 1 2. S argues that there have been large losses in returns and questions whether it is the government's policy or other factors that play a role 3. S argues that the investments made have not led to more returns 3.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Madam Speaker! Ola Möller has asked me what I shall do about the fact that fewer and fewer are returning.
Since the government took office just over a year ago, a number of measures have been taken to increase returns. Among others, the government decided on August 30 on additional directives to the Inquiry on strengthened return activities in order to, among other things, improve the conditions for conducting effective return work. In addition, a special investigator has been tasked with conducting a review of the rules on detention in the Aliens Act in order to create a modern and purposeful regulatory framework. On January 1, 2024, legislative changes also came into force that provide the authorities with more effective tools for internal immigration control.
The relevant authorities were tasked in their respective regulatory letters for 2023 to increase their cooperation in the return work. As a consequence of the clear direction from the government, Migrationsverket, Polismyndigheten, and Kriminalvården have created a co-location of the return activities to achieve higher efficiency in the work.
The government's increased ambition in the area of return also means that the government is taking a collective grip, and a major investment is made in the 2024 budget bill on return. This includes a focus on return at Migrationsverket, an increased number of detention places, the establishment of return centers, as well as strengthening the return cooperation with third countries. These investments aim to increase the return.
An important part of the government's work is to intensify cooperation with third countries. The requirement for a functioning return is clearly linked to other relevant policy areas, such as visa, trade, aid, and foreign policy. The government's reform agenda for aid also states that aid shall be developed to become a better tool for promoting return.
Unlike the previous government, this government has a concrete plan to solve a wide spectrum of migration-related societal problems, including return. The fact that return was not prioritized for many years under the previous government has led to the situation we have today, where far too few return. Return work is a long-term effort, and with the powerful measures that the government is taking, our ambition is that return will now increase significantly.
Ola Möller (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for Migration for the answer.
It matters who is in power. That is what the Minister for Migration and other leading representatives for both the government and the Sweden Democrats have been out and talking about, Madam Speaker. It is a bit strange: When a reduced number of shootings is discussed, one goes out and says indecently that it is the government's credit. But when the number of deportations, rejections, and returns decreases, it is the Social Democrats' fault. I cannot reconcile the logic. Does it matter who is in power, or does it not matter who is in power?
What can be observed is that there have been quite large drops in how many people return. We are talking about almost 20 percent fewer from 2021 to 2023, which is the first full year that this government has been in power. My question to the Minister for Migration is actually: Does it matter who is in power, or are there perhaps other factors that play a role?
A lot is being done now, or a lot is supposed to be done. Obviously, not that much has been done, more than that money has been injected. That has been done, but it has not led to more returns. It is an interesting parenthesis. We said no to that money. We said exactly: It will not lead to more returns. 20 million was invested in it last year.
How large a recovery can we then expect when all the measures are in place? What is the goal? We had quantitative goals in the previous government. What is the quantitative goal? We can take it both in percentage and in nominal terms.
Statsrådet Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Madam Speaker! As I said initially, it is the result of the Social Democrats' deficient policy in this area that we see.
During the Socialdemokraternas latest term, the return decreased every year. It decreased from 2018 to 2019. It decreased from 2019 to 2020. It decreased from 2020 to 2021, and it decreased from 2021 to 2022.
During the most recent year that we have governed the entire year, it began to go up again. That is, of course, the explanation for why the interpellor chooses to compare with 2021 and not with 2022 in their question.
With that said, I am absolutely not satisfied with the result. But I am very satisfied with the work that the government and the coalition partner are doing together to truly turn the development around and ensure that the recovery continues to go upwards.
That is why we have also taken a number of powerful measures to specifically increase the return. All the measures that we have taken have not been taken previously. I can only regret that.
The Government decided in August 2023 on supplementary directives to the Inquiry on strengthened return activities in order, among other things, to improve the conditions for conducting effective return work.
A special investigator has been tasked with conducting a review of the rules on detention in the Aliens Act for the purpose of creating a modern regulatory framework. The sub-report was submitted just recently.
On 1 January 2024, legislative changes entered into force that provide the authorities with more effective tools in internal immigration control. It is incredibly important to be able to ensure that persons who are not supposed to be here also leave the country.
We have given clear goals and missions to the Swedish Migration Agency, the Swedish Police Authority, and other relevant authorities for both 2023 and 2024 to intensify the return work. I cannot emphasize enough how important the management is and not just the legislation.
The government is making a major investment in returns in the budget bill for 2024. This involves, firstly, an increased focus on returns at the Swedish Migration Agency, secondly, more reception centers, thirdly, the establishment of return centers, which has occasionally been contested by the Social Democrats, and fourthly, that the cooperation on returns with third countries shall be strengthened.
Cooperation with third countries has been intensified. The requirement for a functioning return is also clearly linked to other relevant policy areas, not least within the aid policy. At the EU level during the Swedish presidency, we also clearly pushed the issue of visa restrictions for countries that do not accept their own citizens.
We have a stronger cooperation between different relevant authorities. As I said, the government is not satisfied with the current result. This is based on the fact that the return work under the Social Democratic-led government for many years was not prioritized.
It is a long-term task. I am very pleased with the measures we have now taken. I look forward with confidence to the upcoming statistics.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.