The Swedish government declared today that it wants to greatly increase the number of immigrants who are deported after being convicted. It added that any offense with a punishment higher than a fine should lead to expulsion as a norm.
Minister for Migration Johan Forssell told reporters, “For far too long in Sweden, foreign criminals who have committed serious crimes in the country have been coddled.”
According to AFP, the new bill would include a number of steps to make it easier to deport criminals. For example, prosecutors would have to ask for deportation as part of the sentence instead of leaving it up to the prosecutors to decide.
The government stated they thought the new law will lead to around 3,000 deportations a year, which is six times the existing average of 500.
The bill will first go to Sweden’s Council on Legislation, which looks over bills that the government plans to send to parliament.
Forssell added that they wanted the law to go into force on September 1.
The Nordic country has been trying to stop a rise in organized violent crime for more than ten years. This crime is mostly tied to gang conflicts and fights over control of the drug market.
Statistics reveal that explosions have gone up while deadly shootings have gone down.
In 2022, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s right-wing government, supported by the far-right Sweden Democrats, took power and promised to cut down on crime and immigration.
It has given police more power and made punishments and measures tougher to stop teenage crime. For example, it wants to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 13.
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