00:00Will the EU's new migration reform lead to high-style practices in Europe?
00:08This week, the European Parliament Civil Liberties Committee approved a controversial
00:12reform to boost returns of irregular migrants. The European Commission says it aims to make
00:17deportations across the EU faster and more effective. Among the measures, the creation
00:22of return hubs, deportation centers located outside the European Union. And migrants could
00:27be detained there for up to two years while waiting to be returned. But critics warn the
00:32proposal could be overly aggressive. In early February, around 70 NGOs raised another concern.
00:38They said the new rules could lead to practices similar to those used by the U.S. Immigration
00:42and Customs Enforcement, otherwise known as ICE. The proposal would allow member states to detect
00:48people staying irregularly in the EU and to take all necessary measures to ensure their return.
00:53However, critics say this wording is too vague because it could allow intrusive investigative
00:58measures, including authorities entering people's homes, to enforce deportations.
01:03But the European Commission rejects these claims. A spokesperson told the Cube the proposal does
01:08not require public services to report irregular migrants, nor does it foresee raids on homes,
01:14racial profiling or invasive surveillance. The Commission says the reform fully respects
01:19international law. But critics argue the safeguards are not clearly returning to the law.
01:24I was just raising so many questions about how this text itself should be interpreted. So let's
01:30imagine some migration officer really having to implement it. What would this mean? Would they
01:36just have national guidelines? Would this have a very strict interpretation without potential judicial
01:41control? It's really unclear. Let's say that for me these vague references to fundamental rights
01:47regulations definitely are not enough. The reform is not final. The entire European
01:52Parliament must vote and member states must agree on the final law.
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