Over 70 rights groups have called on the European Union to reject a proposed regulation that seeks to significantly step up the deportation of undocumented migrants, fearing that it could lead to public spaces being used as tools of aggressive immigration enforcement, similar to the model used in the United States by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The proposed measure, which was tabled by the European Commission in March last year, aims to increase the deportation of individuals who have no legal grounds to remain in the EU and provides for the transfer of migrants to offshore facilities outside the EU. The proposed regulation is yet to be approved by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), and it comes at a time when far-right groups have made substantial gains in the 2024 European Parliament elections.
Rights Groups Warn of Expanding Raids and Surveillance Across Europe
In a joint statement published on Monday, 75 rights organisations from across Europe warned that the proposed measures could normalise immigration raids and surveillance across the continent while intensifying racial profiling practices.
The organisations described the proposal as a framework that “would consolidate a punitive system, fuelled by far-right rhetoric and based on racialised suspicion, denunciation, detention and deportation.” They also cautioned that Europe’s historical experience with systems of surveillance and scapegoating should serve as a warning of where such policies can lead.
The European Commission, however, has defended the proposals as “effective and modern procedures” to increase deportations of people denied asylum or who overstayed visas. Currently, only about one in five people without the right to stay in the EU are returned to their countries of origin, and this rate has remained largely unchanged for years.
Sweeping Powers for Police and Public Services Raise Civil Liberties Concerns
The draft regulation includes far-reaching measures that would allow police to search private homes for undocumented individuals without a judicial order, as well as searches of “other relevant premises.”
Michele LeVoy of the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants warned that these powers could lead to “ICE-like raids” not only in private residences but also in workplaces and public spaces. She argued that Europe cannot condemn US immigration enforcement practices while simultaneously replicating them domestically.
The proposal could also require public services—such as healthcare and education providers—to report undocumented individuals. Critics say this would likely deter vulnerable people from accessing essential services, undermining public health and social cohesion.
Médecins du Monde highlighted that similar crackdowns in Minnesota have already contributed to a public healthcare crisis, with pregnant women, children, and people with chronic illnesses avoiding medical care even in emergencies. Andrea Soler Eslava of the organisation described such outcomes as unacceptable and warned that they could create serious public health risks.
UN Experts and Civil Society Challenge EU’s Motivations and Legal Compliance
At the end of January, 16 UN rights experts submitted a 19-page letter to the EU expressing concerns that the proposed regulation could violate international human rights obligations.
The UN experts questioned whether the proposals were motivated by political narratives that scapegoat migrants for domestic problems, such as housing shortages. They warned against the false assumption that deportations would resolve structural social issues.
Civil society groups also raised alarms over plans for bulk collection of personal data and easier data sharing between police forces across the EU. Alamara Khwaja Bettum of Statewatch argued that expanding surveillance and racial profiling would fuel racism and strengthen far-right agendas rather than reducing migration. She warned that the measures could undermine fundamental civil liberties with potentially disastrous consequences.
Political Momentum and Offshore Deportation Plans Intensify Criticism
The draft returns regulation is scheduled for a vote in the European Parliament’s civil liberties committee in early March. Meanwhile, the EU has already moved closer to establishing offshore deportation centres after centre-right and far-right MEPs united to support measures allowing asylum seekers to be sent to countries they have never previously been to.
Emmanuel Achiri of the European Network Against Racism warned that racialised communities across Europe would be disproportionately affected, exacerbating existing discrimination. He described the proposal as a direct and disproportionate attack on already marginalised communities and said such measures contradict the EU’s stated commitment to addressing structural racism.
Rights advocates argue that the deportation plan represents not just a migration policy shift but a broader transformation of European governance toward securitisation, surveillance, and exclusion, raising fundamental questions about the EU’s commitment to human rights, civil liberties, and social inclusion.