Belgium's Parliament Approves Home-Search Law Targeting Rejected Asylum Seekers Who Ignore Deportation Orders
Belgium's parliament approved a law in the early hours of Friday, November 6, after a debate that lasted through the night, allowing police to enter the homes of some undocumented migrants to enforce deportation orders they have already received. The law was passed by a majority of lawmakers at around 5 a.m. local time.
The scope of the law is limited. It applies only to people whose asylum claims have been denied, who have ignored orders to leave the country and who are seen as a threat to public security. Home searches must be agreed to by an investigative judge, can only take place between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., and immigration officials must be present.
The legislation is part of a broader push by the right-leaning coalition of Prime Minister Bart De Wever to limit migration and increase expulsions of those denied the right to stay in Belgium. The government has defended the measure as a tool to enforce deportation orders against people considered a danger to public order or national security.
The law has drawn strong opposition from human rights groups and lawyers, who argue that allowing police to enter private homes for immigration enforcement risks undermining constitutional rights and privacy laws. On Wednesday evening, around 3,000 people formed a human chain around Brussels' Palace of Justice to protest the bill, and more than 50 other demonstrations were held in towns and cities across the country. Amnesty International had urged lawmakers to reject the legislation, saying it could also affect people who help undocumented migrants.
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：布鲁塞尔司法宫，抗议者在该建筑外组成人链反对入户搜查法案。Jorge Franganillo 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0。 / Photo: The Palace of Justice in Brussels, outside which protesters formed a human chain against the home-search bill. Photo by Jorge Franganillo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
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