Invasion of Europe news…..
As Donald Trump continues to flesh out his immigration policies (I assume today he will focus on illegal immigration), I think a little sweetener to nudge people to return home could save America a heck of a lot of money since most migrants, legal and illegal! are figuring out how to tap into our welfare system.
Sweden is offering a cash payment to asylum seekers if they withdraw their application for asylum and go home. Along with longer wait times and living conditions in shelters in the cold north, the plan appears to be working.
Of course, going home for a price is a sure indicator that the migrants were never really ‘refugees’ in the first place, but economic migrants looking for work and/or welfare.
Here is the news from the Independent from late last week:
A record 4,542 asylum seekers withdrew their applications and left Sweden in the first eight months of 2016 as a result of long processing times, strict new rules on family reunion, and payouts to migrants who voluntarily returned to their country of origin.
There were also less than half as many new claims made between January and August 2016, as in the same period of 2015.
Sweden used to be one of Europe’s most popular destinations for migrants, with the number of asylum applications doubling between 2014 and 2015 to more than 160,000.
[….]
But for many asylum seekers who arrived during the influx last year, Sweden has proved less of a utopia than they hoped. Many faced a long, cold winter in political limbo, camped out in makeshift accomodation while the state struggled to cope with the large number of new claims. Less than 500 of the 160,000 arrivals have managed to secure jobs.
Concerned about the strain placed on the economy of the country, which was expected to spend about one per cent of its GDP on asylum seekers in 2016, the Swedish Migration Agency, a government department responsible for processing claims, introduced tougher rules at the start of 2016, designed to deter and keep out asylum seekers.
No surprise!
The Swedish public also appear to be have become more hostile to migrants.
A survey released in February showed immigration was the main concern for 40 per cent of Swedes, above worries about failing schools, joblessness and welfare. The change was the biggest opinion swing in the poll’s history.
Continue reading here and learn about the payment strategy.
We have previously proposed a repatriation fund for unhappy migrants (not just refugees but others) to get them a plane ticket home, we could always add a little sweetener to the pot. Surely the Dems in Congress would not oppose such a fund to help unhappy people get back home.
I’m guessing, we have fifty or more posts on Sweden at RRW. I have long predicted it would be the first European country to fall as the demographic change (and high welfare rate) would push it over the edge. However, maybe there is a glimmer of hope for them after all.
Go here for our Sweden archive. See our ‘Invasion of Europe’ archive here.