Sweden Democrats push to overrule inquiry on re-emigration grants

The far-right Sweden Democrats have called for Sweden’s government to overrule its own inquiry and push forward with a massive increase in grants given to immigrants to encourage them to return to their home countries.

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Last week, a Swedish government inquiry tasked with proposing new policies which would “powerfully stimulate” the voluntary return of immigrants advised the government against increasing the so-called emigration grants from today’s 10,000 kronor to the Danish level of about 150,000 kronor, arguing the risks outweighed the benefits. 

Nima Gholam Ali Pour, a Sweden Democrat member of parliament who works alongside the party’s immigration spokesperson Ludvig Aspling, told The Local that the party rejected the conclusions of the inquiry and would push the government to enact the policy, calling it “the only viable option for those who do not wish to become part of the Swedish society”.
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“The Sweden Democrats believe that there will always be some immigrants who regret their decision to move to Sweden, just as there are many who integrate successfully into the Swedish society,” Ali Pour, who is himself an immigrant from Iran, wrote.
“Those who wish to return need the support and proper conditions from society to do so, rather than being left in permanent marginalization. Returning to one’s home country is the best outcome for both the individual immigrant if he is dissatisfied and marginalized and for society as a whole.” 
Ali Pour criticised the inquiry for failing to provide support for its central claim that raising the emigration grant to 150,000 kronor would make immigrants feel unwelcome and so further deter them from integrating in Swedish society and possibly even push them into crime. 
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“This assumption is not substantiated by the inquiry itself and lacks empirical support,” Ali Pour wrote in his email to The Local. “In Denmark, a higher returns allowance has not hindered integration.” 
He said the alternative to stimulating the return of immigrants who have failed to integrate was “migrants living in parallel communities”, which he said was “not an acceptable alternative for the Sweden Democrats”.

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#Immigration
#Politics
#Sweden Democrats

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Last week, a Swedish government inquiry tasked with proposing new policies which would “powerfully stimulate” the voluntary return of immigrants advised the government against increasing the so-called emigration grants from today’s 10,000 kronor to the Danish level of about 150,000 kronor, arguing the risks outweighed the benefits. 
Nima Gholam Ali Pour, a Sweden Democrat member of parliament who works alongside the party’s immigration spokesperson Ludvig Aspling, told The Local that the party rejected the conclusions of the inquiry and would push the government to enact the policy, calling it “the only viable option for those who do not wish to become part of the Swedish society”.
READ ALSO:
“The Sweden Democrats believe that there will always be some immigrants who regret their decision to move to Sweden, just as there are many who integrate successfully into the Swedish society,” Ali Pour, who is himself an immigrant from Iran, wrote.
“Those who wish to return need the support and proper conditions from society to do so, rather than being left in permanent marginalization. Returning to one’s home country is the best outcome for both the individual immigrant if he is dissatisfied and marginalized and for society as a whole.” 
Ali Pour criticised the inquiry for failing to provide support for its central claim that raising the emigration grant to 150,000 kronor would make immigrants feel unwelcome and so further deter them from integrating in Swedish society and possibly even push them into crime. 
“This assumption is not substantiated by the inquiry itself and lacks empirical support,” Ali Pour wrote in his email to The Local. “In Denmark, a higher returns allowance has not hindered integration.” 
He said the alternative to stimulating the return of immigrants who have failed to integrate was “migrants living in parallel communities”, which he said was “not an acceptable alternative for the Sweden Democrats”.