EU - Increased Deportations
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the EU could “draw lessons” from a contested Italian policy of processing migrants offshore in Albania, as leaders of the 27 member states hold an EU summit focusing on migration.
In her letter to member states, von der Leyen said the return rate of irregular migrants from EU countries is currently only about 20%—meaning the vast majority of people who are ordered to leave an EU member state do not.
Member states should all recognize the decisions taken by other EU countries to ensure that “migrants who have a return decision against them in one country cannot exploit cracks in the system to avoid return elsewhere,” von der Leyen wrote.
Earlier, 16 men of Bangladeshi and Egyptian origin were moved from the migrant hotspot of Lampedusa, of the coast of Sicily, to one of the two purpose-built centers on the Albanian coast where their asylum claims will be examined.
The two processing centers, which cost about €650m ($705m), were due to open last spring but were plagued by long delays, have been paid for by the Italian government and will be operated under Italian law.
They will house migrants while Italy examines their asylum requests. Pregnant women, children and vulnerable people will be excluded from the plan.
-www.bbc.com, 17 October 2024
Arno's Commentary
Immigrants—legal or illegal—and asylum seekers are not really welcomed in any country, yet many progressive European states are losing population mostly due to low birth rates. Thus, large companies attempt to enlist qualified workers to fill vacated positions.
According to the news media, the issue of immigrants has become a major subject within the two political parties in the US.
The often-repeated argument against foreigners is based on the mistaken assumption that they are more inclined to criminal activity and become a burden to the social infrastructure of the host country. Statistics from various reliable sources, however, prove this is not true.
Our source should always be the Bible. Jesus said, “I was a stranger, and ye took me in” (Matthew 25:35b). Moreover, Matthew 5:44 adds something that seems almost contradictory: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” But that must be our stand.
In the Old Testament, we read: “And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:33-34).
Above and beyond these things, we have ample evidence that many of those “strangers” break through to a living faith in Jesus and are added to the Church—that is what really counts.
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
