Thunberg speaks out against EU’s deportation bill before Parliament vote

Greta Thunberg took to social media to condemn the EU-wide deportation plan, calling on citizens to rally against it.

The European government and institutions are pushing through a law which the far right celebrated as the start of the era of deportations, she said.

 

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European Parliament is planning to vote on it next week, the activist said on Friday, slamming efforts to pass the law “quietly and quickly.” She slammed European politicians for fueling wars and climate catastrophes and then unleashing detention on people who flee from them.

The EU’s controversial deportation bill is heading for a crucial vote next week, as far-right parties and the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) have joined forces, with the bill expected to be passed on June 17.

She called on European citizens to:

Refuse outsourced prisons, refuse far-right policy, refuse a Europe governed by fear. Call your MP, write to your government, tag your ministers in the comments, and let them know that this won’t keep us safe. We keep us safe.

Greta Thunberg — European ICE

Greta Thunberg said Europe had been taking notes from the USA’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Private security companies, detention contractors, surveillance firms, and deportation airline owners will benefit from the new law if enacted, she warned, saying:

Public money is being directed away from housing, school, and healthcare as powerful politicians cut deals with wealthy CEOs, turning deportation into an ever expanding industry.

According to the EU Observer, the bill seeks to make it possible for EU member states to create so-called “return hubs” in foreign countries,  facilities reserved for individuals whose asylum claims have been rejected, who have been ordered to leave Europe, and who cannot return to their home countries for a variety of reasons.

This isn’t happening just in the EU. Reform UK has completely embraced the ICE model.

Zia Yusuf, the party’s home affairs spokesperson, unveiled plans for a “UK Deportation Command” earlier this year.

Yusuf is currently in the USA, cosying up to the far-right Heritage Foundation, where they drink together from the same elixir of hating migrants.

Thunberg is right: only we can save ourselves. And the threat is Yusuf, the Heritage Foundation, and Europe’s far-right and all their ilk.

Featured image via Fabrizio Villa/Getty Images