The government wants to make it mandatory for prosecutors to seek deportation of foreigners who commit crimes with penalties stricter than fines. The proposal faces criticism from the opposition and the Prosecutors' Authority, but Migration Minister Johan Forssell defends it as necessary to protect crime victims.
The government proposal requires prosecutors to seek deportation in all cases where the penalty is stricter than fines. The rules are set to take effect on September 1, with a parliamentary vote scheduled for June 15. Migration Minister Johan Forssell (M) says the current system fails crime victims.
– It is a scandal that previous governments have not done anything about it, but now we are doing it, he says.
Several cases have drawn attention, including two Palestinian brothers convicted of rape. The older brother is deported for life while the younger stays because the prosecutor did not request deportation. The Prosecutors' Authority opposes the proposal and argues it creates empty threats of deportation in cases where it cannot apply.
– Putting us in a position where we just transport the question of deportation is a departure from the role we are supposed to fill in the rule of law, says Chief Prosecutor Lennart Guné.
The Centre Party and other referral bodies want to keep prosecutors' discretion on when to seek deportation. According to Expressen's review of 2024 convictions, prosecutors refrained from seeking deportation in about 30 percent of rape cases involving foreign perpetrators.
