A vote in Sweden’s parliament could force public sector workers to report undocumented people to authorities.
The bill, popularised as the ‘snitch law’, will be voted in on Monday (15 June), as part of a greater policy of migration deterrence by the right and far-right Swedish government.
The Swedish democrats’ ‘era of deportation’ resulted in multiple policies restricting new arrivals and speeding up deportations, which have only been intensifying in light of an upcoming general election at the end of the summer.
Obliging ordinary public workers to comply with its crackdown on migration, the government’s plan would result in anyone from the Public Employment Service to the national Pensions Agency needing to inform the police of any contact with an undocumented person, of which there are believed to be 30,000 to 50,000 in Sweden.
The reform has invited concern that vulnerable people will refrain from seeking help in public services for fear of being reported, resulting in greater chances of exploitation and untreated illness.
