A bill being promoted by Sweden’s government that would require civil servants to hand over illegal immigrants to the authorities has sparked a major social backlash in the country, with some calling it a “snitch bill” and sounding the alarm over the implications of such a move, which has been condemned by public sector workers including doctors, social workers, librarians as “utterly inhumane”.
The proposed bill is among several measures included in a 2022 deal struck between four right-wing parties, a deal that paved the way for the formation of a coalition government involving three center-right parties with parliamentary support from far-right anti-immigration MPs, Sweden Democrats (SD).
Almost two years after SD, a party whose manifesto seeks to create in the country one of the most hostile environments in Europe for non-Europeans, became Sweden’s second largest party, the measure began to be drafted into law. A parliamentary committee has been instructed by the government to present a draft law, with the aim of presenting its findings to the government by the end of November.
Although the plan is in its early stages, the idea that up to a million workers, from dentists to teachers, would be forced to report to authorities any contact they have with patients, undocumented students, has found opposition from much of society, from human rights defenders to trade unions.
“This proposal is completely inhumane,” said Michelle Levoy of the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants. The effects can be far-reaching, with people potentially reluctant to send their children to school and reluctant to access health care or not report crimes committed against them.
Trade unions said the government’s plan could erode the trust they have worked so hard to build and instead fuel racism and reinforce stigma.
Levoy described the measures as part of a growing trend across Europe to criminalize solidarity with undocumented migrants. The Finnish government is also considering extending the reporting obligations of undocumented people.
As of December 2023, more than 150 Swedish regions, municipalities, trade unions and other civil society groups have come out against the government’s plan.
Among the disciplines that have spoken out publicly on the issue is the Swedish Medical Association (SMA). “I became a doctor to help people, not to watch and lecture them,” said Sophia Rydgren Stahl, president of the SMA.
For months, the SMA has argued that the obligation to extradite people goes against the rules and principles of professional ethics which state that care should be given to whoever needs it and that patients should not be discriminated against. “We think it’s very likely that it will lead to people not being able to seek care for fear of being turned away,” Stahl added.
The Swedish government emphasizes that the committee preparing the draft law is also considering whether the obligation to provide information conflicts with professional values, such as in the health care sector.
Reporting requirements play a key role in supporting legal immigration by allowing the state to more effectively deport people who are refused asylum, Immigration Minister Maria Malmer Stenegrad has argued.
However, the government’s efforts to allay concerns have not borne fruit.
In May, the professional ethics board set up by two Swedish unions representing teachers said requiring people to report would put them in an impossible position. “If the plan becomes a reality, it could lead to such serious ethics problems for teachers that our conclusion is that civil disobedience would probably be the only logical way out,” it said on its website.
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