European Nations Plan Increased Deportations of Afghan Refugees

Several European governments, including the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Norway, are planning to increase the deportation of Afghan refugees to Afghanistan. This policy shift follows a rise in anti-immigration sentiment and the growth of far-right political parties across the continent.

Germany has already lifted a de facto ban on deportations to Kabul. Over the last two years, the country returned approximately 200 people, primarily those with criminal records, and executed its first non-criminal deportation in late July 2024. In June 2024, 15 European ambassadors met with a Taliban delegation in Brussels to discuss the return of refugees.

In the Netherlands, thousands of Afghans who previously held refugee status have seen their status downgraded to temporary residency permits, leaving them in legal limbo and fearing Taliban reprisals. Former Dutch Deputy Ambassador Cees Roels criticized these efforts, stating that the EU is attempting to create a system where the Taliban acts as the gatekeeper of European migration policies.