Sweden unveils blueprint for obliging public sector workers to denounce undocumented migrants

On 26^th November 2024, the Swedish government presented the findings of a public inquiry outlining how a potential new law could oblige some public sector workers to denounce undocumented people they come in contact with to the immigration authorities.

According to the inquiry, the Swedish government should oblige the following governmental agencies in Sweden to automatically report undocumented people to the Police Authority as they come in contact with them: the Public Employment Service, Social Insurance Agency, Prison and Probation Service, Enforcement Agency, Pensions Agency and Tax Agency. The Swedish police may then pass on the information to the Migration Agency or the Security Service. It also proposes that the Swedish Economic Crime Authority and the Prosecution Authority should be obliged to provide information upon request from an enforcement agency.

The inquiry proposes exemptions for health services, schools and social services.

The government’s initiative to launch this public inquiry (included in the government’s coalition programme) had been heavily and widely criticised by several actors, including university teachers, welfare professionals, health care workers, teachers, municipal workers and library staff.

All denounce that mandatory reporting would lead to discrimination and stigmatisation, and fuel growing racism. Public workers would have to act as border guards and compromise their professional independence and integrity.

The public inquiry may form the basis of a new law proposal by the Swedish government in the next months.

Michele LeVoy, Director of the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants, said: “Contrary to the inquiry’s claims, reporting obligations always have significant and harmful consequences for both individuals and society. At a minimum, they foster a climate of fear and hostility, undermining trust in public institutions, while violating Sweden’s human rights commitments. Exemptions will not mitigate these harms. We stand with national partners in urging the Swedish government to reject this reporting obligation and protect the principles of human rights.”

John Stauffer, acting Executive Director at Civil Rights Defenders, said, “Despite exemptions, this proposal risks fueling the fear of being reported, which is already today prevents undocumented migrants from accessing their rights. Rights must be accessible in practice. Realising the right to health, education, housing, protection, and an adequate standard of living requires that people feel able to claim their rights without fear.”

Hannah Laustiola, Executive Director of Doctors of the World Sweden, said, “While we are relieved that there is no proposal of a reporting obligation for health care personnel, the risk for negative consequences of a reporting obligation remains as long as there are institutions bound by the obligation. On the one hand, there is a risk that undocumented migrants, who already live in fear of deportation, will not be reached by the information that their right to health care is unchanged, and on the other hand, we see that the mere proposal of such a law has rendered public servants prone to act in violation of existing laws of classified information and the right to health.”

Ulrika Modéer, Secretary General of the Swedish Red Cross, said, “We welcome that schools, healthcare, and social services are not included in the obligation to provide information in the presented proposal, but some damage has already been done. But we must analyse further what it means that the Swedish Tax Agency will be obliged to provide information to the Police Authority, and what the Agency’s relationship to local social services will mean for victims of domestic violence. The government’s earlier lack of clarity in specifying the directives of the investigation has created fear among undocumented individuals, undermining trust in public institutions and civil society. Many avoid seeking help, which particularly impacts already vulnerable women and children.”

Jacob Lind, Postdoctoral researcher in international migration at Malmö University, said, “Much harm has already been done as the proposal has impacted the trust undocumented migrants have in society. A handful of public authorities, such as the tax and pension authorities, will now have a duty to report and this can still have implications for migrants’ access to their human rights. The main problem is that this new proposed legislation makes it easier to extend the list of authorities at a later stage with less work. The most positive takeaway from this is that collective mobilisation works. The politicians were telling the unions, civil society and other critics to wait for the investigation and then come with their criticism. But if the critics had listened to this and not resisted already before the investigation was published, it could have had a very different outcome.”