On 29 May, international and Swedish NGOs, trade unions, academics and faith-based organisations will be heard in the Swedish Parliament about the government’s proposal to oblige public sector workers to report undocumented people they come in contact with to immigration enforcement and/or police.

The proposal was included in the coalition programme of the government in 2022, (the Tidö Agreement, p.33) and is currently being studied in a public inquiry before concrete legislation is tabled.

The proposal has been heavily and widely criticised by a number of 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. Many undocumented children would no longer be able to attend school, while undocumented patients would find it difficult to access health care. Teachers, doctors and other public workers would have to act as border guards and compromise their professional independence and integrity.

The proposal would also have a detrimental effect on access to justice and protection for undocumented victims of crime and is likely to further prevent such victims and witnesses from reporting abuse to the police or agreeing to give evidence in criminal proceedings.

The Swedish government also instructed (p.16) the public investigator to consider “consequences” for those who do not comply with the obligation to report.

Over 4000 health care workers already pledged to commit civil disobedience and refuse to report their patients should the measure be implemented in the healthcare sector. Several directors of Swedish regional health care authorities voiced criticism towards the proposal.

The Swedish Teachers’ Council on Professional Ethics also strongly criticised the proposal and encouraged teachers to commit civil disobedience should the proposal become law. Nine out of ten librarians contest the proposal.

The Tidö agreement foresees to investigate the possibility of introducing limited exemptions from the obligation to denounce undocumented people, without promising that such exemptions would later be applied. But no exemption, whatever its extent, can mitigate the harm of this proposal: any reporting obligation is harmful and discriminatory, and should be rejected.

The results of the public inquiry should be made public by 30 September 2024.

QUOTES:

Michele LeVoy, Director of the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants:

“This proposal is utterly inhumane. This is part of a growing trend that criminalises solidarity with undocumented people across Europe, which exacerbates their marginalisation and segregation. Everywhere where obligations to denounce undocumented people have been applied, the result has been more discrimination, suffering and fear. Clear safeguards are urgently needed against data sharing between public services and immigration authorities. The Swedish government should withdraw this proposal and ensure all people can access public services safely, without risking detention and deportation”.

Jacob Lind, Postdoctoral researcher in international migration at Malmö University:

“This proposal is a paradigm shift in the position of human rights in Sweden, a country that for a long time has been perceived by others as a role model on the international stage when it comes to promoting human rights.”

Hannah Laustiola, Executive Director of Doctors of the World Sweden:

“The proposal of a duty to report irregular migrants in Sweden is not only counter-productive, but also seriously harmful for individuals, the professionals bound by such a duty, as well as for society at large. With over 30 years of experience in working with irregular migrants, Doctors of the World Sweden can safely conclude that such a law would lead to even more people refraining from seeking health care, resulting in worsened health conditions at best, and premature death at worst.”

Anna Troberg, Chair of cultural sector trade union DIK:

“A vast majority — more than nine out of ten — of Swedish librarians are strongly opposed to reporting undocumented migrants to the police, and rightly so. They are librarians, not border patrol. Many say they would rather lose their jobs than report those in need. If the Swedish government advances this law, the librarians will come out on the right side of history. Ultimately, this is a question of trust, humanity and democracy.”

Heike Erkers, Chair of the Union for Social Sciences, ASSR:

“This measure would be disastrous not least for social services. We need to ensure that social services continue to be a safe space for all in our country to ensure that people in need will get help and support.”

It’s also about the potential breach of confidentiality and erosion of trust to society that our members are working so hard to ensure. This potential law would result in a growing number of people hiding and being exploited in appalling conditions.”

Bishop Andreas Holmberg, Church of Sweden, Stockholm diocese:

“I share a concern with many within the Church of Sweden, not least among my deacon sisters and brothers, about how a reporting obligation can affect the vulnerable people we meet. We are really concerned that our close cooperation with the public sector and civil society may be obstructed if a reporting obligation becomes a reality. I am particularly concerned about how such a law will affect children who are already living in great vulnerability.”

MEP Malin Björk, Swedish Left Party:

“Forcing public servants to denounce undocumented migrants to the police would be a breach of the Convention of the Human Rights, the Convention of the Rights of Children and the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights. The current Swedish government depends on extreme right wing party Sweden Democrats, which would like to make it mandatory for all citizens to denounce undocumented persons. This kind of law has no place in modern, democratic societies”.

A new law has recently come into force in Finland that expands health care for undocumented migrants living in the country. Under this law, undocumented people can now access necessary care – that is, care that health care professionals deem necessary. This covers, for instance, conditions like diabetes or asthma that, if left untreated, would constitute a risk to the person’s health and increase the likelihood of urgent care being needed in the future.

Before this change, Finnish legislation only guaranteed urgent care, which was often interpreted restrictively as emergency care. More inclusive practices were left to the goodwill of doctors and municipalities. For instance, some necessary care was already being provided in Helsinki and Espoo.

In principle, undocumented patients are still expected to pay the full cost of the care they receive. If they do not have sufficient resources, they are still expected to pay the “patient fees” (what is not reimbursed by the state), while the medical professionals will be compensated by the health care authorities. Questions remain around how to evaluate the patient’s financial situation and ability to pay, and how much they will be requested to pay.

The law also allows undocumented people to access full maternity care and paediatric care, and covers groups as diverse as people who were denied asylum and other undocumented migrants, people who are waiting for a residence permit linked to, for example, family ties, and EU citizens without health insurance.

This new law is the result of long-standing advocacy by health care professionals, human rights and migrants’ rights organisations, like the Finnish Refugee Advice Centre and Physicians for Social Responsibility Finland, and the Finnish Medical Association. Some of  these organisations participated in the parliamentary hearing at the committee of social and health issues on this law in September 2022.

Such advocacy also builds on the work of volunteer doctors and nurses at “Global Clinics” –  medical centres present in various Finnish municipalities, where undocumented people can receive free health care and information on their rights. The clinics were founded some 10 years ago to compensate for the lack of public health care services for the undocumented population, and to encourage greater involvement from the state.

While it is too early to assess how it will be implemented in practice, civil society has largely welcomed this law as a very positive development that promises to significantly improve health care for undocumented people in Finland. It is also an example of how long-standing advocacy can lead to change.

This blog is based on an interview with Meri Korniloff, Advisor at Physicians for Social Responsibility in Finland.