US EditionDenmark unveils legal reform to allow the worst foreign criminals to be deported
The law targets foreigners sentenced to at least one year for serious crimes, with 315 non-EU offenders not expelled in five years, officials said.
- On Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen presented a legal reform allowing foreigners sentenced to at least one year of unconditional imprisonment to be deported.
- At last month, the EU began finalising an overhaul of its migration system amid pressure from hard right-wing groups and political parties in Europe, with at least 27 foreign criminals from countries outside the EU remaining unexpelled over five years.
- The government paired the reform with tighter controls on people without legal residence, a new anklet monitor for criminal foreigners, reopening an embassy in Syria, and strengthened cooperation with authorities in Afghanistan while acting `unconventionally`, amending legislation rather than awaiting court rulings.
- The reform could trigger legal challenges to human rights conventions, as Frederiksen acknowledged it may conflict with European human rights conventions and address 315 convictions over the past five years.
- The step dovetails with EU-level shifts as Denmark's package aligns with broader European Union, 27-member bloc efforts, last month finalising tougher migration rules amid pressure from hard right-wing groups and political parties in Europe.
43 Articles
43 Articles
Denmark goes through hard: foreign offenders will be deported faster and more consistently in the future.
The Danish government has announced that it will deport all foreign citizens who have been sentenced to at least one year in prison from May 1st, for example, crimes such as assault and rape, the Danish Ministry of Migration announced on Friday. "It is right and necessary that the European states can sit down and say that we prefer to protect our countries rather than criminals," said Denmark's head of government Mette Frederiksen. When drafting…
Mette Frederiksen tightens the migration policy in Denmark: Criminal foreigners are to be deported directly. Prerequisite is the conviction to a prison sentence of at least one year.
From one year on, foreign offenders will be automatically deported from Denmark, which is contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights.
Migrants who have committed serious crimes in Denmark are to be automatically deported from May 1st. Prerequisite is the conviction to a prison sentence of at least one year.
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