Justice Minister Jans wants to reduce the number of hopeless asylum applications
Published: Tuesday, Feb 20th 2024, 15:10
Updated At: Tuesday, Feb 20th 2024, 15:10
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Tougher action against criminal asylum seekers, fewer hopeless asylum applications with an expansion of 24-hour procedures and a freeze on applications at weekends: With these and other measures, the new Minister of Justice Beat Jans wants to ease the burden on the asylum system.
"People who have no chance of being granted asylum should no longer apply for asylum in Switzerland," Jans told the media on Tuesday after visiting the Federal Asylum Center in Chiasso TI. Space must be created for those people who need protection and are arriving in large numbers.
According to Jans, the measures are also needed to relieve the burden on asylum staff and to reduce pending cases more quickly. "Around 15,000 people are currently waiting for an asylum decision." They have a right to have the process go quickly.
"An asylum center is not an emergency shelter"
Last November, Jans' predecessor in the Department of Justice, Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, held out the prospect of measures to improve the asylum center after Chiasso hit the headlines due to criminal asylum seekers. Jans has now announced concrete measures after just under two months in office.
For example, he proposed extending the 24-hour procedure, which has been successfully tested at the federal asylum center in Zurich in recent months, to all federal asylum centers with a procedural function by the end of April 2024 - in addition to Zurich, also in Bern, Boudry NE, Altstätten SG, Chiasso TI and Basel. Asylum seekers from countries of origin with very little prospect of asylum recognition - for example Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia - will also have to justify their asylum application in writing in advance.
In order to counteract the abuse of asylum structures, asylum applications should in future only be able to be submitted during the week. According to Jans, this should prevent asylum seekers from being housed in federal asylum centers over the weekend and having to leave before their fingerprints can be taken on Monday and the asylum procedure formally opened. "An asylum center is not an emergency shelter," said Jans.
Speed as "maximum priority"
Vulnerable asylum seekers such as women traveling alone, families, unaccompanied minors and sick or elderly people should continue to be accepted at weekends, according to Jans. In addition, applicants should be prevented from being without shelter at the weekend.
The measures announced are intended to have a preventative effect in particular, as Jans emphasized. "We see that around a quarter of applications come from people who have virtually no chance of obtaining asylum." These people should be sent a clear message: "You should not enter Switzerland irregularly."
Jans stated that all asylum procedures would proceed as before with legal representation. However, the speed has "maximum priority".
Push for administration
Jans also wants to tackle the problem of criminal asylum seekers, as he promised. These are only a small number. However, these few are very burdensome for the population and for those asylum seekers who abide by the rules and need protection.
Asylum seekers who break into cars, commit shoplifting, damage property or use violence against employees and police officers are not impressed by temporary arrests, said Jans. He appealed to the authorities to make full use of all criminal law options in such cases.
"We want to identify and stop prolific offenders quickly," said Jans. To achieve this, the exchange of information between the federal and cantonal migration authorities and the cantonal prosecution authorities must be improved. Today, measures such as administrative detention or detention pending deportation are used too rarely - although these places are only used to around half capacity.
Search for accommodation
In addition to these measures, the search for additional accommodation for refugees continues. The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) expects a significant increase in asylum applications from the summer.
Jans mentioned the integration of refugees into the labor market, including people with S status from Ukraine, as another important topic this year. The Minister of Justice said in January that he would soon make concrete proposals to the Federal Council.
©Keystone/SDA
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