HELSINKI: Finland’s right-wing government has asked parliament to extend until the end of 2026 a law that allows it to reject asylum applications from migrants crossing its closed eastern border with Russia and to send them back, it said on Thursday.
NATO member Finland has accused Russia of weaponizing migration by encouraging migrants from third countries to cross their shared border, an assertion the Kremlin has repeatedly denied.
“The threat of instrumentalized migration at Finland’s eastern border remains high and unpredictable,” Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said in a statement, adding the situation at the border was tense but stable.
While Finland’s non-discrimination ombudsman says the law is at odds with international human rights commitments and EU asylum rules, the government of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has said it must be extended to prevent possible future arrivals.
The exceptional emergency law, initially approved for a year in July 2024, was part of the government’s response to more than 1,300 migrants from countries such as Syria, Iraq and Yemen entering Finland from Russia in 2023. That phenomenon also prompted Finland to close the border with Russia.
The flow of migrants stopped after Finland closed down all official border crossing points at the end of 2023, and in 2024 only eight people crossed the border illegally after January, interior ministry data showed.
The government needs the support of three quarters of lawmakers in the 200-strong parliament to secure an extension of the law, a high bar reflecting the fundamental principles at stake.
The independent senior official charged with overseeing the legality of government actions said this month that the proposal to extend the asylum ban had insufficient reasoning, emphasising that emergency legislation must only be temporary in nature.
The official, known as the chancellor of justice, also said the threat assessment regarding migrants was insufficient and urged the government to explore alternatives.
The current emergency legislation expires on July 21.
Finnish government seeks to extend ban on migrants seeking asylum on Russia border
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Finnish government seeks to extend ban on migrants seeking asylum on Russia border
- “The threat of instrumentalized migration at Finland’s eastern border remains high and unpredictable,” Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said
- The exceptional emergency law was part of the government’s response to more than 1,300 migrants from countries such as Syria, Iraq and Yemen
Sending soldiers to Minneapolis for immigration crackdown would be unconstitutional, mayor says
- The rarely-used 19th century law would allow him to send military troops into Minnesota, where protesters have been confronting federal immigration agents for weeks
MINNEAPOLIS: The mayor of Minneapolis said Sunday that sending active duty soldiers into Minnesota to help with an immigration crackdown is a ridiculous and unconstitutional idea as he urged protesters to remain peaceful so the president won’t see a need to send in the US military.
Daily protests have been ongoing throughout January since the Department of Homeland Security ramped up immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul by bringing in more than 2,000 federal officers.
In a diverse neighborhood where Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been frequently seen, US postal workers marched through on Sunday, chanting: “Protect our routes. Get ICE out.”
The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers based in Alaska who specialize in operating in arctic conditions to be ready in case of a possible deployment to Minnesota, two defense officials said Sunday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans, said two infantry battalions of the Army’s 11th Airborne Division have been given prepare-to-deploy orders.
One defense official said the troops are standing by to deploy to Minnesota should President Donald Trump invoke the Insurrection Act.
The rarely-used 19th century law would allow him to send military troops into Minnesota, where protesters have been confronting federal immigration agents for weeks. He has since backed off the threat, at least for now.
“It’s ridiculous, but we will not be intimidated by the actions of this federal government,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “It is not fair, it’s not just, and it’s completely unconstitutional.”
Thousands of Minneapolis citizens are exercising their First Amendment rights and the protests have been peaceful, Frey said.
“We are not going to take the bait. We will not counter Donald Trump’s chaos with our own brand of chaos here,” Frey said.
Gov. Tim Walz has mobilized the Minnesota National Guard, although no units have been deployed to the streets.
Peter Noble joined dozens of other US Post Office workers Sunday on their only day off from their mail routes to march against the immigration crackdown. They passed by the place where an immigration officer shot and killed Renee Good, a US citizen and mother of three, during a Jan. 7 confrontation.
“I’ve seen them driving recklessly around the streets while I am on my route, putting lives in danger,” Noble said.
Letter carrier Susan Becker said she came out to march on the coldest day since the crackdown started because it’s important to keep telling the federal government she thinks what it is doing is wrong. She said people on her route have reported ICE breaking into apartment buildings and tackling people in the parking lot of shopping centers.
“These people are by and large citizens and immigrants. But they’re citizens, and they deserve to be here; they’ve earned their place and they are good people,” Becker said.
A Republican US House member called for Walz to tone down his comments about fighting the federal government and instead start to help law enforcement.
Many of the officers in Minnesota are neighbors just doing the jobs they were sent to do, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer told WCCO-AM in Minneapolis.
“These are not mean spirited people. But right now, they feel like they’re under attack. They don’t know where the next attack is going to come from and who it is. So people need to keep in mind this starts at the top,” Emmer said.
Across social media, videos have been posted of federal officers spraying protesters with pepper spray, knocking down doors and forcibly taking people into custody. On Friday, a federal judge ruled that immigration officers can’t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who aren’t obstructing authorities, including when they’re observing the officers during the Minnesota crackdown.
