No bonus for sending immigrants home
URL: http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Andre_sprog/English/2011/11/10/123610.htm
The government intends to remove the financial bonus paid out to municipalities that convince immigrants to go home. This proposal will be tabled in a new bill later this month.
Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten reports that this will also remove the municipalities’ duty to inform poorly integrated immigrants of their options via the repatriation scheme.
Still support for repatriation
Today an immigrant participating in the repatriation scheme is given a cash amount of nearly DKK 120,000 to establish a life in the country of origin. Expenses for airline tickets, removal, medicine etc. are also covered.
The government does not intend to change this part of the scheme, but the bonus paid out to the municipalities of DKK 25,000 per repatriated person is to be scrapped.
“We are removing it because it sends the wrong signal that these people do not belong here. The new government doesn’t want to send that signal,” says Minister for Social Affairs and Integration Karen Hækkerup (SocDem) to Information.
She adds that paying out a bonus based on how many people the municipalities convince to leave Denmark also sends an unfortunate signal.
Libs: Damaging to integration
According to the Liberals’ integration spokesperson Inger Støjberg, “the government is precision bombing those elements of the integration policy that work”.
“This means that immigrants who simply can’t become integrated will not be encouraged to leave the country,” says Inger Støjberg to Jyllands-Posten.
