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Denmark to send ‘unwanted’ migrants to small island off its coast

by Justin Wise - 12/03/18 5:01 PM ET

Denmark is planning to send rejected asylum seekers to a remote island off the Danish coast if the migrants are unable to return to their native countries.

“They are unwanted in Denmark, and they will feel that,” Denmark’s immigration minister, Inger Støjberg, wrote in a statement on Facebook.

The New York Times reported that the center-right government and the right-wing Danish People’s Party reached an agreement last week to place as many as 100 people on Lindholm Island, about two miles from shore. The group will also include foreigners convicted of crimes.

{mosads}The deal comes as the Danish People’s Party advocates for more restrictions on immigrants and refugees.

Individuals staying on the island will be required to report to an island center each day. They reportedly risk imprisonment if they do not abide by the rule.

“We’re going to minimize the number of ferry departures as much as at all possible,” Martin Henriksen, a spokesman for the Danish People’s Party on immigration, told TV 2. “We’re going to make it as cumbersome and expensive as possible.”

The program will reportedly lead to about $115 million being allocated over four years for facilities on the island. The facilities are expected to open in 2021, according to the Times.

Kristian Jensen, the finance minister who guided the negotiations, maintained that the island was not a prison.

Morten Østergaard, leader of the country’s Social Liberal Party, criticized the deal, saying it creates “costs for everyone,” EuroNews reported.

Louise Holck, deputy executive director of The Danish Institute for Human Rights, told the Times that her group would monitor this development “very closely.”

Tags Denmark Immigration