EU Approves New Rules to Deport Illegal Immigrants to Countries Considered Safe

Lawmakers approved the policy, which allows failed asylum seekers to be deported to third-party countries they passed through on their way to the bloc.

European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on July 16, 2025. Yves Herman/Reuters

European Union lawmakers have approved new immigration laws that will allow nations to deport illegal immigrants because they either hail from a country considered safe or they could apply for asylum in a country outside the 27-nation bloc.

The new laws, set to come into effect in June, will allow for the deportation of people back to countries they transitioned through—and could have claimed asylum in—before moving on to the EU country that refused their claim.