Hungary passes the strictest immigration bill in history： severely punish illegal immigration activities

　　On June 20th, the Hungarian Parliament passed a package of legal amendments related to measures to combat illegal immigration. The amendment involves nine laws, including the Constitution and the Criminal Law, and is called by some European media as one of the "strictest" immigration bills in history. The Hungarian government issued a statement on the same day, saying that the adoption of relevant bills complied with the wishes of the Hungarian people, which was another powerful defense against illegal immigrants. The bill was passed by a high vote in the Hungarian parliament, reflecting the deepening rift between Hungary and the European Union on the issues of illegal immigrants and refugees.

　　According to the revised criminal law, anyone who organizes illegal immigrants to Hungary and encourages them to evade Hungarian laws will be punished, and anyone who provides funds for such criminal activities or often organizes illegal immigrants can be sentenced to one year’s imprisonment. On the same day, the Hungarian Parliament also passed an amendment to the Hungarian Constitution. According to the revised constitution, the National Assembly will decide the resettlement independently. Immigrants cannot be placed in Hungary without the consent of the National Assembly.

　　On the 21st, the prime ministers of four Visegrad countries (Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia) met with the Austrian Prime Minister in Budapest, Hungary. Hungarian Prime Minister Orban said that all participating countries agreed that Europe should be able to protect its borders and provide security for its citizens. Orban said at a joint press conference after the meeting that Europe should also be able to make the relations among EU member states "characterized by cooperation rather than confrontation". He believes that on the issue of immigration, we should emphasize those issues on which consensus can be reached, such as border protection and the establishment of refugee camps outside the EU, while there is no need to force issues such as refugee quotas. The four countries of Visegrad Group will express their position on the refugee issue at the EU summit on the 28th.

　　In recent years, the Hungarian government has opposed the EU’s policy of forcibly sharing refugees with member States, and defended its southern border by building border fences and amending border laws. At the EU summit to be held at the end of this month, refugee policy remains one of the focuses. With the growing strength of right-wing populism in Austria, Italy and other countries, the differences of opinion among EU member States on accepting refugee policies are becoming increasingly fierce.

　　"The past five years have been the least successful for the European Union. It has failed to defend the European continent from illegal immigrants and has not found a substantive solution to the refugee crisis." In his speech last week, Orban accused Brussels of "breaking the balance between the East and the West". He believed that the EU’s refugee policy should not discuss the issue of refugee distribution, but how to repatriate refugees. "We hope to use this series of bills to prevent Hungary from becoming an immigrant country," said Hungarian Interior Minister Pinter.

　　It is reported that the upcoming EU summit may propose to set up offshore centers in northern Africa and other regions to handle asylum seekers’ applications, thus preventing those who have no asylum needs from going to Europe. These platforms will be set up in North Africa and other regions, and will be jointly operated by the European Union, the International Organization for Migration and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. They will "quickly identify those who immigrate to improve their economic situation and those who really need international protection", thus reducing the number of people who blindly venture on the journey to Europe. However, it remains to be seen whether these measures can effectively alleviate the current situation of the refugee problem.

　　(Warsaw, June 22 nd)