Sweden´s “snitch law” on migrants sparks stark opposition; “utterly inhumane”

Sweden´s “snitch law” on migrants sparked stark opposition, claimed as “utterly inhumane.”

Although still being drafted, if implemented, the law would result in up to a million workers, from teachers to doctors, becoming legally required to report any contact with undocumented students, patients, and customers to reduce illegal migration.

Sweden´s “snitch law” and its consequences

The proposal, claimed as a “snitch law” by many, is part of the measures included in a 2022 agreement between four right-wing parties in Sweden and is to be drafted into law by a committee by the end of November 2024. Doctors, social workers, and librarians across the country united to raise the alarm over the proposal, which the majority deemed cruel and excessive.

“This proposal is utterly inhumane,” said Michele LeVoy of the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants. She argued that the law would result in people declining to access healthcare, attend school, or report crimes committed against them.

“People will be, in a sense, terrified. Why would anyone want to go somewhere where they know that the main thing that will happen is not that they can get care, not that they can go to school…but they´ll just be turned in.”

Since December 2023, more than 150 Swedish civil society groups have disapproved of the proposal. Among the groups was the Swedish Medical Association; its chairwoman Sofia Rydgren stated; “I became a doctor to help people, not monitor and report them.”

She emphasized that the proposal would directly oppose professional ethics rules and principles which provide all patients with equal safety and noted; “We see it as very likely that it will lead to people not daring to seek care for fear of being reported.”

A professional ethics council founded by two Swedish unions representing teachers also stated; “If the proposal were to become reality, it could lead to such serious ethical problems for teachers that our conclusion is that civil disobedience would probably be the only reasonable way out.”

Opposed by more than 90 per cent of librarians, Anna Troberg from the trade union DIK reported; “Many say they would rather lose their jobs than report those in need. Ultimately, this is a question of trust, humanity, and democracy.”

Sweden is not the first to consider the “snitch law”

Michele LeVoy related Sweden´s proposal to the increasing trend across Europe of mistreating undocumented people. In Germany, social welfare officers have been tied to reporting migrants for two decades and Finland is currently evaluating the same proposal as Sweden.

LeVoy took the example of the measures taken in the UK since 2012 when Theresa May introduced policies seeking to limit access to work, benefits, bank accounts, driving licenses, and other essential services for people who failed to prove their legal right to live in the UK. It was later revealed that many legal UK residents were falsely classified as immigration offenders by the Home Office.

If Sweden would follow the UK´s example, it could end up dealing with the same consequences, argued LeVoy; “Everywhere where obligations to denounce undocumented people have been applied, the result has been more discrimination, suffering and fear.”

A researcher in international migration at Malmö University, Jacob Lind stated this proposal would have no positive outcomes for Sweden;  “A lot of people are not going to leave. They´re just going to end up in further misery. You´ll end up with the opposite effect; society will have even less contact with people who are in this situation, further increasing their vulnerability and making them even more exploitable.”