European lawmakers voted Thursday to advance a sweeping package of immigration reforms that would allow the European Union to send rejected asylum seekers to processing and detention centres, known as "return hubs", located outside the bloc's borders. The measures passed 389 to 206 in the European Parliament in Brussels, with support from centre-right and far-right political groups. The vote brings the legislation a step closer to final approval, with negotiations between parliament and EU member states expected to follow.
"The decisive changes introduced by this regulation will make it possible to simply guarantee this straightforward principle: if you come to Europe illegally, rest assured that you will not stay here," said centre-right French MEP François-Xavier Bellamy.
Under the proposed reform, the EU would be permitted to open centres outside its territory, potentially in third countries, where migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected could be held and processed for deportation. The hubs are designed to act as a deterrent and to streamline the return process.
In addition to the hubs, the package also envisages harsher penalties for migrants who refuse to comply with deportation orders, including extended detention periods and entry bans. A small coalition of EU countries, including Denmark, Austria, Greece, Germany, and the Netherlands, is already exploring options to establish such centres, according to a diplomatic source.
The legislation has drawn sharp criticism from human rights organisations. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) described the proposed return hubs as "legal black holes," warning that placing migrants outside EU territory makes it impossible to guarantee that fundamental rights will be upheld.
"They will be located outside of EU territory, where policymakers cannot guarantee that people's rights will be upheld," said the IRC's Marta Welander. A coalition of 70 rights groups warned in February that the reform could enable what they described as "ICE-style immigration enforcement", a reference to the aggressive tactics used by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement under President Donald Trump.
Critics also point to the troubled history of similar initiatives elsewhere. The United Kingdom ultimately abandoned its controversial plan to deport undocumented migrants to Rwanda. Meanwhile, Italian-managed migrant processing facilities in Albania have faced persistent legal challenges and low uptake since their launch. France and Spain have also raised questions within the EU about the practical effectiveness of return centres, reflecting divisions among member states on the approach.
With migrant arrivals declining in 2025, attention in Brussels has shifted to improving the EU's repatriation system, which currently sees only around 20 percent of people ordered to leave actually returned to their country of origin. Supporters of the reform argue that tougher measures are needed to make the system credible and functional.
EU member states had already given their approval to the package, first proposed by the European Commission, in December 2025. The parliamentary vote now triggers a final round of negotiations, which observers expect to focus on a key outstanding issue: the extent of search and enforcement powers that authorities could be granted when pursuing irregular migrants.
The legislative push reflects a broader hardening of attitudes towards immigration across Europe. Governments across the 27-nation bloc have sought a tougher stance amid a souring of public opinion on migration, which has fuelled significant electoral gains for far-right parties in a number of countries in recent years.
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