Hey, fellow Central Europeans! Even if I don’t live in Poland I try to follow what’s going on in your country, partially because it’s probably the most influential one in our region.
To get to the point… I heard Donald Tusk criticizing PiS for being soft on migration (it was connected to the visas-for-bribes scandal). But now one of the coalition leaders invited illegal migrants from the Belarusian-Polish border to Sejm, migrants sent by Lukashenko/Putin. It gave me the Merkel 2015 vibes.
[https://twitter.com/FundOcalenie/status/1738269961699656087](https://twitter.com/FundOcalenie/status/1738269961699656087)
[https://twitter.com/joakedzierska/status/1738254023910728099](https://twitter.com/joakedzierska/status/1738254023910728099)
So where does your government stand on migrantion (especially migration from Middle East and Africa, I assume taking in refugees from Ukraine isn’t really controversial)? And where would you like it to stand? Even if I try to follow news from Poland I’m very far from being an expert and this sub seems like a better option to clear up the confusion of mine and get some good takes than googling a lot of articles (my Polish sucks).
EDIT: One more Twitter/X link
by reddeller
7 comments
While the photo in question states migrants were invited, it does not say whether they entered Poland illegally – that part seems to be your own assumption.
As to Tusk, he isn’t exactly “pro migration” or “anti migration”, he’s “anti illegal migration”.
> > [In my government’s program there will be no room for selling visas, no tolerance for fakery and we will make Poland’s eastern border air-tight.](https://www.rp.pl/praca/art39555031-donald-tusk-bez-tolerancji-dla-nielegalnej-imigracji-koniec-z-handlem-wizami)
> > [I have hard, unambiguous views on the safety of the state, borders and territory. – This has nothing to do with racism, stance towards other cultures or other nationalities. – It was my professional occupation for many, many years. As the head of European Council, about 80 percent of my time was spent on the problem of legal and illegal migration.](https://tvn24.pl/wybory-parlamentarne-2023/wybory-parlamentarne-2023-donald-tusk-o-polityce-migracyjnej-mam-bardzo-twarde-i-jednoznaczne-poglady-7358832)
> > [Migration policy has and must have two dimensions. There is no excuse for brutality, tortures or inhumane treatment. Those are unacceptable.](https://tvn24.pl/wybory-parlamentarne-2023/wybory-parlamentarne-2023-donald-tusk-o-polityce-migracyjnej-mam-bardzo-twarde-i-jednoznaczne-poglady-7358832)
> > [Ensuring the safety and security of own territory is the duty of every prime minister of every European country. There is no such thing as a migration policy if you cannot control your borders and territory.](https://tvn24.pl/wybory-parlamentarne-2023/wybory-parlamentarne-2023-donald-tusk-o-polityce-migracyjnej-mam-bardzo-twarde-i-jednoznaczne-poglady-7358832)
> > [I remember my conflict with Angela Merkel in the European Council when she publicly stated that we cannot stop people crossing European borders because there are too many of them. And I said something, you won’t like it and I’ll repeat it because I am deeply convinced of it. I said that we must stop them at our borders precisely because there are too many.](https://tvn24.pl/wybory-parlamentarne-2023/wybory-parlamentarne-2023-donald-tusk-o-polityce-migracyjnej-mam-bardzo-twarde-i-jednoznaczne-poglady-7358832)
> > [I appreciate those who have this level of sensitivity that forces them to put above everything the matters of humanitarism, respect, readiness to help, openness. Thank God that there are such people in the world, seriously. But when you’re the Prime Minister, minister responsible for security, you are not an activist for humanitarianism or migration but instead responsible for the safety and security of your borders and territory. And those are completely different roles.](https://tvn24.pl/wybory-parlamentarne-2023/wybory-parlamentarne-2023-donald-tusk-o-polityce-migracyjnej-mam-bardzo-twarde-i-jednoznaczne-poglady-7358832)
The current government lost election in 2015 among others because they were not anti-immigrant as most society expect. I think they will not repeat the same mistake, after being 8 years in opposition they learned the lesson.
They are likely to continue similar policies imo, just packaged a little better. I hope they will do something about the pushbacks at our border with Belarus but overall the fence is likely to stay. As the whole Europe is turning against migration lately and anti-migration propaganda was one of the factors that led them to losing in 2015, they are unlikely to turn anything around because it would be unpopular and risky. Tusk has been pretty vocal on not being a fan of huge immigration so the only part of the government that is likely to attempt to liberalise migration rules is the left which has few seats. I do hope the policies get a little more humane though
Well, I hope they will let everyone in. Whoever is in need.
while they are more pro-eu than pis, there definitely will still be conflicts with us refusing to take as much immigrants as eu wants us to.
the majority of poles dont really want migrants to come here
We’ll see. The majority of society is clearly against unrestricted migration.
The misunderstanding with this is always the same. This isn’t about migration / immigration, it’s about asylum. They are entirely different things.
The two are often conflated, sometimes accidentally and sometimes deliberately.
“Illegal immigration” (people who enter a territory legally and subsequently overstay or people who enter a territory with no intention to claim asylum) isn’t a major issue in any European country. The problem is the asylum system and its current mechanisms. It’s impossible to know the validity of an asylum claim until it has been processed. Therefore asylum seekers should not be turned away until and their claim should be processed.
Acceptance rates for an asylum claim vary by country. Germany finds legitimate and accepts the majority of asylum claims. France finds illegitimate and rejects the majority of asylum claims.
The issues come with those who have an asylum claim rejected. In these cases there should be more robust systems in place to remove them.